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Beecher's Handmade Cheese
A real beauty: Beecher's Handmade Cheese sells the "World's Best Mac & Cheese".
I’m an aspiring mac 'n cheese critic – as in, I eat a lot of it and post too many photos of the comfort food on the TODAY Tumblr. Earlier this fall, I made the noble effort to try every single well-reviewed mac 'n cheese in New York City, and throughout my calorie-packed adventure, there was one clear winner: Beecher’s Handmade Cheese. The cult favorite artisan cheese-maker and restaurant boasts the “World's Best Mac & Cheese” (that’s the actual name of the dish; subtle, right?), which is a perfectly creamy and chewy masterpiece. Though I have yet to taste all the world’s cheesy delicacies (saving that for my honeymoon), I can say it’s likely not an exaggeration.
To celebrate National Cheese Lovers Day, I caught up with Kurt Beecher Dammeier, the founder and owner of Beecher's Handmade Cheese, who was kind enough to share tips on preparing the ultimate mac ‘n cheese and give away his secret recipe.
Choosing the pasta style
“Pasta style is a pretty individual choice. Some people really are Kraft traditionalists and demand elbow macaroni. We like penne or it's slightly larger brother pennoni. If I am making a seafood mac, I may go with a shell.”
Cooking the pasta
“The key is to undercook the pasta prior to adding it to the cheese sauce, so it still has a faint crunch if you bite it. The rest of the cooking happens in the sauce.”
Choosing cheeses
“The basics are a smooth semi-soft cheese combined with a sharper, more flavorful semi-hard cheese. We use Beecher's 'Just Jack' and our 'Flagship.' Lots of fancy restaurants actually use Velveeta which isn't really even a cheese but is good for melting. I wouldn't use the rinds of anything that has any bitterness. Washed rind cheese can really add complexity. One of my favorites is Reblochon.”
Making the sauce
“Most are just a basic mornay sauce, where you make a roux of butter and flour, add milk and then cheese. Too much heat is the enemy of a cheese sauce and can make it break.”
Buttering the dish
“I actually like to spray it in the fiction that I am saving calories.”
Topping the dish
“We just top with more cheese! (No cowbell). Many people like breadcrumbs. I also like a little paprika or chili powder sprinkled on top for color.”
Cooking the mac ‘n cheese
"I like to get some browning on top. May even give it a shot under the broiler to finish."
Presentation
"Serve with a flank steak and arugula salad."
Ready to get your hands cheesy? Behold, the secret to Beecher's success:
Beecher's World's Best Mac & Cheese
Serves 8 as a side dish
- 15 ounces penne pasta
- Beecher’s Flagship Sauce (recipe follows)
- 2 ounces (1/2 cup) Beecher’s Flagship cheese (or cheddar cheese), grated
- 2 ounces (1/2 cup) Beecher’s Just Jack cheese (or gruyere cheese), grated
- ½ teaspoon chipotle chili powder
Directions: Preheat the oven to 350˚F.
Cook the penne 2 minutes less than package directions. (It will finish cooking in the oven.) Rinse the pasta in cold water and set aside.
Combine the cooked pasta and Flagship sauce in a medium bowl and mix carefully but thoroughly. Scrape the pasta into an 9x13-inch baking dish. Sprinkle the top with the cheese and then the chili powder.
Bake, uncovered, for 30 minutes. Let the mac and cheese sit for 5 minutes before serving.
Beecher's Flagship cheese sauce
Makes about 4 cups
- ¼ cup unsalted butter (½ stick)
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 3 cups milk
- 14 ounces Beecher’s Flagship cheese (or cheddar cheese), grated (about 3 1/2 cups)
- 2 ounces Beecher’s Just Jack cheese (or gruyere cheese), grated (1/2 cup)
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ to ½ teaspoon chipotle chili powder
- 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
Directions: Melt the butter in a heavy bottomed saucepan over medium heat and whisk in the flour. Continue whisking and cook for 2 minutes.
Slowly add the milk, whisking constantly. Cook until the sauce thickens, about 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove from the heat.
Add the cheese, salt, chili powder and garlic powder. Stir until the cheese is melted and all ingredients are incorporated, about 3 minutes. Use immediately or refrigerate for up to 3 days.
Too lazy to make your own? (I hear ya.) No worries: you can order your own frozen “World’s Best Mac & Cheese” at Beecher’s online. And tell us, where is your favorite place to get mac 'n cheese?
Rina Raphael is a TODAY.com editor who admittedly has a gouda addiction.
Leave a Comment:
Beechers Mac & Cheese is the best.........from right here in the Pacific Northwest.
Beechers at Pike Place Market - Seattle, Wa.
Great place to visit.
This mac & cheese sounds delicious!
Check out the best Mac & Cheese in the midwest at Clarkston Union Bar and Kitchen
in Clarkston, Michigan! They also offer it with either ham or lobster. Yummy!
Oh yes. Yummy. The Mac 'n Cheese at Clarkston's Union Bar is wonderful. But if you haven't tried it at the Uptown Grill in Commerce you're missing out.
Zingerman's (Ann Arbor) still the best restaurant mac n' cheese.
As for home, I like to add a small wedge of Port Salut along with the Monterrey Jack and Cheddar.
