12 servings
YouTube instructional video is at the bottom
What you’ll need
1 pound Crawfish tails
1 pound Elbow macaroni
2 packages Extra sharp cheddar cheese
1 package Monterrey jack cheese
Shredded parmesan cheese
Sour cream (Room temp)
Evaporated milk
Salted butter
Seasonings
Salt
Black pepper
Onion powder
Garlic powder
Crab boil or Tony Chachere’s Creole seasoning
Tools you’ll need
Standard 9 x 13 inch glass or metal pan
Cheese Shredder
Preparation of ingredients
Cheeses
Step 1- Shred 2 packages extra sharp cheddar cheese and 1 package Monterrey jack cheese. Reserve 1 cup of the shredded extra sharp cheddar cheese for the topping.
Macaroni
Preheat fire to medium high heat
Step 2- Add 2 1/2 to 3 quarts water and 2 teaspoons salt into a large pot. Stir and let come to a simmer. Add 1 pound elbow macaroni and stir. Let simmer for 8 to 10 minutes. Turn fire off and add mixture into a strainer. Let macaroni sit in strainer until cooled.
Cheese sauce
Preheat fire to medium low heat
Note- If you don’t have the Zatarain’s crab boil. Add 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and 1 teaspoon Tony Chachere’s creole seasoning.
Step 3-Add 1 cup evaporated milk, 1/4 cup sour cream (Room temp), 6 tablespoons melted salted butter, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon Zatarains crab boil, 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, 1 teaspoon onion powder, and 1 teaspoon garlic powder into a medium sized pot. Stir until combined. Add Shredded extra sharp cheddar cheese, Monterrey jack cheese and 2 ounces parmesan cheese. Stir continuously for 5 to 7 minutes or until cheese melts into milk mixture. Add crawfish tails and stir until combined. Once done turn fire on stove down to lowest setting and stir every few minutes. The cheese sauce will be thick when it first melts, but it will thin out once it’s brought up to temperature.
Step 4- Lightly butter bottom and sides of baking dish. Add cooked elbow macaroni into a large pot and pour cheese sauce on top. Stir until combined.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees
Step 5- Add macaroni and cheese mixture into baking pan and spread around evenly in pan. Sprinkle 1 cup shredded extra sharp cheddar cheese and 2 ounces shredded parmesan cheese.
Step 6- Place into preheated 400 degree oven for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes remove pan from oven and set oven broiler to high. Add pan into broiler part of oven and let sit for 30 seconds. Once done, remove out of oven. Let cool for 30 minutes to and hour before serving.
Notes- Careful when adding the glass pan into broiler part of oven. Let it sit for no longer than 30 seconds. Allow macaroni and cheese mixture to cool so flavors can settle and increase. You shouldn’t have any problems with cheese sauce evaporating. If so you can increase the amount of evaporated milk and sour cream. You can also reduce the baking time by 5 minutes.
YouTube instructional video
