Smoked Mac and Cheese With Bacon is a favourite comfort meal. The sweet, smoky, cheesy taste has you coming back time and time again.

This is a great meal on its own, or a fantastic side at a barbecue party. It really is one of the best smoking side dishes.

We like the combination of cheeses here but feel free to experiment to find what suits you. 

Use a cast iron pot that can take the heat of the smoker for long periods of time without damage. 

Smoked Mac and Cheese Recipe

Ingredients For Smoker Mac and Cheese

2 Pints (or 1.2 Litres) of Whole Milk

100g Plain All-Purpose Flour

100g Butter

100ml Double Cream

100g Mature Cheddar Grated

100g Grated Mozzarella

100g Grated Red Leicester

A Good Splash of Worcestershire Sauce

1 Teaspoon of Dijon Mustard

500g Macaroni Cooked to Packet Instructions

3 Slices of Smoked Bacon Chopped

For the Breadcrumbs

50g white breadcrumbs

50g parmesan cheese freshly grated

Salt & Pepper to Season

Smoker Mac and Cheese With Bacon Recipe Step 1 - Cook Your Macaroni and Bacon

Get your smoker up to 110°C or 225°F. 

Make sure you are using quality charcoal, and a mild fruit wood such as apple or cherry, or even a nice mix of both.

We are going to start our mac and cheese off on the stove in the kitchen then finish it off on the smoker.

Cook your macaroni in salted boiling water according to the packet instructions, drain and set aside.

While your macaroni is cooking fry off your pieces of chopped bacon in a small frying pan, until it goes crispy.

Smoked Mac and Cheese With Bacon Recipe Step 2 - Make a Roux

Now we are going to make a roux, adding equal parts butter and flour together over a medium heat in our cast iron pot.

Stir the flour and butter together with a whisk until the butter melts into the flour and creates a thick paste. This will take around 3-4 minutes.

Smoker Mac and Cheese With Bacon Recipe Step 3 - Add the Rest of the Ingredients to the Pot

Make sure you don’t have any lumpy bits in your roux, and then add the milk, cream and cheeses to your pot. 

Stir it around for a minute or two, and then add the mustard, Worcestershire Sauce, and cooked chopped bacon. Stir to incorporate all the elements to your sauce.

Now add in your cooked macaroni and give your pot another stir or two, to get all the lovely flavours into your pasta.

Your cheese should be beginning to melt now.

Smoker Mac and Cheese With Bacon Recipe Step 4 - Make the Breadcrumb Topping

Last of all sprinkle the breadcrumbs and grated parmesan over the top of your mac and cheese, and then season the topping with black pepper and salt. 

Smoker Mac N Cheese with Bacon Recipe

Smoked Mac and Cheese With Bacon Recipe Step 5 - Put Your Pot in the Smoker

Now your mac and cheese is ready to go into the smoker. 

Place your pot on the smoker grills away from direct heat. We want our mac and cheese to smoke not burn. 

Close the lid on your smoker.

It will take around an hour to smoke your mac and cheese dish. If you want your dish to be smokier you can always leave it for longer, but an hour should give you a sufficiently smokey taste.

Check your mac and cheese every so often to make sure it isn’t drying out. If it is drying out just add a little boiled water from the kettle. 

After an hour or so you can remove your smoked mac and cheese with bacon from the smoker.

Smoked Mac and Cheese With Bacon Recipe Step 6 - Serve!

Serve with any accompaniments you like, a green salad, or preferably a cold beer.

Some people like to put smoked mac and cheese on their burgers for extra flavour. Delicious!