Fried Macaroni and Cheese Balls

cinda37379's Note:

Tried this and it was a hit with my family. I got it off the community board where someone had requested it. Wasn't as complicated as it seemed at first... give it a try!

• