Jalapeño popper mac and cheese
Binging with Babish · ♥ 53.8K likes · 1.7M views · 8 min video
Read about cheese in the BrightCulinary Book
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Ingredients
Method
Techniques
- ½ whole onion
- 2 cloves garlic
Dice the onion; remove the germ from the garlic and chop or crush it.
- ½ lb thick cut bacon
Thinly slice the scallions, separating greens and whites.
- ¼ cup water
Put the frozen bacon strips in a cold 12-inch cast iron skillet with a quarter cup of water.
Bring to a simmer over medium-high, drop to medium and stir occasionally until the water has evaporated, the fat has rendered and the bacon is crisp, about five to seven minutes.
- 2 whole scallions
- 1–2 tbsp bacon fat
Return the pan to medium heat with one to two tablespoons of bacon fat; add the diced onion and scallion whites.
- 2 cups water
- milk
Add the pasta, two cups of water and almost enough milk to cover; simmer covered over medium, stirring every two minutes, until cooked evenly.
- 3 slices American cheese
- ¼ tsp cayenne pepper
- ¼ tsp sweet paprika
Just before al dente, add the American cheese, cayenne and paprika; cook over low, stirring constantly, until melted.
- 4 oz Gruyere or cheddar
- ¼ cup cream cheese
Kill the heat and stir in the grated Gruyere or cheddar and the cubed cream cheese.
- ⅓ cup pickled jalapenos
- kosher salt
- black pepper
Add the scallion greens and pickled jalapenos; season with kosher salt and black pepper.
- melting cheese
- ½ cup panko bread crumbs
Stir in the crispy bacon; loosen with more milk if the sauce is thick, and top with more melting cheese.
- 2 oz Parmesan cheese
Combine the panko with the grated Parmesan and sprinkle evenly over the top.
Bake at 375 F until the top is browned and crunchy and the cheese is bubbly, about 20 minutes.