1 Video | Photo: Bacon Burger Mac 'n' Cheese Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds hollow cavatappi pasta
- Salt
- 1 tablespoon EVOO
- 12 ounces smoky bacon (12 slices), chopped
- 1 1/2 pounds ground beef sirloin
- Coarse black pepper
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 1/2 cup beef stock
- 3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 6 tablespoons butter
- 5 tablespoons flour
- 3 cups milk
- 4 cups shredded yellow Cheddar
- 1/3 cup organic ketchup, plus some for garnish
- 1/3 cup yellow mustard, plus some for garnish
- 2 tablespoons pickle relish, plus some for garnish
- 1 tablespoon hot sauce
Toppings:
- Chopped iceberg lettuce
- Diced tomatoes
- Chopped raw white or red onions
- Bread and butter pickle chips
Directions
Bring a large pot of water to a boil for the pasta. Salt the water and cook the pasta shy of al dente, 5 to 6 minutes.
While the water comes to a boil, heat the EVOO in a Dutch oven or deep skillet over medium-high heat. Add the bacon and crisp. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon and remove some of the drippings, leaving a thin layer. Add the beef, brown and crumble, but leave a few larger pieces. Season with salt and pepper. Once the beef has caramelized, add the onions and cook to tender. Add the stock and Worcestershire, then reduce the heat to low.
In a saucepot over medium to medium-high heat, melt the butter. Whisk in the flour, cook 1 minute. Whisk in the milk and season with salt and pepper. Thicken to coat the back of a spoon. Stir in the cheese. When the cheese has melted into the sauce, stir in the mustard, ketchup, relish and hot sauce. Combine the pasta with the sauce and fold in the meat. Place in a large casserole dish. Cool and store for a make-ahead meal.
To serve, preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Bring the casserole to room temp then bake until brown and bubbly on top and golden at edges, 45 to 50 minutes.
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By Mama_the_Home Chef
Mechanicsburg, PA
on February 08, 2013
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I made this for dinner tonight and it was very good. My 13 yr old son and his friend loved it. It really did taste like a bacon cheeseburger. The only change I will make next time is draining off all of the bacon fat before adding the meat, it ended up just a little too greasy for my taste, but other than that, perfect recipe as is.
By LarissaH
Minneapolis, MN
on December 16, 2012
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One of our good friend's favorite foods is Bacon Cheeseburgers. When I saw this recipe I thought I would try it when they next came over for dinner. Last night was the night. It passed the test, although I thought it was more suited for a game day meal as indicated in the episode. Everyone thought it was good and it really did taste like a bacon cheeseburger. It made a TON of food though and we have lots leftover, even with two big eaters.
By crystalrp
Skowhegan, ME
on October 17, 2012
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I totally expected us all to love this recipe and am very surprised that we didn't! Perhaps the pound and a half of pasta was too much for the amount of cheese sauce. It was too much pasta to even fit into the largest casserole dish I have! It did seem odd to have little bits of relish running through it. I am not sure why we didn't like it, but I won't be making this one again.
Read all 5 reviews