Slow cooker Mac and cheese

[Anonymous]

Came out grainy in texture. What did I do wrong?

[Anonymous]

I've heard that it's awful.

[Anonymous]

Those two things don't go together.

Homemade mac and cheese isn't that difficult, but it's not something you can just dump in a crock pot and expect to turn out. You have to cook the pasta correctly (a little short of al dente) and make a proper sauce.

[Anonymous]

The cheddar cheese breaks. It happens with stovetop and oven mac and cheese, and leftovers, too.

[Anonymous]

Did you use evaporated milk? That is less likely to break down.

[Anonymous]

I made it once. Was grainy and gross. I agree with the other PPs it's just not a good crock pot dish.

[Anonymous]

Crockpot Mac and Cheese is the BEST! I can't even make it much anymore because it never even makes it out of the pot. I used the Rival recipe that came with my crockpot. Mine was never grainy -- just creamy and rich. I used evaporated milk.

[Anonymous]

You have to use evaporated milk.

[Anonymous]

I never had much luck with my crock pot until I bought the America's Test Kitchen "Slow Cooker Revolution" books. I think there are three now. The downside is that many of the recipes call for significant prep work, like browning ingredients before you dump them in the slow cooker, and many of the recipes are done fairly quickly, but there are slow cookers that will shut off after a certain period and keep things warm. I think the extra work is worth the improved taste. Before I had these cookbooks, everything I made was basically stewed chicken with different types of sauce. Here is their recipe for slow cooker macaroni and cheese:

America's Test Kitchen Slow Cooker Macaroni and Cheese

two 12 ounce can evaporated milk
two 11 ounce cans condensed cheddar cheese soup (I know! but it works here)
2.5 cups water, plus more hot water
salt and pepper
1 tsp. dry mustard
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese (8 oz.)
2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese (8 oz.)
1 lb. elbow macaroni

[Plus optional toasted bread crumb topping (I don't bother.) Process 2 slices "high quality" white sandwich bread, torn into pieces, to coarse crumbs in a food processor, about 10 pulses. Melt 2 T. butter in a 12 inch skillet over medium heat. Add bread crumbs and toast, stirring often, until golden brown, 5-7 minutes. Transfer to bowl and season with salt and pepper to taste.]

1. Line a slow cooker with aluminum foil collar and coat with vegetable oil spray. (You take heavy duty aluminum foil and make a six-layer rectangle 4 inches wide and 16 inches long and press into the back side of the slow cooker (opposite the controls). This is meant to minimize hot spots so the food cooks more evenly.

2. Bring evaporated mild, condensed soup, water, 1 tsp. salt, mustard and cayenne to simmer in large pot. Slowly whisk in cheddar and Monterey Jack until completely melted, the stir in macaroni.

3. Transfer macaroni mixture to prepared slow cooker. Cover and cook until macaroni is tender, about 2 hours on high.

4. Remove foil collar. Gently stir pasta, adding hot water as needed to loosen sauce consistency. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle with toasted bread crumb topping, if using, and serve.

They have a variation on this, Tomato Macaroni and Cheese, in which you reduce the water to 3/4 cup and add a 28 oz. can of petite diced tomatoes.

[Anonymous]

Paula Deen's recipe is great. Lots of cheese and butter, naturally. Not grainy. Luscious.

http://www.food.com/recipe/paula-deen-crock-pot-macaroni-and-cheese-257276

[Anonymous]

PP of the ATK recipe. I thought it would be a cold day in hell before I'd say this, but I preferred the Paula Deen version! Made it tonight. Doubled the recipe so I could use the whole box of pasta, but used only 3 eggs. I used evaporated milk instead of whole milk, and used whole milk yogurt instead of sour cream since that's all I had. Very tasty and very low effort.

[Anonymous]

WTF is wrong with you people? Why would you make mac and cheese in a slow cooker which seems to actually take more work and time than making a bechamel sauce with cheese?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:WTF is wrong with you people? Why would you make mac and cheese in a slow cooker which seems to actually take more work and time than making a bechamel sauce with cheese?

I prefer mac and cheese with an egg to a bechamel sauce, but either one takes time right before serving and eating, while a slow cooker Mac and cheese has all the work ahead of time, not last minute. With wrangling kids at dinnertime, I can understand the appeal of a dinner that is already made and ready to eat at dinnertime.

[Anonymous]

Should use oven or stovetop for mac and cheese.

[Anonymous]

This doesn't solve the slow cooker issue, but an easy way to make nice mac and cheese is to make it in the am (bechamel sauce with cheese) and put it in a wide, low casserole, so the mac and cheese is only an inch or two thick. Refrigerate. When you get home at night, toss into a 400 degree oven to reheat/brown on top while you make a green veggie and set the table. Should only take 25 minutes or so.