Honey BBQ Chicken Mac and Cheese
Equipment
Ingredients
Pasta
large elbow macaroni
680 g
Cheese Sauce
unsalted butter
113 g
chili powder
2 g
paprika
2 g
garlic powder
3 g
evaporated milk
340 g
heavy cream
227 g
milk
227 g
pepper colby jack cheese (shredded)
227 g
gouda cheese (shredded)
227 g
sharp cheddar cheese (shredded)
283 g
salt
5 g
Layering Cheese
pepper colby jack cheese (shredded)
227 g
sharp cheddar cheese (shredded)
227 g
Chicken
chicken thighs (cubed)
907 g
buttermilk
480 ml
hot sauce
30 ml
garlic powder
3 g
chili powder
2 g
paprika
2 g
all-purpose flour
188 g
panko breadcrumbs
50 g
Honey BBQ Sauce
ketchup
120 ml
brown sugar
50 g
apple cider vinegar
15 ml
worcestershire sauce
15 ml
hot sauce
30 ml
honey
4 ml
cold unsalted butter (cold)
42 g
Instructions
Cook the pasta
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the elbow macaroni until al dente.
Make the cheese sauce
Melt butter in a large pan, add spices, then gradually whisk in evaporated milk, cream and milk until smooth.
Add cheese to sauce
Gradually add the shredded cheeses to the sauce, stirring until completely melted and smooth. Season with salt.
Marinate the chicken
Combine cubed chicken thighs with buttermilk, hot sauce, and spices. Let marinate for 30 minutes.
Bread the chicken
Mix flour with spices. Dredge marinated chicken in flour, then panko breadcrumbs.
Fry the chicken
Heat oil in a pan and fry the breaded chicken pieces until golden and cooked through.
Make the honey BBQ sauce
Combine all sauce ingredients in a small pan and heat until butter melts and sauce thickens.
Toss chicken in BBQ sauce
Add fried chicken to the BBQ sauce and toss to coat evenly.
Assemble the mac and cheese
Combine cooked pasta with cheese sauce. Layer half in a baking dish, add half the layering cheese, remaining pasta, then remaining layering cheese.
Bake the mac and cheese
Bake in a preheated oven until the cheese is melted and bubbly on top.
Top with BBQ chicken
Remove from oven and top with the honey BBQ chicken pieces. Serve hot.
Original recipe
Storage
Store chicken and pasta separately for best texture. Reheat sauce gently to prevent separation.
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