Mention the words “mac and cheese” and you’ll immediately get people’s attention; it can spark intense emotions and debates. Mac and cheese can be made a lot of ways, some better than others but one way to elevate the dish is to add seafood. Growing up I wasn’t really a fan of mac and cheese; I’d eat it mainly to keep my mom or other family members happy. All that changed one evening while I was at dinner and the waiter recommended the seafood mac and cheese appetizer, it was packed with lump crab meat, lobster, and shrimp. After I got home, I jumped online and searched for recipes, after sifting through a bunch I settled on two and blended them to come up with a masterpiece. I am a huge foodie and love to cook, so I’ll go off script at times and feel my way through a recipe, but I’ll give you the basics here and if you want to add something go for it.
The key to a great mac and cheese is drum roll please the cheese, so don’t skimp, and spend a little extra to get the good stuff. I like a four-cheese blend of Gruyere, sharp cheddar, smoked gouda, and mozzarella. Next up the seafood, you can find cooked lobster meat (usually claw meat) in your grocery store’s frozen seafood section, I like lump crab meat over claw meat for recipes like this and for shrimp I normally buy large and chop them into chunks.
Ingredients
- ½ cup of flour
- 1lb elbow macaroni or shell pasta of your choice
- ½ cup unsalted butter (divided)
- 3 cups whole milk (room temperature)
- 1 cup heavy cream (room temperature)
- 2 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese
- 2 cups grated Gruyere cheese
- 1 cup grated smoked gouda
- 1 cup grated mozzarella cheese
- 1 tsp each – salt, black pepper, old bay (season to taste and add more if you like)
- 1 ½lb cooked lobster, crab, and shrimp
- 1 cup panko breadcrumbs
Now that you have everything, here’s what you need to do:
- Preheat the oven to 375F
- Coat a 2-quart baking dish with cooking spray or you can divide the portions in smaller baking dishes. (My dish of choice is a cast iron skillet)
- Cook pasta al dente
- Melt 6 tbsp of the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add flour and whisk constantly, until it’s combined and smooth then reduce heat to low.
- Stir in shredded cheeses, a handful at time, stirring to combine complete between handfuls. Save a whole piece of the lobster claw meat and small amount of crab to garnish the center of the mac and cheese before putting into oven. Remove from heat and gently stir in cooked pasta and seafood. Pour mixture into the prepared baking dish.
- Melt the remaining 2 tbsp of butter and mix with the panko breadcrumbs. Sprinkle them on top of the mac and cheese.
- Bake for approximately 30 minutes, or until the dish if hot throughout and the breadcrumbs are golden brown.
It’s time to eat
For some this is a meal and there’s no need for anything else, but a nice salad or steamed vegetables can always be added. After making a great dish like this you’ll want to reward yourself with a cigar.
Here are a few that I would recommend and have flavor profiles that play well off the cheeses and seafood.
