Smoked Mac and Cheese

By Leite's Culinaria

Ingredients

3 tablespoons (1 1/2 oz) unsalted butter
1 cup cottage cheese (preferably full fat)
1/2 cup ricotta cheese (preferably full fat)
2 cups whole milk
2 cups canned chicken broth or homemade chicken stock
1 tablespoon ground mustard
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 tablespoon store-bought or homemade hot sauce
1 1/2 pounds Cheddar cheese (shredded)
1 pound small pasta (such as elbows, shells or bowties)

Prep Time15mins
Cook Time70mins
Servings6

Instructions

Preheat your smoker or grill to 400°F (204°C), using pellets or a smoke pouch, if desired. Coat the bottom and sides of a grill-proof baking dish or cast-iron skillet with 1 tablespoon butter.

In a large blender or food processor, combine the cottage cheese, ricotta cheese, milk, chicken broth, ground mustard, garlic powder, onion powder, and hot sauce. Blend it on high until smooth and frothy, about 30 seconds. Stir in the shredded cheese and blend again briefly just to incorporate. TESTER TIP: If your blender can't hold the full volume of the sauce ingredients, prepare two batches of the sauce, using half the ingredients in each batch.

In a large bowl, combine the dry pasta and sauce and mix gently. Pour into the prepared dish. Alternatively, the pasta and sauce can be mixed directly in the prepared dish. Spread evenly in the dish and cover tightly with aluminum foil.

Bake in your preheated grill for 45 minutes, rotating the dish and stirring the contents once after 30 minutes. Continue cooking and check the pasta for doneness every 15 minutes until it is al dente, about 1 hour total. Stir the mixture if parts look dry or the pasta has popped out of the sauce.

When the pasta is al dente, remove the foil cover, arrange bits of the remaining 2 tablespoons (28 g) of butter on top of pasta and return the baking dish to the grill, uncovered, until bubbly and golden, 8 to 10 minutes more. Serve immediately.