Photo and Food Styling by Aramael Pena-Alcantara
Pure dairy-on-carbs joy. Crispy Panko crumb encrusted bite sized bites of mac and cheese, deep-fried until they're golden brown squares of heaven. Seriously, the ultimate comfort food.
Ingredients
3 Servings
1
¼
4
4
4
1
1
2
1
½
½
2
Preparation
Step 1
Prepare mac & cheese according to package directions, then stir in 1 cup of the shredded cheddar cheese. Use a 4-ounce block of American cheese from the deli counter; prewrapped slices of American cheese will result in a drier mac and cheese.
Step 2
Line a 13 by 9-inch baking dish with parchment paper; brush parchment lightly with butter. Spread mac & cheese evenly in dish. Cover and chill until firm, at least 8 hours and up to 24 hours.
Step 4
Invert set mac & cheese onto a cutting board and remove parchment. Cut into 1-inch squares with a sharp knife.
Step 5
Make a dredging station: Whisk eggs, garlic powder, onion powder, 1/2 tsp. kosher salt, and 2 Tbsp. water in a large shallow bowl. Place panko, 1/2 tsp. salt, and 1/2 tsp. pepper in another large shallow bowl.
Step 6
Working with a few mac & cheese square at a time, dip the mac & cheese square into egg wash, letting excess drip back into bowl. Dredge in panko, pressing firmly to adhere, ensuring no bare spots remain. Lightly shake off excess crumbs. Transfer to a wire rack set on a baking sheet.
Step 6
Pour 2 Tbsp. vegetable oil into a large heavy skillet. Heat over medium until shimmering. Line a rimmed baking sheet with paper towels, then place a wire cooling rack upside down on the paper towels.
Step 7
Working in batches to avoid crowding the pan and returning the oil to temp after each batch, carefully lower coated mac & cheese squares in a single layer with tongs. Cook until all sides are golden-brown for 5-7 minutes total, about 1-2 minutes per side. Transfer to the prepared rack and cool slightly. Sprinkle with parsley and serve warm.
Ingredients
3 Servings
1
¼
4
4
4
1
1
2
1
½
½
2
Cooking Notes
Please do not rinse the macaroni after cooking. You’re rinsing off most of the flavour when you do that.
I made half of the recipe and it turned out awesome :)
My husband and I used to make a variation of this after late night shenanigans when we were in our 20s. It’s fabulous at 4AM.
Such a simple recipe, a blank slate ready for personal touches such as; a tsp of dry mustard, a tbsp of minced jalapeno, serrano or fresno pepper, a tbsp of minced sweet red pepper, 1/8 tsp cayenne, a little minced onion or shallot, a sprinkle of paprika of choice, sweet smoked or hot.
Making myself hungry. Thanks for posting this.
I added more milk because it looked like it needed it, but then I was sorry that I did, was impossible to form the squares. I also added a sprinkle of dry mustard and a couple of shakes of worcestershire sauce. Nice.