RECIPE: Hattie B’s Hot Chicken Pimento Mac & Cheese

Can’t make it to Hattie B’s Hot Chicken for a mac & cheese and hot chicken fix? Or worse, you don’t live near a Hattie B’s? Breathe easy! Here is a home-cook-friendly version of this wildly popular side item. Says Hattie B’s Executive Chef John Lasater, “This is our version of a Southern classic, a favorite at meat-and-threes throughout the South. We add pimentos, the perfect complement to the extra sharp cheddar cheese. The secret to this delicious, creamy mac is the roux.”  Enjoy!

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Ingredients

• 1/2 gallon (2 qts.) milk
• 1.5 teaspoons crushed red pepper
• 1.5 Tablespoons salt
• 1.5 teaspoons black pepper

Steps:

1. Combine all of these ingredients in a 4-5 quart stock pot and bring to a simmer … Do not boil or it may cause milk to scorch!

Ingredients for the Roux

• 1/2 pound butter
• 1/2 pound all-purpose flour

Note: It’s important to measure out ingredients for a roux – equals parts butter to flour. 

Steps:

1. In a small sauce pot (1 qt.), melt all of the butter completely.
2. Once butter is melted, add the flour all at once.
3. Whisk to combine the ingredients into a smooth mixture.
4. Simmer the roux for 5 minutes to make sure all of the raw flour is cooked out.
5. Once it has simmered for five minutes, add all of the roux into the simmering milk mixture. Make sure the milk mixture is at a simmer so the roux makes an immediate bond. Whisk very well.
6. You will see the sauce become thick. You want to simmer this entire mixture for an additional 5-10 minutes.

Tip: For a roux to hit its maximum thickening power, it must be simmered. 

Ingredients to Finish

• 1.5 pounds plus 1 cup extra sharp cheddar cheese (the sharper the better), grated
• 1o oz. jar diced pimentos – “juice and all” or chop a roasted red pepper for maximum flavor
• 1 stick butter (8 tablespoons)

Steps to finish sauce:

1. Place the diced pimentos “juice and all” along with the 1.5 pounds of cheese and diced butter.
2. Melt all of these ingredients completely.
3. Turn flame off at this point so you don’t scorch cheese and give it a really good whisk. The more you whisk, the faster it will melt.
4. Cool sauce down completely in a 3-quart storage container. This helps relax the gluten so it heats up beautifully.

PASTA

• 1 pound elbow macaroni, uncooked

Steps:

1. Cook in salted boiling water until al dente (to the tooth), about 7-8 minutes for most pastas.
2. Strain when finished. (Yields about 8 cups)
3. Next, pre-heat over to 375 degrees.

MIXING DIRECTIONS

Things you will need:

• 1-quart measuring vessel
• Rubber spatula
• 10 x 12 in. baking dish (1/2 hotel pan)
• Mixing bowl
• Timer

Steps:

1. Mix your cheese and pasta – 2 qts. of cheese sauce to 2 qts. of cooked pasta.
2. Place cooled cheese sauce in a mixing bowl along with the pasta.
3. Mix until completely combined.
4. Scrape the mixture out with the rubber spatula into baking vessel.
5. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 40 minutes, covered. (This seems like a long time, but it will take 40 minutes for the cooled cheese sauce to properly get to temp.)
6. Once your timer goes off, take mac out and give the whole pan a good stir with the rubber spatula.
7. Smooth everything out and top with 1 cup of shredded cheese.
8. Place the mac back in the oven, uncovered, for no more than 5 minutes; just to brown the cheese.
9. Serve family style and enjoy!

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