Guinness Irish Lager Mac & Cheese

This is one of those recipes I tortured friends by making them be taste testers. HA! We all absolutely loved it! An odd thing about this recipe – when I reheated some the next day, the different flavors came through far more than the day I made it. Consider letting it set overnight before baking.

Ingredients

16 oz pasta (macaroni, small shells, etc)

22 oz Guinness Irish Lager

4 Tbs Irish butter + 2 Tbs for topping

½ cup finely chopped shallots

3 Tbs flour

½ tsp ground black pepper

1 tsp kosher or sea salt

1/8 tsp ground cayenne pepper

2 ½ cups whole milk

1 ¾ cups half and half

½ cup Guinness or stout

8 oz shredded white American cheese

8 oz shredded Irish cheddar cheese

4 oz shredded smoked gouda

½ cup panko bread crumbs

Directions

Cook pasta according to package directions, replacing 22 oz of the water with Guinness Irish Lager. In a large saucepan, sauté shallots in 4 Tbs of butter until they are tender. Stir in flour, peppers & salt. Stir for 30 to 60 seconds, cooking out flour flavor. Add milk and half & half. Heat until slightly thickened, stirring/whisking constantly. Add Guinness/stout, heat to a simmer. Turn off heat. Slowly add cheeses, stirring until all melted. Stir in pasta, until pasta is coated. Pour into large baking dish. Melt butter and pour over breadcrumbs & stir. Cover pasta mixture. Bake at 350 for 25 to 30 minutes. Sláinte mhait!

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