[Recipe] Mac and Cheese Cook-off: Oktoberfest Mac, Attempt #1

When KiKi first asked me to enter the Mac 'n' Cheese Cookoff with her, my feelings were tentative, lukewarm at best.  But, unsurprisingly, as time went on, I became increasingly competitive, and now I've become a little obsessed with winning.  Last year, KiKi and Junglecat J lost second place by just one vote, mainly because none of their friends (yours truly included) showed up to the event.  (In my defense, I did try to go, but my talent for getting hopelessly lost interfered, and I never made it.)

Given that I want to win, I started to get anxious that our Fall-tastic Mac—with pumpkin and brussels sprouts, two ingredients that are sadly less than universally popular—would be offputting to enough people as to jeopardize our chances for the mac 'n' cheese trophy I desperately want to display in my office.

And that's how Oktoberfest Mac* was born.  Oktoberfest Mac is beer cheese, macaroni, bratwurst with onions (the traditional way), and a topping of crumbled bacon and homemade pretzel roll croutons.  Basically, everything American, Oktoberfest, and football in one cheesy dish.  What's not to love?
* A special thank-you and shout-out to MiMi, who named this for us.

There are three major components to this mac 'n' cheese as well: the beer cheese, the bratwurst with onions, and the topping of crumbled bacon and homemade pretzel roll croutons.

Oktoberfest Mac - Iteration #1
an original recipe by tammiest (the Passionfruit Fashionista)

First, the Bratwurst with Onions:

Bratwurst is a natural choice/pairing for beer cheese, pretzels, and bacon.  This is both a good and bad thing, as our tastetesters made clear to us.  It just isn't nearly as flavorful as anything else in Oktoberfest Mac and apparently felt like a "throwaway" ingredient.  This does kind of make sense, though—I love brats, but part of the experience is definitely in the pile of condiments and not the sausage itself.  Chorizo it is not.*
* Our friend Hotpants Radio Miami ("HRM" for short) suggested swapping the bratwurst out for chorizo—which would definitely give it an extra kick—but then we couldn't in good conscience really call it an Oktoberfest Mac, could we?

Ingredients
4 bratwurst sausages
3 bottles amber ale
3 cups beef stock
2 sweet Vidalia onions, thinly sliced
2-3 tablespoons butter
kosher salt and pepper

Directions
1.  Pour the 3 bottles of amber ale and the 3 cups of beef stock into a large pot and bring to a boil.
2.  Once the liquid mixture in the pot is at a boil, drop in the thinly sliced onions and the bratwurst, still in its casing.
3.  Cook the bratwurst for the recommended cooking time (as indicated on the packaging and depending on whether the bratwurst is pre-cooked), then remove from the pot.  Allow the bratwurst to cool before thinly slicing.

4.  In a new pan, melt 2-3 tablespoons of butter.  Scoop the onions out of the beer and stock mixture and caramelize in the new pan by heating over medium-high heat and stirring occasionally.  Season with a generous amount of salt and pepper.  Cook until brown, roughly 20-30 minutes.

Second, the Beer Cheese:

It's really surprising to me the number of people who have never had or even heard of beer cheese before.  It's such a football staple!  And if it isn't yet a football staple, it will clearly have to become one, at least at any football viewing I attend—along with the homemade pretzel rolls also featured in Oktoberfest Mac (entry here).

This cheese is crazy good.  You can really taste the ale, and the mustard and cayenne give it a nice kick.  And it's not terribly difficult to make, which means I really can make it (with a few modifications, which I'll certainly blog about) for future football viewings.

