Using the thinner cuts of bacon is okay, but I just like the chunkier bits of bacon throughout the creamy mac and cheese. Typically the butcher bacon at the butcher window is the best ideal but you can also find packaged bacon that works as well. You can also always add more smokiness to the bacon by using your Traeger grill or pellet grill and smoking bacon for an additional 30 minutes. The thinner bacon sometimes falls apart when it is cooked crispy, and that’s not what we’re after here.
I recommend the thicker cut bacon for anything you are going to be added to a dish crumbled. What kind of bacon is best for smoked bacon ranch mac and cheese? This will store for a couple weeks because the buttermilk is a natural preservative.Īdd the homemade ranch the same way you would the dried powdered version of ranch dressing into the bechamel sauce. You just need a cup of buttermilk, a tablespoon of dried dill, a teaspoon of dried onion powder, a pinch of salt and pepper to season, mix and you are set. You can even create your own ranch seasoning if you want to totally make everything from scratch for your smoked bacon ranch mac and cheese. Ranch dressing seasoning is basically powdered buttermilk, dill, pepper, salt, and onion powder. However you might also find them in the seasoning aisle as well. Typically you will find them in the grocery store alongside the salad dressings. You can easily find ranch dressing seasoning packets. What exactly is ranch dressing seasoning? Add the ranch seasoning into the sauce and stir well. When they are blended to a smooth consistency, then start slowing adding in the milk or cream and keep stirring to blend. This makes the dish have so much bacon flavor! Stir constantly until the bacon grease and flour are a nice smooth consistency. A roux is the base for the sauce and it is made by taking equal parts butter and flour and heating them together over medium heat.įor this recipe, instead of using butter for the fat to make the roux, you use the excess rendered fat from pre-cooking the bacon. Prepare an easy bechamel sauce by first making a roux.
Bechamel sauce is the white sauce made with milk or cream, butter, and flour. It can be prepared in the same time you wait for the water to boil to cook your macaroni noodles.
Making a roux for the bechamel cream sauce is simple and doesn’t take too long. It comes alive with the smoky bacon flavors and benefits from the zesty dill and buttermilk tang of the ranch seasoning. When you make this smoked bacon ranch mac and cheese, you get a rich and creamy mac and cheese. The difference between authentic homemade mac and cheese and the processed stuff is stunning. People these days are so used to the convenience of opening a box of macaroni and cheese with a powdered cheese mix to stir in, that they have forgotten how easy it is to actually make actual mac and cheese from ingredients instead of a processed powder. Mac and cheese always hits the spot, and adding copious amounts of smoked bacon and the ranch dressing makes it out of this world. Smoked Bacon Ranch Mac and CheeseĪdding some ranch dressing seasoning gives this dish an added twist. I have done some wonderful versions of smoked mac and cheese too but as the saying goes “everything is better with bacon”. Just when you thought mac and cheese couldn’t possibly get any better, along comes the smoked bacon ranch mac and cheese.
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