Ingredients:
1 Box (16 oz) uncooked pasta
1/4 c Salted Butter
1/4 c flour
20 oz cheese (I like Jack and Cheddar, but smoked Gouda is really good, as is Colby)
2 c Buttermilk (regular milk or heavy cream also work, but I love the flavor of buttermilk)
4 Beer Brats
10-15 Ritz crackers
Salt and Pepper to taste
Step 1: Bring a stockpot of water to a boil with a pinch of salt to cook the noodles.
Meanwhile...
Step 2: Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Step 3: Place cold butter and flour in a cold saucepan. Bring the heat up to a medium temperature, slowly melting the butter and mixing frequently to create a paste with the butter and flour. This is the roux and base for your cheese sauce. This should be stirred and cooked until the roux begins to smell like peanuts, or for about 3-4 minutes once the butter is completely mixed with the flour.
Step 4: Slowly add the milk to your roux. At first, the cold milk will cause the roux to thicken quickly and it may look "curdled," but don't worry, it will smooth itself out! Keep adding the milk a little at a time until it has all mixed in. Cook over low to medium heat until the mixture is warm.
Step 5: Pour noodles into boiling water. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the pasta is just underdone. It should still have a bit of a bite to it, as it will cook a bit more once it is mixed with the cheese sauce and you don't want it to all fall apart! Drain the noodles and set them aside. No need to rinse or add oil.
Step 6: Cook your brats. I usually put them in my toaster oven on 350 and bake them for about 10 minutes, but you could grill them or boil them as well. I'm sure microwaving is also an option, although I've never tried it for brats.
While you are waiting for that...
Step 7: Shred about 2/3 of your cheese, or chop it into small pieces. Slowly add this cheese to the sauce, while continuing to stir frequently. Add salt and pepper to taste. I usually do about 2T salt and 1T black pepper or 1-1/2T white pepper, but a sharper cheese will require less salt and a smokier cheese won't need so much pepper.
Step 8: Once you have a smooth cheese sauce mixture, take the sauce off the heat. Pour about 1/3 of the sauce into the noodles and mix well. This will coat all of the noodles and keep them from sticking together while cooking.
Step 9: Cut your cooked brats into rounds or even smaller bite-sized pieces and mix into the noodle mixture.
Step 10: Pour all of the noodle mixture into a 9x13 casserole dish. If you don't have one of these, the larger bowl-style casserole baking dishes work well too. I recommend ceramic or glass, as I never seem to get quite as good results from metal dishes.
Step 11: Evenly pour the remaining cheese sauce over the noodles in the casserole dish. You may need to use a spatula to distribute the cheese sauce over the top.
Step 12: Cover with foil and bake for about 15 minutes.
Meanwhile...
Step 13: Crush the ritz crackers into a mixing bowl. You can use a food processor if you have one, or just use your hands. Shred and add the remaining cheeses to the crushed crackers. Mix these together well, using a fork, your hands or a food processor. Add a pinch each of salt and pepper for a little added flavor.
Step 14: Remove the casserole dish from the oven and remove the foil. Top entire dish with cheese/cracker mixture to form a "top crust." Leaving the dish uncovered, bake for another 15 minutes or until the crust browns (I like crispy mac n cheese edges so I bake for about 20 minutes. The cheese will melt in about 10.).
Step 15: I know it is difficult, but remove the dish from the oven and let it set for about 15 minutes. This will make it much easier to scoop and I think it seems to make the top crustier. Enjoy!
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