Ingredients

The following ingredients have 4 Servings
  • 1 pound elbow macaroni
  • 1 cup heavy cream or milk
  • 12 ounces sharp cheddar, shredded (about 3 cups)
  • Vegetable oil, for frying
  • 2 cups flour
  • 2 teaspoons paprika
  • 2 teaspoons kosher salt
  • Freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
  • 1 cup buttermilk
  • 2 teaspoons Tabasco sauce
  • 1 large egg

Instruction

  • To make the macaroni and cheese, cook macaroni to al dente. Drain and set aside.
  • Grease a 9- x 13-inch cake pan and set aside.
  • In the same pasta pot, heat the cream and cheese over medium-low heat, stirring until creamy and smooth. Remove from heat.
  • Add cooked macaroni to the cheese sauce. Mix very well.
  • Spread macaroni and cheese into the greased pan, smoothing with a spatula. Freeze until firm for about 30 minutes, or refrigerate overnight.
  • Cut macaroni in the pan into about 20 squares. A bench scraper works well. Just eyeball your lines (or use a ruler) and press directly downwards with the bench scraper.
  • To dredge and fry the macaroni, heat 1/2-inch vegetable oil in a frying pan over medium heat.
  • In a shallow bowl, mix the flour, paprika, salt, and pepper.
  • In another shallow bowl, whisk the buttermilk, Tabasco, and egg.
  • Using a skinny and bendy metal spatula to remove a few macaroni squares from the pan at a time. Keep unused squares chilled. Dredge each square of macaroni in the flour mixture, then egg mixture, then flour mixture, shaking off the excess.
  • Fry macaroni squares until golden, then flip and fry other side until golden, about 1 to 2 minutes per side. Drain on paper towel-lined cooling rack set over a sheet pan.
  • Sprinkle with some flaky sea salt if you’ve got it, or kosher salt is just fine, too. Serve hot with a spicy marinara or gravy, or just plain ol' ketchup.