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Home made mac and cheese - too thick

Matt McSpadden

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posted 9 months ago

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Hi All,
Question 1
How can I make this cheese sauce thinner? I know most people want it thicker... but I made mine too thick.

Question 2
Are their cheeses that are more natural that will melt smoothly? I hate (like really really hate) grainy or gritty or half-melted cheese.

Details
Due to a divorce, I'm looking to up my cooking skills a bit for my kids. While I've been able to make boxed macaroni and cheese since I was a kid, I'd never made home made before.

Here is what I did.
I laid out bacon on sheet pans and cooked till crispy in the oven.
Filled a pot with water, and threw in a random amount of salt.
Boiled the water and threw in two partial boxes of elbow noodles.
While the noodles were cooking, I melted 5tbsp of butter in a pan.
Then added 5tbsp of flower and stirred until mixed well.
Then I added approximately 2 cups of milk and stirred until mixed.
Then I had help from my 4yo twins to rip up american cheese slices into little pieces... and I kinda lost count, I think maybe 8-10 slices and threw those in as we were ripping them up
Then I added approximately a half tsp of salt, a half tsp of pepper, and 1/8tsp of cayenne pepper.
I drained the noodles, poured the cheese sauce on top and mixed.
Cut the bacon into little pieces and then added that in and mixed.

Everyone liked the taste. I thought it was too thick. Do I just need to add more milk, or did I do something wrong when making a roux?

Also, I would love to make it with other cheeses, but so many of the home made macaroni's I have had... the cheese was not fully melted and/or it was grainy. I hate that. I'm open to other cheeses to up the complexity of flavor, but only if they melt well.

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Devin Randall

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posted 9 months ago

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That seems like too much roux for that much milk. I would cut that in half. You could also mix other cheese in with the american cheese. The american cheese has sodium citrate in it, and that keeps the other cheese from 'breaking' when you melt it.

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Anne Miller

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posted 9 months ago

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I believe the problem is you used too much flour.

This post used 1 tablespoon to 1 1/2 tablespoons of flour depending on the size of the pan:

https://permies.com/t/40/207942/mac-cheese-tastes-raw-flour#1739298

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r ranson

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posted 9 months ago

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How about some pasta water? That's quite common in older recipes. Makes the sauce thinner but also sticks to the pasta more somehow.

I wonder if the type or amount of cheese makes a difference?

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Matt McSpadden

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posted 9 months ago

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Devin Randall wrote:That seems like too much roux for that much milk. I would cut that in half. You could also mix other cheese in with the american cheese. The american cheese has sodium citrate in it, and that keeps the other cheese from 'breaking' when you melt it.

Hi Devin,
This is why I need help and practice

, the recipe I found online said 3tbsp of each... I wanted a big batch, so I added more. Apparently I didn't add enough milk/cheese to compensate.

Matt McSpadden

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posted 9 months ago

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Anne Miller wrote:I believe the problem is you used too much flour.

This post used 1 tablespoon to 1 1/2 tablespoons of flour depending on the size of the pan...

Hi Ann,
When the first two posts are about how much flour I used, I'm going to guess maybe that was the problem

. It's amazing what small things can change. The kids want me to make it again, so I will be able to experiment. Do any of you have a good ratio for cheese sauce? Like 1tsp butter, 1tsp flour, 1 cup milk... I don't know if that is right, just wondering if there is a ratio I can ramp up if I make a bigger batch. We almost didn't have enough cheese sauce.

Matt McSpadden

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posted 9 months ago

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r ranson wrote:Makes the sauce thinner but also sticks to the pasta more somehow.

I'm ok with the cheese sauce sticking to the noodles more :) Maybe I'll try a little of that next time around.

Anne Miller

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posted 9 months ago

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Matt McSpadden wrote:
Hi Ann,
Do any of you have a good ratio for cheese sauce? Like 1tsp butter, 1tsp flour, 1 cup milk... I don't know if that is right, just wondering if there is a ratio I can ramp up if I make a bigger batch. We almost didn't have enough cheese sauce.

To me, macaroni and cheese are basically noodles/macaroni and a cheese sauce.

The cheese sauce usually is a white sauce with cheese added.

A white sauce can be made thinner or thicker by using more/less flour and more/less liquid.

Your formula above looks good.

I did this topic on Sauces that has a Lumpless White Sauce Recipe. That recipe also suggests using 1 cup of cheese for a cheese sauce.

