Mild and creamy mac and cheese with candied whiskey bacon and buttered breadcrumbs; it’s the ultimate indulgent comfort food!

Ingredients: Jack Mac

  • 1 pound of tubular macaroni
  • 4 Tbsp unsalted butter, plus more to butter your pan(s)
  • ¼ cup flour
  • 3 cups milk, warmed (the type of milk will impact the creaminess of your mac)
  • 1 Tbsp whiskey (or bourbon); I prefer Gentleman Jack Daniels
  • 2 ½ cups sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
  • 2 ½ cups Gouda cheese, shredded
  • ½ tsp dry mustard
  • ½ – 1 tsp kosher salt (to taste)
  • ½ – 1 tsp pepper (to taste)

Ingredients: Candied Whiskey Bacon

  • 8 pieces bacon (2/3 package)
  • ½ cup whiskey
  • 1 cup dark brown sugar, divided
  • ½ – 1 tsp cayenne pepper (to taste)

*I used ¼ tsp in each part of the recipe; so, I used ½ tsp total

Ingredients: Bread Crumb Topping (Optional but Highly Recommended)

  • 4 Tbsp unsalted butter
  • 1 ½ cups Italian breadcrumbs

Tools & Timing

  • Large baking dish (3-quart recommended; or various baking ramekins
  • Medium frying pan (if making breadcrumbs)
  • 2 cookie sheets
  • Parchment or wax paper
  • Aluminum foil
  • Small and large pots
  • Colander for draining pasta
  • Glass microwaveable 3-cup container (or additional pot)
  • Wooden spoon
  • Heat proof whisk
  • 2 Medium prep dishes
  • Tongs
  • Measuring cups and spoons
  • Timing: 45-50 minutes
  • Yield: about 8 cups of macaroni and cheese

Background

Years ago, I wanted to try making chocolate chips cookies that had bacon in them. The cookies were yummy…but it was the candied bacon that stuck with me. Since then, candied bacon has made it onto dark chocolate cupcakes (so good) and into macaroni and cheese.

Now, I have fun experimenting with adding this Candied Whiskey Bacon to various dishes and desserts!

This recipe is a hodgepodge of various recipes I have used over the years to create different types of candied bacon….and the mac and cheese is based up a recipe from Rick Rodger’s Comfortfood: warm and homey, rich and hearty with a few tweaks and additions of my own.

Step-by-step

  1. Fill large pot with water and turn burner to high.
  2. Check cook time on your choice of pasta – you want your pasta to be a bit firm since it will continue to cook in the oven after you boil it – often, boil for 1 minute less than the package recommends (but check for pasta to be al dente).
  3. Butter baking dish(es) and set aside.
  4. Preheat oven to 350 and line a baking sheet with foil. Cover another cookie sheet with wax or parchment paper and place a cooling rack on top.
  5. Measure ½ cup of your brown sugar, packing it, and ½ of your cayenne pepper into a bowl. Whisk them together and set aside.
  6. Measure another ½ cup of packed dark brown sugar WITHOUT PACKING IT and the rest of your cayenne pepper into a small pot. Add your whiskey. Set it on the burner and turn heat to medium high.
  7. Bring your whiskey mixture to a boil, whisking occasionally (this happens in about a minute). Once mixture boils, reduce heat to medium.
  8. Simmer for 3 minutes, whisking occasionally, so the mixture can reduce (concentrating our lovely flavors). After 3 minutes, remove from heat.
  9. Using tongs, dip a piece of bacon into your hot whiskey reduction – use the tongs (and I also use an extra spoon or fork) to swirl the bacon piece in the whiskey reduction. Place onto prepared baking sheet. (Note: I usually end up folding my bacon pieces in half so they fit better.)
  10. Work to coat all pieces of bacon, leaving a bit of space between each piece when you place them on the baking sheet.
  11. Once all pieces of bacon are coated and on the sheet, sprinkle them with 2/3 of your brown sugar mixture (reserve the rest for when you flip your bacon) and place baking sheet into the oven and set your timer for 10 minutes.
  12. *Your water should be boiling (you have the option to add a splash of olive oil to the water). This should be about the correct amount of time for your pasta to boil, so add your pasta to the water now.
  13. At 10 minutes, flip and baste your bacon (you can use a pastry brush or turkey baster). Sprinkle with the rest of your sugar and cook for another 5-10 minutes, checking to make sure your bacon doesn’t burn  (mine took the entire 20 minutes, but every oven is slightly different).
  14. Check pasta – if al dente, drain and let rest.

Begin your pasta sauce:

  1. Shred your cheeses; reserve about ½ cup of cheddar and ½ cup of Gouda for topping.
  2. Measure milk into microwave safe bowl. Heat at 30 seconds intervals to warm (this took me about 2 minutes), stirring in between.
  3. *When bacon is done, transfer to wire rack (on your other prepared cookie sheet). Let cool.
  4. Add 4 Tbsp of butter to your large empty pasta pot and turn the heat to medium.
  5. Once butter melts, whisk in your flour. Reduce the heat to medium-low and let cook for 1 minute. (It will bubble, but you don’t want it to burn – whisk if necessary.)
  6. Begin to slowly add in your warmed milk (add about 2-3 Tbsp at a time, whisking after each addition).
  7. Once all of your milk has been added, add 1 Tbsp of bourbon or whiskey and whiskey to combine.
  8. Once all liquid has been incorporated, turn the heat to medium and cook until the mixture begins to boil. Whisk frequently, ensuring that you whisk throughout the entire mixture (don’t miss the sides).
  9. While mixture is cooking, cut your bacon into bite sized pieces.
  10. Once the mixture boils, remove from heat.
  11. Whisk in your dry mustard and salt and pepper (I usually add 1/2 tsp of salt and 1/2 tsp of pepper…and then put out salt and pepper to serve so everyone can customize…).
  12. Whisk in 2 cups of sharp cheddar and 2 cups of gouda.
  13. Add most of your chopped bacon pieces and stir so they are evenly distributed, reserving 2-3 Tbsps of bacon to garnish.
  14. Add mixture to baking dish(es). Top with the rest of your cheese.
  15. If making breadcrumbs, add your remaining butter to a medium frying pan (or clean out your large pot; I don’t cause I’m lazy!) and melt over medium heat. Once melted, stir in bread crumbs. Sprinkle breadcrumbs evenly and place baking dish(es) into oven (note: if you are using smaller baking dishes, you will want to reduce your baking time. I used some ramekins that held 2/3 cups…and I baked them for 15 minutes).
  16. Bake for 20 minutes, or until breadcrumbs are brown and cheese is bubbling.
  17. Remove from oven and let rest for 5 minutes.
  18. Garnish with the rest of the bacon pieces.

Serve and Enjoy