After a holiday potluck, I had quite a bit of baked macaroni and cheese left over. Rather than reheat this in the microwave, I decided to follow in the footsteps of any good state fair: Fry it.
This isn’t health food. It’s good food. Crispy, cheesy, and a little spicy (a little cayenne is always welcome) this is almost better than the original dish. After having this, I’m now pretty tempted to take my next batch of Mac and Cheese directly from the oven to the fridge to be able to fry the whole batch after it cools.
Fried Mac and Cheese. It's not healthy, it's good.
Granted, the still-hot-from-the-oven mac and cheese is fantastic and deserves to be eaten as is, but if you do have leftovers this is the best thing you can do to it. Oh, before you try this, know that it seems to work better with the baked versions. Stove top styles tend to have a more runny, loose cheese that can get a bit messy in the oil. You can make it work, but it is much easier if you stick to baked macaroni and cheese which tends to set stiffer when chilled.
I just wish I had some Popsicle sticks available… How awesome would it be to serve fried mac & cheese on a stick! Oh, well, maybe next time…
Fried Mac & Cheese
Scale the ingredients as needed. I like a little heat, so I always add in some cayenne pepper.
Ingredients
leftover mac and cheese, cut into slices or squares
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 egg
1 cup panko bread crumbs
oil for deep frying
Directions
1. Combine the flour, salt, pepper and cayenne in a shallow bowl. Beat the egg in another small bowl. Put the bread crumbs in a third bowl.
2. Press each piece of mac & cheese into the flour and shake off any excess. Then dip into the egg wash. Then coat with bread crumbs. Let the coated mac & cheese set for about 5 minutes on a wire rack.
3. Fry each piece in 350F-375F oil (no more than a couple at a time) until golden brown.
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