The next time we get to Mich. (Highland) we'll be sure to get to one of the restaurants mentioned. Mac & cheese is one of our favorites and we're always looking for the best recipes to try to replicate at home. It never tastes quite the same though. LOL
Not to brag, but I make delicious mac & cheese. Roux with sharp cheddar, monterey jack/muenster, parmesan/romano, swiss, and some American (real American cheese, not 'cheese food') for texture. Then usually smoked gouda (rind removed) and/or bleu. Mustard powder, cayenne, salt & pepper. I use radiatore or rotini, and I like to cook it til it's soft. Half the cheese goes in the roux, half in the cooked pasta before the roux gets stirred in. Top with breadcrumbs and a little more parm, and--here's the kicker--fresh bacon crumbles. Bake, then garnish with my friend's homemade hot sauce and chopped scallions.
"real American cheese, not 'cheese food'.......................
The definition of American cheese is processed cheese food and there is no such thing as American Cheese that is actually cheese. It would be fascinating to learn how it is you use something that doesn't exist.
Maybe so, Chilly Willy -- but I'm with Jenny -- the "pasteurized process American cheese food" that comes in packages of individually wrapped slices can't hold a candle to the "Land o' Lakes American deli cheese product" that comes in 10-slice packages or ordered from the deli.
Whether or not you think it exists, it tastes light years better than the other stuff; there are a few places where it is precisely the right thing -- with salami, on cheeseburgers, in eggs or as part of mac'n'cheese.
Mr. Willy: why so sarcastic? "It would be fascinating to learn how it is you use something that doesn't exist." If you think there's no difference between 'American cheese' and 'American process cheese food', why not just say so? And no, I'm not being sarcastic in return. I genuinely want to know why you phrased it like that. It's not like I said something nasty directed at you. So what if I'm wrong about American cheese vs. American process cheese food? Wouldn't be the first time I've been wrong, won't be the last. Why the condescension?
Oh, and Mr. Willy, if you go to the Wikipedia entry for 'American cheese' and scroll down to the 'Legal definition' section, it explains the technical and legal distinctions among 'process cheese', 'process cheese food', and 'process cheese spread'. It doesn't offer an opinion as to which is better in macaroni and cheese, though. ;) Of course, Wikipedia is not necessarily the last word on this. I'm open to new information.
On one of the Food Network's "Best Thing I've Ever Ate" episodes, they had Mac n' Cheese .... and the "best thing they ever ate" was made with American cheese. They were shocked to find out ......
Damn you to Hell , Kurt Beecher Dammeier !!!!!! There goes my Diet !!!!
LOL!!
My daughter took a nutrition class in college, and brought home a wonderful mac and cheese recipe using 4 different cheeses. We modify it every time we make it. Sometimes we use smoked gouda. Sometimes we use fontina. It comes out different every time. We love it!
Beecher's Mac & Cheese is good, but I have to give the edge to Cucina Fresca (). The Smoked Gruyere version is my personal favorite. They're also in the Seattle area.
“Most are just a basic moray sauce..." It's morNAY...
Isnt moray a big mean eel?
Mmmmmm .... Eel sauce!!!! *drool*
LOL, I'm sure the author mean to say "mornay sauce", your basic bechamel sauce, to which cheese has been added. MORAY is a type of "eel"
Mr. Willy: why so sarcastic? "It would be fascinating to learn how it is you use something that doesn't exist." If you think there's no difference between 'American cheese' and 'American process cheese food', why not just say so? And no, I'm not being sarcastic in return. I genuinely want to know why you phrased it like that. It's not like I said something nasty directed at you. So what if I'm wrong about American cheese vs. American process cheese food? Wouldn't be the first time I've been wrong, won't be the last. Why the condescension?
Oh, and Mr. Willy, if you go to the Wikipedia entry for 'American cheese' and scroll down to the 'Legal definition' section, it explains the technical and legal distinctions among 'process cheese', 'process cheese food', and 'process cheese spread'. It doesn't offer an opinion as to which is better in macaroni and cheese, though. ;) Of course, Wikipedia is not necessarily the last word on this. I'm open to new information.
How many eels do I need for the "moray" sauce?
I wouldn't eat this no matter what kind of cheese is used! Haven't any of you read "Wheat Belly"? Educate yourselves as to what you are really putting into your bodies whenever you eat anything containing wheat.
Cheesy delicacies on your honeymoon? Fromunda?
Good old Kraft works for me.
Agreed!
After having eaten this mac and cheese recipe twice in the last couple of days (once was leftovers), I can say this is a "don't need to make it again", recipe.
Besides the exotic aroma (read smelly cheese funk), it just wasn't very good.
When I make mac and cheese I just put grated cheddar (or some other cheese) right in the noodles and then mix in different things such as artichoke hearts, olives, sauteed garlic, olive oil, or tomatoes, etc. I once made mac and cheese with the roux first and my husband told me of all the things I've ever cooked in our 30 years of marriage, that was one he did not like and asked me not to make it again. So why the roux? Why not just the cheese? Try it without the roux. It's more delicious.
I don't think I've ever had good restaurant mac & cheese. The very best mac & cheese is made by me, homemade :) The last time I tried Tillamook cheddar because the cabot wasn't melting as well as I liked, and oh... YUM! Perfection!
Pick whichever recipe works best for you, mine is similar to the one in the article. For special occasions, try adding some cooked shrimp or lobster (you don't need very much, just cut into small pieces). Wow, what a treat!
Where do you get Beecher's cheese? I've never seen it anywhere.
This looks so yummy!
We use home-smoked cheeses and some spicy reindeer sausage from Indian Valley in Alaska - with monterey jack or oxuacan (I hope I spelled that right) to add smoothness, preferably with penne. sooo tasty!