Pulled Pork Mac & Cheese - Just Go Slap Your Mom Right Now!

Okay, don't actually do that. No food is worth abusing your mother. And you know, the Biblical implications are quite negative in regards to not honoring your mother.

I'm headed down south soon, and I'm excited to experience the artery-clogging, Paula Deen glorifying, acne causing culinary delights that are southern food. But I had to get a little bit of a head start. Macaroni and Cheese, by itself, has always been one of those evasive foods for me. I grew up with Mac and Cheese that was basically that. Macaroni. Cheese. It was heavenly. My mother would mix the two together, and rarely have I found anything that could come close to my childhood experience. This recipe just elevates that a bit with the thick, creamy, béchamel sauce, and a melting pot of cheeses (no pun intended).

I first experienced Pulled Pork Mac and Cheese a few months ago, and I have to say, I was quite disappointed. Ever since, I've wanted to give it a go, because I knew that it had amazing potential, and so I finally got around to it. It's an experience I'll never forget, and certainly worth sharing with you!

It's a process that takes time, but time well spent. If you have a smoker, that's the way to go! If not, then you can work around it. In the end, you're going to have a fantastic meal either way. With all of that said - here ya go:

PULLED PORK MAC & CHEESE
Serves 7-8

For The Pulled Pork: 
Shawn’s Rib Ticklin' Rub
     - 1 Cup Brown Sugar
     - 3 Tbl. Smoked Salt (or regular...)
     - 1 Tbl. Black Pepper
     - 3 Tbl. Paprika
     - 2 Tbl. Garlic Powder
     - 1 Tbl. Chili Powder
     - 1 Tbl. Ground Cumin
     - 1 Tsp. Ground Coriander
     - 1 Tsp. Mustard Powder
        (Mix together to combine)
7 Lb. Bone In Pork Butt 
Hickory Chips if you’re using a smoker

Rub the pork and let it sit overnight. Pull it out of fridge 1 hour before ready to smoke. Heat the smoker to 225. Baste the pork with some of the mop, and then do so every hour. Smoke the pork, and refill the wood chips every hour for the first three hours. Every hour, baste the pork with the mop, for a total of 12 hours. Just to be safe, make sure the internal temp is at least 170. Remove, and shred the pork, and mix with the bbq sauce. 

IF YOU DON’T HAVE A SMOKER: First of all, I’m sorry. Go get one. You really should. But if you don’t, just preheat your oven to 300 degrees. Roast the pork, basting every hour, for about 6 hours. Again, you want the internal temp to be about 170. And if you want that beautiful smoke flavor, add a little liquid smoke to your mop. 

For The Mop:
1 Cup Apple Cider Vinegar
1/4 Cup Stone Ground Mustard
2 Tbl. Lemon Juice
1 Tsp. Worcestershire Sauce

Mix above ingredients to combine. 

For The Barbecue Sauce:
1 1/2 Cups Ketchup
1/4 cup Dark Rum
1/4 cup Strong coffee
3/4 cup Brown Sugar
1/4 cup Bourbon
1 cup Apple Cider Vinegar
1 Tbl. Sriracha
1/2 Tbl. Liquid Smoke
1 Tbl. Worcestershire

Combine ingredients, and bring to simmer over medium heat. When it starts to boil, reduce to low and let simmer for about an hour.

For The Mac And Cheese:
1 Lb. Elbow Macaroni
1 Qt. Milk
6 Tbl. Butter
1/2 Cup Flour
2 Cups Swiss Cheese (or 2-8oz. packages, ripped up)
2 Cups Colby-Jack Cheese, grated
2 Cups Mexican Cheese, grated
Salt & Pepper To Taste
1/2 Tsp. Nutmeg
1 Container French Fried Onion Rings

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Cook the macaroni, and drain. Rinse with cold water, cause you won’t be using it right away. 

In a small saucepan, heat the milk, but don’t allow to boil. You just want it warm for when you combine it with the butter and flour roux you’re about to make. 

In a large pot, melt the butter over medium heat. Reduce to medium-low and add your flour. Stir well with a whisk for about 2 minutes. Hopefully your milk is hot by this point, so go ahead and pour it in and whisk well, continuing to whisk until the mixture is a nice, thick, smooth béchamel. Take the pot off the heat, and mix in your cheese, salt, pepper and nutmeg. It’s gonna be a stringy, melty, gooey mess that you’re going to want to dive into and drown in (but don’t, that’s unsanitary). 
It’s okay if it’s a little clumpy, cause we’ll fix that in a minute. Mix in your noodles, and then pour into a baking dish, AT LEAST 9x18. Bigger is better, but this will work. 

Once you’ve got it in the dish, cover it with the french fried onion rings. Use the whole container, trust me. And if you want to double that, that’s not bad either. Then take your pulled pork that you’ve mixed with the bbq sauce, and place as little or as much on top as you would like. You’ll have a lot of pulled pork, so don’t feel bad going easy, cause you and your guests can always put more on according to your tastes (and they WILL want to put more on!) No sense in making your dish overflow. 

Place in oven, uncovered, and bake for 35 minutes. Remove and serve! 

And seriously, no matter how much you want to: DO NOT SLAP YOUR MOTHER!!!!

Because Eating Good Is A Calling Of It's Own!