BBQ Brisket Mac and Cheese

BBQ Brisket Mac and Cheese – slow cooked beef brisket in a homemade bbq sauce served on top of rich, creamy and cheesy mac and cheese. The Beef Brisket requires low and slow cooking, so it’s best made on a day when you will be in the house all day. I cooked my brisket for 5 hours. Mac and Cheese is of of my all time favourite meals and I already have two recipes on this blog for My Ultimate Mac and a Cheese and Haggis Mac & Cheese. I love the addition of double cream to any macaroni cheese as it just adds a rich, creamy flavour. When topped with soft, pulled beef brisket this mac and cheese is definitely one of the best.

If you’d like to make this, but don’t have the time to slow cook some beef brisket, I highly recommend checking out Smoke and Soul as they are doing takeaway meat packs of brisket and pulled pork!

If you liked my BBQ Brisket Mac and Cheese then try out my other beef brisket recipe for Slow Cooked Korean Beef Brisket Rice Bowl

If you make this, or any of my other Recipes then please share your creations with me over on Instagram.

Recipe

Serves 2 (with loads of beef brisket left over)

Difficulty Level: Home Cook

Ingredients:

For the Beef Brisket and Spice Rub:

850g beef brisket
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon each of black pepper, smoked paprika, garlic powder and mustard powder
1 teaspoon cumin
Salt

For the BBQ sauce:

100ml vinegar (red wine or cider vinegar would be best)
150ml tomato ketchup
2 crushed garlic cloves
Teaspoon chilli powder, chilli flakes or cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons maple syrup
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
100ml passata (or chopped tomatoes)
Tablespoon mustard (any except whole grain)
Tablespoon of brown sugar
300 ml water

For the Mac and Cheese:

50g butter
50g plain flour
Small garlic clove, finely chopped
400ml milk
200ml double cream
160g macaroni
250g cheese (I used a mix of strong cheddar, grated mozzarella and gruyere)
Nutmeg
Tablespoon Dijon mustard
Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
Salt and white pepper

Method:

First mix the spice rub ingredients together. Then cover the beef brisket all over with the spice rub and salt and allow to sit for 5 minutes, or marinate for up to 24 hours, to allow the rub to sink in.
Add all the sauce ingredients to a large, ovenproof casserole pan with a lid. Add the beef brisket and cover with the lid. Add to a preheated oven at 150C and cook for 5 hours, basting now and again and checking the sauce does not reduce too much. Add more water if it does.
For the Mac and Cheese, melt the butter in a saucepan. Add the garlic and the flour and cook out for around 3-5 minutes over a medium heat.
Gradually add the milk, continuously stirring until you have added all the milk and you are left with a thick, creamy white sauce. Turn the heat to low. Add the double cream, cheeses, a grating of nutmeg, the mustard and the Worcestershire sauce. Taste the sauce and season with a little salt and white pepper, if needed.
Cook and add the macaroni to the sauce.
When the brisket is ready, take out the oven and remove from the sauce. Preheat the oven to 220C. Brush the brisket with some of the sauce (most of it is for serving) and put into the hot oven for 10 minutes to crisp up the outside.
Remove the brisket from the oven and shred with two forks.
Put the Mac and Cheese into a serving dish and grate some more cheese on top. Put into the hot oven until browned and bubbly. Top with shredded beef brisket and a good drizzle of the BBQ Sauce. Put back in the oven for 5 minutes.
Serve your BBQ Beef Brisket Mac and Cheese on its own, or with garlic bread. Enjoy!