Ingredients
6 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup flour
1 bottle amber ale
2-1/2 cups whole milk
kosher salt and pepper to taste
(at least) 1 teaspoon mustard power
(at least) 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 lb. elbow macaroni
10-14 oz. sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
5 oz. fontina cheese, shredded

Directions
1.  In a medium-sized pot or saucepan, melt and brown the butter over medium-high heat.  This is a process that takes longer than mere melting (and so you'll have to watch the stove), but it gives the butter (and consequently whatever you're making) a deeper, complex, almost nutty flavor.  You want to melt the butter past its melting point—it will start to foam before it subsides and begins to brown.
2.  Once the butter has just begun to brown, add the flour slowly, 1 tablespoon at a time, stirring and combining completely before adding each new tablespoon of flour.  This roux mixture should brown up as well (but, again, watch to make sure it doesn't overbrown or begin to blacken).
3.  Once the roux is finished and has cooked, fully mixed, for a few minutes, add the beer.  We used Yeungling Amber, but any amber ale will do.
4.  Once the beer has been fully incorporated with the roux, begin adding the whole milk in 3/4-cup increments.  Make sure to stir and combine completely, as well as bring almost to a boil, in between increments.
5.  Season to taste with the salt, pepper, mustard powder, and cayenne pepper.
6.  Let the bechamel simmer (not boil) to thicken the sauce.
7.  While the bechamel is simmering, fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil.  Once the water comes to a boil, add a generous amount of salt and then the pasta.  Boil pasta for 10 to 12 minutes or until al dente, stirring occasionally.  Drain pasta and set aside.
8.  Add the cheese to the drained pasta.  Combine well.
9.  Turn off the heat on the bechamel and pour it into and over the pasta and cheese mixture.  Combine well.

Third, the Crumbled Bacon and Homemade Pretzel Roll Croutons: 

Confession: I've been obsessed with the homemade pretzel roll croutons ever since I first conceived of them.  I made the pretzel rolls themselves a day before I made them into croutons—and made extra, obviously, so KiKi and I could serve them whole to our guests.  We also initially planned to make up our own honey mustard butter, but we ran out of time.  We'll have to experiment in the future.

These pretzel rolls were so good they deserve their own post.

Once the pretzel rolls are ready, break 4 of them into 1/4-inch pieces.  These will be used for the topping, described below.

As for the crumbled bacon, heat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit on broil.  They should take 15-20 minutes to brown up.  You don't want it to be too crispy, though—they'll continue baking with the mac 'n' cheese.

Finally, combine for Oktoberfest Mac:

Kiki likes toppings on her mac, and she likes to bake and broil them in the oven.  I have to admit that I concur on this method, as it melts the cheese in a very lovely way and brings all the flavors together.

Additional Ingredients
4 oz. fontina cheese, grated

Directions
1.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
2.  Add the sliced bratwurst and the caramelized onions to the mac 'n' cheese mixture and combine well.

2.  Pour the combined mac 'n' cheese into a large baking pan.
3.  Sprinkle croutons made from 4 pretzel rolls, the bacon crumble from 8 strips of bacon, and 4 oz. of freshly grated fontina cheese liberally on top of the mac 'n' cheese.

4.  Bake the mac 'n' cheese in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes.  This should be enough time for the bacon to crisp up, but you can also broil for the last 5 minutes.

The Verdict

KiKi and I had 8 of our friends over to my apartment for a tastetest dinner party on Sunday.  Reviews were generally positive, especially for the cheese, but every one of our friends (except one) preferred Fall-tastic Mac to Oktoberfest Mac.  The most cited reason has already been mentioned: the bratwurst seems like a bit of a throwaway ingredient, and I guess I'd have to agree.  We didn't really have to do much to it, and it kind of gets lost amongst all the other ingredients.

My biggest personal disappointment was in the pretzel roll croutons, which weren't as amazing in the Oktoberfest Mac as they are all by themselves.  Next time we could toast the pretzel rolls a bit beforehand so they also crisp up, but the reason we didn't do that in the first place is that I was worried they would lose their texture.

Ultimately, Oktoberfest Mac is losing out to Fall-tastic Mac, despite being created specifically to appeal to the "everyman."  In the words of our friend Caryn, "Think of your audience.  Who do you think is going to this Cookoff?  Probably hipsters and other types of people who love pumpkin and brussels sprouts."

Touche.

But it doesn't mean that I won't be improving on this recipe and bringing it to a house party near you.