You can keep all of your sports seasons… and even holiday seasons, but leave us Mardi Gras and CRAWFISH SEASON! One of our favorite times of the year, no matter if you’re taking a weekend stroll around your neighborhood, or popping into your favorite restaurant, or even making groceries, you are certain to SEE and better yet SMELL someone eating, procuring, or even boiling up these delicious crustaceans. If the folks at Beer Down Here could only eat ONE thing for the rest of their lives, this hot and spicy Louisiana delicacy might just be that thing. Of course with all the fixings, like mushrooms, potatoes, corn, sausage, brussel sprouts, and pretty much whatever you have laying around the house that would taste amazing boiled in spicy liquid. Well next time you have some leftover crawfish (yeah, right! who ever has leftovers?) or even just wanna grab some pre-peeled tails from the store, read on for our SUPER RICH and DELICIOUS recipe for Crawfish MAC N Cheese made with Wayward Owl’s Clean Slate IPA. At Beer Down Here, we like our MAC and Cheese like we like our jokes… extra cheesy… and with FIVE different types and at almost TWO POUNDS of cheesy goodness, this may just be the most unhealthy dish we have ever created!
Clean Slate IPA Crawfish Mac N Cheese
Ingredients:
16 oz bag of dried pasta. (you can get fancy and use spirals or go old skool with some elbows)
16 oz crawfish tails (peeled right outta the boil or the store-bought Louisiana-caught bagged ones)
10 oz Wayward Owl Brewing Company’s “Clean Slate IPA” (and of course drink the rest!)
2 sticks of unsalted butter
2 cups half and half
8 oz cream cheese
8 oz sharp white cheddar
8 oz Monterrey jack cheese
8 oz smoked Gruyere cheese
5 oz Parmesan (divided into two bowls)
1 shallot (diced)
1/8 cup of Guidry’s holy trinity (diced onions/bell pepper/celery)
2 tbsp minced garlic
1/2 cup panko bread crumbs (divided into two bowls)
1/2 cup all purpose flour
4 stalks of green onions
2 tbsp fresh diced parsley
Directions:
To get started, pre-heat the oven to 350*F and cook your pasta of choice to al dente and set aside.
While your pasta is going, grate the absurd amount of cheese from the ingredient list and throw them in a large bowl, reserving 1/2 of the Parmesan on the side for topping the mac later. DON’T EAT THE CHEESE NOW! STOP PICKING AT IT!… SERIOUSLY!… WE’RE WATCHING!
In a large sauce pan, melt about half of the butter and add the diced shallots, garlic, and holy trinity and sweat ’em for a few minutes.
Add the rest of the butter and melt while whisking.
Stir in flour, a few tbsp at a time, whisking continuously to ensure that it doesn’t clump up
Cook on medium heat for around 5 minutes to create a sort of light roux
Add the beer and half and half and bring to a boil, again, stirring constantly and then reduce heat to low.
Let thicken for 10 to 15 minutes and get ready to add the cheese!
Add your grated cheese a handful at a time, mixing continuously to evenly melt and avoid clumping. Continue this step until you run out of cheese
Add your cooked crawfish tails to the cheese sauce and stir in to evenly distribute these delicious tiny morsels
Add the pasta, 1/4 cup of panko breadcrumbs, and half of the diced green onions and mix well.
Transfer your cheesy noodly crawfish concoction into an oven safe baking pan and top with the rest of your bread crumbs and Parmesan and toss in the oven for around 10–15 minutes until a nice crust forms
Remove from the oven and let cool, so you don’t get 3rd degree burns on your esophagus.
Garnish with the rest of the diced green onions, parsley, and Cajun seasoning of choice!
We recommend enjoying your super unhealthy yet delicious IPA Crawfish Mac and Cheese with Wayward Owl’s The Tawny Twit, their awesome English Pale Bitter!
As always, if you try this recipe, tag us on social media @beerdownhere #beerdownhere or drop us a line to let us know what you think!
Cheers!
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