Crabby Mac-n-Cheese
Comfort food is one of those go-to mood foods. You crave creamy, warm, indulgent food that ticks all the boxes. Staying true to "comfort" food, you want curl up with your bowl of goodness, being sure to lick every morsel off your spoon because it's that good! This recipe has all of that and more!
Equipment
- Heavy duty stock pot
- 6 each, 10 ounce oven safe bowls
- Immersion blender
- Colander
- Sheet pan
- Large Saute Pan
- Large Mixing Bowl
- Food processor
- Large sauce pot
- Whisk
Ingredients
- 1 pound elbow pasta or desired pasta
- 1 1/2 tbsp butter unsalted
- 1/3 cup yellow onion diced fine
- 1/4 cup celery diced fine
- 1/4 cup red bell pepper diced fine
- 1 tsp garlic finely minced
- 1 tbsp Old Bay season
- 1/4 pound Applewood bacon cooked crispy
- 1 pound crab meat drained
- 1 tbsp Italian flat leaf parsley finely minced
- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese finely grated
- 1/2 pound butter unsalted, melted
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1 quart heavy cream
- 2 cups seafood stock good quality
- 1 1/2 pounds smoked gouda cheese grated or cut in small cubes
- 1-2 cups Panko bread crumbs
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Cook bacon on sheet pan in oven until crisp. Drain and set aside. While you are preparing your vegetables, add water to a large stock pot, add salt and bring to a boil. Cook pasta as directed on box. Drain, cool and set aside. Melt butter in a large saute pan. Add the next 5 ingredients to a large saute pan and cook until tender. Remove from heat and allow to cool in pan.
- Add crab meat to a large bowl. Add cooled cooked vegetables to crab. Gently combine together.
- Add cooled, drained bacon to food processor. On pulse mode, gently pulse bacon to create crumbles. Add to crab mix.
- Add parsley and parmesan cheese to crab mix. Gently combine all ingredients in bowl and set aside.
- In a large sauce pot, completely melt butter on medium heat. Add the flour to create a roux. Gently cook the butter and flour until you smell a toasted nut smell. You do not want your roux to have any color. This is what is known as a blonde roux. Gently whisk in the seafood stock then the heavy cream. Continue whisking until fully incorporated. Your liquid will begin to absorb into the roux, thickening.
- Remove pot from heat and use immersion blender to combine any loose flour chunks in your bechamel sauce. Return pot to medium heat. Once fully incorporated, add your smoked gouda and let it begin to melt. Again, remove pot from heat and use immersion blender to incorporate any cheese chunks. Return pot to heat. Check sauce for consistently. It should resemble melted marshmallows. Add more stock or heavy cream if needed, fully incorporating. Once desired consistency has been reached, remove from heat and set aside. It is more than likely that you will end up with a surplus of cheese sauce. That's ok! Use it for plain mac-n-cheese for the kids or save it for later!
- Start with half of your cooked pasta. Add to crab mixture. Add bechamel cheese sauce. Mix all ingredients together gently. Gauge the combination. Add more cooked pasta if desired. For a richer, creamier texture, add less pasta.
- Your finished mixture should be smooth, creamy and super cheesy.
- Portion crab mixture into oven-safe bowls. Top with panko bread crumbs and place on a sheet pan for baking. Baked at 350 degrees F for 15-17 minutes, or just until panko becomes golden brown.
- Serve by itself or with a simple tossed green salad and sliced cherry tomatoes.
Notes
The key to success with this recipe is the bechamel cheese sauce. Since you will be heating this in the oven to create a golden panko crust, you want to have your Crabby, noodle-y goodness swimming in this sauce. Dried out mac-n-cheese is sad! Gauge your mixture by not using all the cooked noodles if it doesn't look gooey.
Enjoy!