December 13, 2008
Grilled Macaroni and Cheese

I love macaroni and cheese. What better way to make it than to spice it up on the charcoal grill!

This recipe makes a grilled mac n cheese with poblano peppers and grilled ham.

Here are the ingredients:
4 medium poblano chile peppers
3/4 ham steak or more
6 green onions
Extra-virgin olive oil
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 quart whole milk
4 cups (about 12 ounces) grated Monterey Jack cheese
1/4 cup white cheddar cheese
1/4 cup grated Parmesan Cheese
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/3 teaspoon black pepper
10 ounces large elbow macaroni
1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh thyme


The first step is to coat your poblano peppers, green onions, and ham with olive oil. Place them over medium direct heat (about 350 degrees). Grill the peppers, onions, and ham for about 10 minutes, rotating the peppers every 3-4 minutes.

After the ham, green onions, and peppers were nicely charred, I brought them inside and removed the skin from the poblano peppers. The charred skin falls right off so you shouldn't have a problem here. Then I diced everything into small pieces.

After you are finished chopping your grilled items, its time to start making the cheese sauce. In a large saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. As it starts to sizzle, whisk the flour into the butter to form a paste. Cook this mixture until it starts to brown. This will take about 3 to 4 minutes. Stir often! Add the milk while whisking to keep lumps from forming. Raise the heat to medium-high. Gradually add 3 cups of the Monterey Jack cheese and the white cheddar cheese (keeping 1 cup of jack cheese behind for later), all the parmesan cheese, the salt, and the pepper. As the cheese melts into the sauce and it begins to boil, lower the heat to a simmer. Cook for 4 to 5 minutes. Remove the cheese sauce from the heat and pour into a buttered 2 1/2- to 3-quart baking dish. I used an aluminum throw away baking dish.

Meanwhile, cook the macaroni according to the package and drain.
Add the cheese sauce to the baking dish and then add in the cooked macaroni. Then mix in your grilled peppers, ham and onions and mix thoroughly. To a small bowl add the thyme, bread crumbs and remaining one cup of cheese. Mix together and sprinkle over the top of the dish.

Finally, get your grill ready for a medium indirect heat. This is about 350 degrees. Add the baking dish to the grill and keep the lid closed as much as possible.

After thirty minutes your mac n cheese should look like the above picture! Not too bad for a recipe that was modified from a Weber e-mail!

Like the recipe? Want to talk about it? Go for it!

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