Use equal parts flour and butter by volume. Example: 1tbsp butter goes with 1 tbsp flour. But you can see as you cook it how much it 'works'.

https://permies.com/t/171499/Recipe-Sauces-Gravies

Happy eating!

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Joylynn Hardesty

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posted 9 months ago

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For sauces and gravy I start with 1 tablespoon each of flour and butter per cup of fluid. Then I judge if it is the right consistency for the application and adjust. For biscuits and gravy, I like a thicker gravy, so I use less liquid to start, and again, adjust.

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Dian Green

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posted 9 months ago

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I can't help on exact measurements for the sauce ratio since I do all that by eye. We can't have too much sauce so adding more milk is never a problem.
I do add a bit of mustard powder and/or Worcestershire sauce. Memmei noodle soup base will add some Unami the same way. Just a few drops needed. All three is my choice.
Most real hard cheeses can be grated and mixed in. Blues are about the only ones I don't think work. A small percentage of a smoked cheese will punch it up a great deal, but not too much. Under 1/4 of the total is our usual amount. Old cheddar, Gouda, emmental, havarti ( this can get a bit greasy), Swiss, parmigiana and asiago all are great additions to your cheese mix. If you want an American style then velveeta is designed to melt right down. I don't think you even have to grate it. Imperial as well, but it is higher fat so you again run the risk of it going greasy.

Cream cheese, cottage cheese, goat cheese and ricotta can all go in as well, but they do change the texture since the cottage/ricotta don't really melt in. The goat tends to have a flavour that is too much for some people. They are things to maybe try when you are more comfortable with making this and what to expect.

Once you can make a cheese sauce you are happy with, you can also do a dish we love which is eggs in cheese sauce. Just make the sauce then put about half in an oven safe pot, crack in 6-10 eggs and cover them in the rest of the sauce. Then bake it at 350 for about 1/2 to 3/4 hour. The eggs poach in the sauce and are so delicious on toast!

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Lois McMaster Bujold

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posted 9 months ago

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I like how simple your dish is and how much you are just going by feel. That is the best way to cook in my opinion.

My recommendation would be to try adding some pasta water first and not changing anything. Probably the easiest thing to try, and it won't change the flavor of your dish - just the consistency.

Nancy Reading

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posted 8 months ago

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I'd never thought of bacon in macaroni cheese, I guess that would be tasty! As (~~Riona~~ edit oops sorry!) Dian says once you have mastered cheese sauce there are lots of tasty and nutritious variations. I add the liquid to the roux slowly whilst stirring. Probably stirring is something the children can help with if they are responsible (risks of hot!).
Mum used to cook us eggs 'au gratin' but I'm pretty sure she hard boiled the eggs first. Poaching them in the cheese sauce might be trickier, but also makes it a one pot thus saving on washing up. Being from the UK the ubiquitous cheddar is my cheese of choice - a little bit of a strong cheese with a tiny bit of mustard powder.
Other suggestions - skip the bacon and try a tin of tuna, use cooked cauliflower florets (or other vegetables of choice), slice a tomato on top with a bit of grated cheese and toast under the grill. Cauli-tuna cheese is so yummy (no pasta required)!

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Matt McSpadden

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posted 8 months ago

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I always hate finding threads where you don't find out the answer. So, I thought I would update you all.

I made it again. With a single box of noodles (about how many I had before, which was two partial boxes) and bacon like before.

For the sauce I used 1/8th teaspoon of cayenne pepper, 3 teaspoons of butter, 3 teaspoons of flour, 3 cups of milk, 1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese, and 12 slices of american. It was kind of thin, so I added in 1 more teaspoon of butter and 1 more teaspoon of flour. The consistency was about perfect. Creamy and thick, but not too thick.

This time I had too much sauce compared to the noodles, but I would prefer too much sauce, over not enough.

Nancy Reading

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posted 8 months ago

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Well done Matt, Cooking can be an art form as well as a science, so well done for not giving up! First cheese on toast, then mac cheese, now the freedom of the cooking world opens in front of you.....

One thought, that is a bit simple but wasn't mentioned is that failing to drain the pasta properly can make the results runnier. What you call elbow noodles and I would just call macaroni (I think) can hold a lot of water on the inside. Draining whilst hot, shaking and redraining, can help to dry them as much as possible. As r ranson suggested using some of the pasta water for the sauce is a good idea (saves on water too if that is an issue).
I know you wanted runnier sauce, but if you don't know that the pasta is well drained, you don't know how runny to make the sauce, as the extra dampness in the pasta will affect it.

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