The older I get, the more my mom lets her little recipe secrets slip. She told me about the sour cream and onions in her Party Potatoes. And she even told me about the BEER in her mac and cheese recipe. I can see why she waited to let that one come out. I’ve never been much of a beer drinker. Even through college I could barely stand the smell of it. I envy the girls that can go to a Tigers game and get a beer with their hot dog. I just can’t do it. However, as I get a little bit older I have been known to order a Guinness or sip on a Blue Moon and I think that meant it was time to give into the beer-in-the-mac-and-cheese secret.
Last weekend, I gave it a shot! I also remember having brats up north when I was younger cooked in beer. So I figured, what the heck. Let’s have an all out beer party. I used beer in my cheese sauce and beer to cook my brats. Miller High Life was my beer of choice for this cooking adventure. I think I’d stick with it in the future, it tasted enough like beer without any weird bitterness or overpowering flavor.
Ingredients:
2 Tbsp. butter
2 Tbsp. flour
1 cup milk
2 12 oz. bottle light beer
8 oz. sharp cheddar
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
Salt
Pepper
1 lb. rotini pasta
2 beef brats
Heat a large pot of water to a boil and cook rotini pasta according to directions. Strain and set aside.
In the same pot your cooked your noodles, melt the 2 Tbsp. butter and add the 2 Tbsp. flour. Mix until a smooth and bubbly roux is created. Then add your milk an stir until thickened.
Add your cheddar cheese and stir until completely melted, it will be a bit thick. Add one 12 oz. bottle of beer and stir until creamy. Add more milk if desired. If it is too runny, just let it simmer and thicken before adding your pasta.
Brown your brats in 1/2 Tbsp of butter until the entire outside is browned (about 5 minutes).
Pour one of the 12 oz. bottles of beer over the brats and cook, covered, on medium heat for 20 minutes or until the center is no longer pink.
Add your pasta to your cheese sauce. Add more milk if needed.
Drain the beer/fat from the frying pan you used to cook your brats. Place sliced brats flat to brown on each side and then mix into mac & cheese and enjoy!
