Deep Fried Bacon Wrapped Mac and Cheese

Deep Fried Mac and Cheese

The Meal: Deep Fried Bacon Wrapped Mac and Cheese
Mandatory Accessories: Defibrillator


So this is one of those meals inspired by Paula Dean.  It's what she calls a 'sometimes food'...  Meaning that you only eat it sometimes because you wouldn't last too long eating it all the time.  In fact, since her latest health kick, you can't even find her recipe on her website anymore.  Using a different mac and cheese recipe and free styling the bacon and deep frying part, I used her previous recipe as an inspiration for the dish only.

Cheese Sauce

Since you have to make the mac and cheese recipe first and then let it cool before making the cubes to wrap, it became a two night process, with regular mac and cheese on night one. This worked out find since Robyn came over for dinner and had no interest in the bacon wrapped deep frying debauchery.  She made the Mac and Cheese, but didn't leave the recipe so I can't include it here.  But in the end, the secret it lots and lots of cheese. I'm sure pretty much any Mac and Cheese recipe will work.

In night two, this is where you put your cardiologist on speed dial.

Chilled Mac and Cheese Cubes

Ingredients:
1 Mac and Cheese Recipe, prepared, chilled and cubed
Bacon
Flour
Egg
Breadcrumbs
Vegetable Oil

Using the chilled mac and cheese, it can now by cut into cubes that should stay together assuming you used enough cheese. Wrap each cube with a strip of bacon.  Then coat in flour, egg and breadcrumbs.
Most literature I found on the subject suggested that the optimal oil temperature should be around 350F.  I don't have a thermometer so I guessed.  Not sure how big a difference that makes, but my results weren't fantastic.  The first one cooked on the outside, but was still cold on the inside.   Oil too hot perhaps so it cooked too fast on the outside?  Not sure.

Coating Process

Boiling Oil

But my solution was to microwave the the cubes before deep frying them so that the middle is at least warm before the fry process.  While this worked, its probably not a technique taught in culinary school...

I served it on a bed of lettuce to show that there is some green and healthy sides along with it.

In the end, it probably wasn't worth the effort to make nor fat intake.  It was good, but not as epic as the title might lead you to believe.   The plain ol' mac and cheese was a superior meal.

So that's two posts in the last several that have added bacon with marginal results.  This won't slow me down and I am going to have to start posting some delicious bacon successes, since it makes almost everything better.