My Mac n Cheese isn't creamy! ideas?

[melly]

So, I made the white sauce, added some warm milk, and then 3 kinds of cheese; sharp cheddar, montery jack, and romano. It just doesn't get really creamy. I poured it over the cooked and drained elbow mac..mixed it up. It's even sort of gritty-like.

WTF?

[lovemburton]

everytime we make it we use velveeta, vermont white cheddar and smoked gouda and it comes out so creamy last time it came out to creamy so i decided not to use velveeta instead i used cheddar, vermont white cheddar and gouda not smoked and it turned out awful just use the velveeta it just makes it so much creamier and if you get some good cheeses you wont really even notice the velveeta just use a small velveeta and not large.

[sugarsnapp]

do you make a roux and bake or some other method?

[NE_Elaine]

I use the Martha Stewart mac and cheese recipe on her web site and everyone seems to love it. I make it with sharp cheddar and swiss (gruyere if I can get it). She does say not to use extra-sharp cheddar, but I can't remember why.

[sugarsnapp]

what about the alton brown recipe with velveeta? has anyone tried it?

ss

[michele cindy]

It may not be "gourmet" but if I add a slice of processed cheese, like Borden's or Kraft to my mac and cheese, and this seems to make it creamy. It's such a small amount it doesn't really interfere with the taste.

[drmimi]

Must be a cultural thing-- I grew up with mac n cheese that was never creamy. Instead the kind you could cut into squares-- soul food style-- even my son prefers it this way (he has to wait for grandma or great aunt to make him some).

[mochi mochi]

Yum. I'm with you. That's the way my mac and cheese was growing up OR it was the blue box. So now my family prefers the uncreamy style of mac and cheese.

[foufou]

Add a can of reduced-sodium chicken broth to your roux for your cheese sauce. Will ensure moist mac n' cheese

[todao]

You don't indicate whether you're using natural or processed cheese in your mac-n-cheese. If you're using processed cheese - that could be the source of your problem.

[melly]

Thank you all for the great ideas. I tried again. I made the roux as directed here by Maria and followed Erika's advice about adding the romano to the top with bread crumbs. I used cream, as diablo suggested. After making the roux and adding the cream, I put the mixture in a double boiler and then added the cheese. I used extra sharp cheddar, colby jack, and a tiny bit of gorganzola. This time the sauce was smooth as silk! I used fusili corti for the pasta. I mixed it all up..saving some sauce for the top, as suggested. I added some shredded romano to the top. I didn't use breadcrumbs this time..but will next time. Everyone loved it! Oh, I had roasted some small sweet tomatoes in the oven with a bit of olive oil, salt and pepper. I was going to add those..but put some sauce on one to taste. Those sweet tomatoes overwhelmed the sauce! I served em on the side instead. Delicious. Thanks everyone..so much.

[walker]

This board helped me improve mine. I use Ina Garten's recipe (I omit the tomatoes) and I add 1/2 pkg or more chunks of Phily cream cheese (in addition to the gruyere, etc.) Also, cavatappi pasta is good, if you can find it. Comes out great every time.

[kkak97]

I just made this on Monday and it was great. First melt 1 stick butter and 1/2 cup flour in a large sauce pan and make a roux, in a seperate pan scald your whole milk. Add the milk to the roux while continually whisking. Whisk until thick and creamy. Take off heat and then add cheeses (guyere, cheedar, etc), s&p, and nutmeg. Add cooked macaroni and place in a 9x13 baking dish. Bake at 375 for 25 minutes. I also top mine with tomato slices and cooked diced bacon and occasionally add a diced jalapeno for some extra kick.

[Billow Fair]

greygarious among others nailed it. Velveeta and evaporated milk have stabilizers that help prevent cheese from 'breaking' and getting gritty. The cream and roux will also work if you lower your oven temp a little and don't overcook the mac. The water bath is also an attempt to lower the heat in the oven a little. If you're not using an egg and everything going into the mac is already cooked, just 30 minutes at 250 with a blast under the broiler for browning should do the trick (if if the mac isn't physically really thick.

[maria lorraine]

Sounds to me like you didn't make your bechemel/white sauce correctly.

You need to stablize the white sauce (bechemel) mixture before adding the cheese and other ingredients.Cook the roux (butter and flour) till it's turned an ivory color. (You need to cook the flour taste out.) It should smell nutty if you stick your nose close to it. I think it will take more like 5 minutes over medium-high heat. Then, gradually (meaning, ladle by ladle) add your *heated" milk in. Keep whisking and the mixture will thicken and become glossy. Only then is it time to add the grated cheese and other flavorings. The addition of a teeny amount of Colman's Hot Mustard (this is a powder) will add both flavor and kick, as well as act as an emulsifier so your sauce doesn't become grainy. It will be very creamy. You have to make enough, of course, to coat your macaroni, with a little extra to put on the top.

Please see this other thread on mac 'n' cheese:
http://www.chowhound.com/topics/387650

[Spends Rent on Food]

Maria is exactly right on this... sorry for chiming in late...I only just stumbled on this thread.

I spent countless hours last year trying to make the AB Baked Mac&cheese and found all my cheese clumping together. After some experiments I realized that my bechemel never 'stabilized' because it never got hot enough for long enough.

Ever since I fixed that I've now had consistently creamier/cheesier mac & cheese. Although I agree with others that if you want ultra creamy & cheesy use better melters: Fontina, Cheddar (not aged), gouda, jarlsberg, emmentaler. If you use these as a base, you can still add finely grate parmaggiano or Romano without risk of clumps.

