Step-by-Step Guide to Prepare Favorite Not Quite Lobster Cajun Mac N Cheese

Hello everybody, it’s Drew, welcome to my recipe site. Today, we’re going to make a special dish, not quite lobster cajun mac n cheese. It is one of my favorites food recipes. For mine, I’m gonna make it a little bit unique. This is gonna smell and look delicious.

Not Quite Lobster Cajun Mac N Cheese is one of the most popular of recent trending foods on earth. It is appreciated by millions every day. It is easy, it is quick, it tastes yummy. Not Quite Lobster Cajun Mac N Cheese is something which I have loved my entire life. They’re nice and they look fantastic.

To get started with this particular recipe, we must prepare a few components. You can have not quite lobster cajun mac n cheese using 17 ingredients and 13 steps. Here is how you can achieve that.

The ingredients needed to make Not Quite Lobster Cajun Mac N Cheese:

1. Make ready Cellantani pasta (looks like actual corkscrews with holes in the center, or "twisty tubes")
2. Prepare medium onion - minced
3. Take butter
4. Prepare all-purpose flour
5. Get heavy cream
6. Get milk
7. Take cayenne pepper (start with just 1/4 tsp for less heat, adjust to taste as necessary)
8. Get Sriracha (again, you may want to start with half and add more to taste)
9. Take Old Bay seasoning
10. Get worcestershire sauce
11. Get salt (more or less to personal taste)
12. Prepare black pepper
13. Take red pepper flakes (optional)
14. Get extra sharp cheddar cheese - shredded
15. Make ready Crawdad/Crawfish tails (fresh or frozen)- cooked, shelled, deveined
16. Take panko breadcrumbs
17. Take extra virgin olive oil

Instructions to make Not Quite Lobster Cajun Mac N Cheese:

1. First and foremost, you will prep your crawdads. For simplicity I use a 12oz bag of frozen, fully cooked and prepped tails I can find at our local grocery story. The brand is Bordeaux's. To prep these, place the frozen package in cold water until thawed, about 30 minutes. When thawed carefully cut open package, pour crawdad tails into a colander and rinse under cold, running water. Shake excess water out of colander and pour out onto a paper towel lined plate (several layers thick). Cover with a few more paper towels and gently press to absorb moisture. Set aside. If you WANT to start from fresh, raw crawdads and go through all the extra work to get their tails that's up to you. I prefer to cut out a lot more work and mess. Plus you'll have to buy (or find, if you hunt your own) a LOT of crawdads for 12oz of tails.
2. Preheat oven to 450°F. Grease bottom and sides of a 2 quart casserole dish with about 1 tsp butter or spray with nonstick cooking spray (we used a deep dish). In a small bowl combine panko breadcrumbs and olive oil, stir well with a fork to coat. Set dish and breadcrumbs aside for later.
3. Now, onto the actual makin'! Bring a large pot of salted water to boil over medium high heat. Add pasta, bring back to a boil for 10 minutes, until pasta is barely al dente. When done drain pasta in colander (do not rinse!) and set aside.
4. While your pasta is cooking you can begin making your sauce. In a large sauce pan over medium heat melt the butter. Add minced onions and cook until translucent, about 2 minutes.
5. Add flour to sauce pan. Use whisk to stir into butter and onion to make a rue. Cook for about 2 minutes and rue begins to turn golden. This cooks out that raw flour taste and gives a more nutty flavor.
6. Turn heat up to medium high. While constantly whisking, slowly add heavy cream followed by milk. Whisk quickly until completely smooth, no rue clumps remain.
7. Bring to a low boil while whisking regularly. Turn heat back down to medium and gently simmer, whisking constantly, until sauce begins to thicken. About 5 minutes.
8. Turn off heat. Add all seasonings and spices (I attached them to this step for quick reference). Whisk until well incorporated. Add 2 cups of the shredded cheese and whisk until completely melted and sauce is smooth.
9. Transfer crawdads from plate to sauce. Gently fold in until they're all combined. Taste your sauce. Adjust seasoning as needed to suit your taste for salt and spiciness.
10. Add drained pasta to sauce. Gently stir until completely combined. It should look kind of "soupy" at this point.
11. Transfer mac n cheese to prepared casserole. Top with remaining cup of cheese followed by breadcrumb mixture. Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes, until top is bubbly and breadcrumbs are golden.
12. When done carefully remove from oven. Let rest 10 minutes. Serve as your main dish with a salad or favorite veggies on the side.
13. Note: You can use other pastas good for mac.n cheese such as elbow macaroni, rotini, penne, shells, etc., but we prefer cellantani because we think its shape holds the sauce and any mix-ins we add to mac n cheese perfectly.

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