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Advice on Mac n Cheese that holds.

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    Advice on Mac n Cheese that holds.

    So I know this guy, he is a really really really close friend. I daresay no body loves him as much as I do. Ok..
    So my friend sells bbq on weekends. from his drive way. unlicensed, uninsured, with careful attention to food safety and sanitation. So his business is getting big, so big that he will have to go legit soon. so he is getting his business in order and planning on a soft opening some time next year.

    He primarily sells whole meats, butts, briskets, pulled chicken trays, and wings. His stuff is pretty good even. more and more of his customers, he says, are asking for sides. He produces good sides. solid traditional sides that don't reinvent the wheel, although they bend it slightly. anyway. my friend has been messing with a plain old kid friendly mac n cheese for several weeks now. one of the draws in his area is kid friendly menu items. Customers ask for mac and cheese, but he tells them he doesn't have it yet. most of them understand the dilemma, its good with you make it, but it doesn't hold well.

    so he doesn't need advice on a good mac n cheese recipe, he has several, ive tried them all. He needs to know how to make it so it doesn't either break or turn to mush or cement after an hour or so in a cambro or steam table. (forgive the format)
    Last edited by Woodson; July 24, 2019, 08:53 PM.

    #2
    Best I can advice I can offer is make it wetter than normal, stir well before servin, hold as low as safely possible...

    Frankly, I find it hard to believe somebody's doin such things in my beloved Home State of Muhzurruh...

    Next thing, reckon ya'll be tellin me they's folks makin unlicensed likker...

    Comment


    • FireMan
      FireMan commented
      Editing a comment
      Moonshine? Yahoooo!

    • Woodson
      Woodson commented
      Editing a comment
      Yeah, that guys a real scoundrel!

    • Mr. Bones
      Mr. Bones commented
      Editing a comment
      Yeah, that guys a real scoundrel!
      If he come from there, fair chance we're at least distant kin...

    #3
    Probably the best strategy is come up with a cheese sauce that holds well, pre cook the pasta, and then combine and heat to order. The problem is béchamel-based sauces over hydrate the pasta when you hold, so they turn grainy and kinda nasty. Custard based just tend to break when they cool, and are horrible travesties despised by all right thinking people anyway.

    The problem is the pasta is going to steal water from the sauce causing it to either get grainy or break, depending on which type of mac & cheese. Its a problem for any sauced pasta that's held for any length of time on heat.

    So, pre cook the pasta. Make a cheese sauce that will hold, use an emulsifying agent, American cheese works well. Combine and cook as close to serve as possible. Basically, make the smallest amount you can at a time while still serving customers.

    Comment


      #4
      Don’t fully cook pasta so it’ll finish cooking with cheese sauce. Make a thin Bechemel sauce and do not let it thicken before adding cheese (and use lots of cheese). Add mayonnaise to the cheese sauce to make it creamier. No eggs.

      Comment


        #5
        Another tip besides or in addition to using American cheese is to look into adding sodium citrate (aka sour salt) to the cheese sauce to keep it smooth and creamy. I think Serious Eats did an article on sodium citrate awhile back so you might check their website for more info. You will find that a little sour salt is helfupl, but too much isn't good, so experiment with what works best.

        I agree with Mnvarre about the idea of combining the pasta and sauce right before service. I've been to BBQ joints where the mac 'n cheese is an unappetizing brick of pasta glued together with sticky cheese. Ugh. If you've ever gone to Panera, I'm pretty sure they combine pasta + cheese sauce for each order. The pasta is fully cooked yet firm and the pasta sauce is still nicely ooey-gooey.

        Comment


        • Woodson
          Woodson commented
          Editing a comment
          That’s exactly what I’m talking about. One pathetic side is enough to make a customer never return. I appreciate all the information from all contributors.

        #6
        I’ve used cream cheese in my Mac n Cheese sauce. In my opinion it keeps it creamier over time.

        Comment


          #7
          Sodium citrate is key if you arent using american cheese. Its used to make american cheese itself which is why its so smooth and pretty much never splits. IME, any cheese sauce built from a roux or bechamel will split over time. You can make a close to no split cheese sauce using american cheese or melting grated cheese of choice into water containing sodium citrate. Youll need to google the quantities, been a while aince i did it.

          Comment


          • IowaGirl
            IowaGirl commented
            Editing a comment
            The other amazing thing about sodium citrate is you can use any cheese to make the sauce. Even cheeses that aren't good melting cheeses. It really opens up the options for creating an amazingly tasty cheese sauce.

          #8
          As said above by IowaGirl and others.

          Forget about the typical Bechamel/Mornay sauce. The flour is a death nail and your doomed before you start.

          Try using a reduction (cream/milk/half n half/evap milk or whatever you use) with your cheese.

          Try making your complete "cheese mix" only and adding it to your reduction.

          Don't be a Mac snob (not saying you are) A little shelf stable cheese sauce goes a long way too as its liquid at room temp.

          What pasta are you using?
          Try using a pasta like Gemeli and completely shock it. Yes in ice water. You don't want all the starch like you do in a hot pasta dish. The pasta absorbing some water is not an issue.

          Toss you pasta in butter and lit it coat and and harden as it holds cold.

          Dont use pasta like rigatoni, mustacelli etc...

          As stated above dish out for service. You can hold your sauce hot and keep your pasta cold.

          I hope this helps.

          Comment


            #9
            Originally posted by HouseHomey View Post
            As said above by IowaGirl and others.

            Forget about the typical Bechamel/Mornay sauce. The flour is a death nail and your doomed before you start.
            Aside from the excellent advice about how to treat the pasta...this is the key thing.

            Comment


            • HouseHomey
              HouseHomey commented
              Editing a comment
              That avatar though. G.O.A.T.

            #10
            Not sure if he does or not but most importantly don’t use pre shredded cheese.

            That stuff has a coating on each cheese shred that never makes good Mac n Cheese in my opinion.

            Comment


            • grantgallagher
              grantgallagher commented
              Editing a comment
              Another great point. Most pre-shredded cheese has cellulose added to prevent it from sticking together. Plenty of wacky interweb rumors that it was wood pulp but its just cellulose. Nothing bad in itself, but not conducive to making a nice silky cheese sauce.

            #11
            Click image for larger version  Name:	20190725_223822.jpg Views:	1 Size:	2.76 MB ID:	720573 That's from Modernist Cuisine at home just to give you a round about on ratios. Sodium citrate is the way to go. Click image for larger version  Name:	15641088582727620455656516176299.jpg Views:	1 Size:	3.03 MB ID:	720574 It's adaptable to basically any cheese, pasta, additions... just to give you a general starting point. 👍

            Comment


            • Woodson
              Woodson commented
              Editing a comment
              Thank you for the good foundation. I need to get on that, free weekend Mac n cheese buffet!

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