[maplesugar]

I don't know how I missed this thread when it first started... I've been having the same problem lately with my cheese sauce for the mac 'n cheese I make the kids. I tried both of maria's suggestions, cooked the roux longer maybe 5 min on 4&1/2(medium) and heated the milk (2% this time) in the mic (less clean up) for 1 min on high and added the usual 1/2 cup cheddar cheese at the end. Well, for the first time in MONTHS my sauce came out smooth, not a bit of grit, and the leftovers are still smooth. Thank you Maria! :D

[stilton]

High moisture cheese will melt more smoothly than crumbly or aged cheese. Jack, mozza, fontina...

[Erika L]

Romano doesn't melt--it stays grainy. You might want to save that to sprinkle on top, mixed with some buttered bread crumbs, for crunch. Also, I've had good luck mixing the mac with the bechamel and then stirring in the cheese, then popping it in the oven (v. melting the cheese into the bechamel, then adding the mac). I haven't had any oil separation problems with this method.

[greygarious]

Cheese melts more smoothly in evaporated milk (from the can) than regular.

[Val]

Yep, Alton Brown's Mac and Cheese stovetop recipe use evaporated milk and an EGG! No roux...comes out awesome and creamy every time!

[Ruth Lafler]

Yup. I made this again last night, and it's so good. Really, really good. I just made it with odds and ends from my cheese drawer that included a bit of smoked Idiazabal, some gouda with truffles and a wedge of my favorite blue cheese that had gotten dried out (okay, I have to admit that the average price of these cheeses was well over $20/lb., but as I said, these were odds and ends, and the blue cheese was, sadly, no longer edible as it was). In the past I've made it with other flavored cheeses (horseradish cheddar, spiced cheddar) and that's always good, too. And it's easy: cook the macaroni, and while it's cooking, grate the cheese, measure out the other ingredients and then stir everything together. No roux, no fuss. If you want it crusty, spoon it into a baking dish (or some ramekins) and put it under the broiler for a couple of minutes.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/al...

[Kagey]

I second this recipe. Very good and nice and creamy (what the heck do you need roux in your mac and cheese for, anyway??).

Still, to the OP, I feel your pain. Even this recipe, which does come out very lovely and creamy, isn't going to give you the same result as Velveeta or Kraft. Sad but true. Then again, you may find a cheese combo that works for you. The Alton Brown recipe calls for 10oz of cheddar, but I have experimented with good results. Gruyere and Taleggio are particularly good.

[Ruth Lafler]

Yup. You can use any kind of cheese as long as it isn't really hard (like parmesan). I agree with the people who said that the original poster's mac and cheese was probably gritty because romano doesn't melt very well. I just grab odds and ends from my cheese drawer and plunk them on the scale until I have the right amount (usually 5 ounces, because I usually just make half a recipe). Flavored cheese can be exceptionally good. I think one of my favorites was when I used the harissa-flavored cheddar from Trader Joe's.

[Kagey]

Wow. Harissa flavored cheddar! You know, the AB recipe calls for some hot sauce. I bet I could add some of my harissa spice blend. That would be good! Thanks for the tip.

Also, I just remembered that a friend of mine uses Campbells cheese soup in her legendary mac & cheese. Hers is quite creamy. I can't get Campbell's here, and I'm not sure I'd use it even if I could, but it's just another suggestion for the OP.

[smartie]

some cheeses go gritty - the problem is I don't remember which! Though I think when I made one last time I used a ready grated 3 cheese mix and that went gritty.

[Mr Taster]

I remember hearing that orange cheddar is colored with a type of ground seed, which inherently imbues a grittiness to mac & cheese. Use white cheddar in order to maximize creaminess with cheddar.

Mr Taster

[Pampatz]

CI had a new recipe in their latest mag. They under cooked the pasta and made a thin bechamel. They tossed the hot pasta, sauce and grated cheese together, added a buttered bread crumb topping and baked for about 20-25 minutes at a high heat. Haven't tried it yet, but the emphasis was on creamy and cheesy without being gritty or stringy.

[MariaFeliz]

Yup, cream is best But you also have to bake it after you add all the ingredients. Also, bake it in the upper rack and put a pan of water in the rack below the dish you're baking.

[stephanieh]

I hear ya! I keep trying the "gourmet" recipes (even Delilah's 7- Cheese Mac n Cheese that's supposed to be Oprah's favorite). In the end, they're dry, grainy, or not flavorful enough and I end up throwing in some Velveeta to make it better. (Go ahead, call me a redneck, but I love me some Velveeta).

Other notes... I once used a jack cheese that had been in the freezer (don't usually freeze cheese, but we bought it, then had to leave town suddenly). That cheese didn't melt nicely at all and was grainy. Also, I have a sauce cookbook that lists cheeses that melt well and others that don't. I can't find it right now, maybe someone else knows. Seems like I've used all of those cheeses in mac n cheese before and they worked.

Was your recipe for a baked mac n cheese, or a stovetop? (I know you said you poured it over, but wasn't sure if you were putting it in the oven after). I think the baked mac n cheese recipes don't always go for creaminess, so that may be the problem.

Did you cook your roux a little to get rid of the flour-i-ness?

[melly]

I made the roux first, yes. I baked it after.

[monkeyrotica]

All the great soul food mac n cheese recipes use Velveeta as a base cheese, augmented by cheddar, american, jack, or what have you. Eggs are essential as well.

After having so many terrible "gourmet" mac n cheeses at hoity toity restaurants (burnt,dry gruyere; dessicated lobster; oily-as-hell Elmer's glue consistency), I've returned to a Velveeta/cheddar combo and never looked back.

[diablo]

Try using heavy cream. Not the healthiest choice, but it will definitely yeild the creamy results you are looking for...