Smoked mac & cheese

vegetable (side) · verified system recipe · Pitmaster crowd-pleaser

Pit temp
275°F
Pull at
165°F
Total time
~1.7 hr

Phase timeline

30m
60m
10m
Pre-cook pasta + sauce (offline)SmokeResttotal: 1h 40m

Step-by-step

  1. 1. Pre-cook pasta + sauce (offline)

    ~30 min

    Boil pasta 2 min short of al dente. Make béchamel + cheese sauce (cheddar + Gruyère + smoked Gouda + cream cheese). Combine in a cast iron.

  2. 2. Smoke

    → 165°F · ~60 min

    275°F pit, cherry + hickory. Top with breadcrumbs + extra cheddar. Smoke until top is bubbly + bronzed and center reads 165°F.

  3. 3. Rest

    ~10 min

    Carryover sets the cheese. Sprinkle chives. Eat from the cast iron.

Rub
Smoked paprika in the cheese sauce
Wrap method
none
Rest method
tent_5min
Minimum rest
10 min

📐 Scale for guests

Target weight
1.0 lb
0.25 lb/guest
Cuts needed
1
~5 lb per cut
Cook time / cut
1h 30m
+ 10m rest

Each cut cooks at its own rate — even if you double up, plan the same hours. For very large crowds, run multiple cuts in parallel and stagger by 30 min.

🎯 Adjusted for your pit

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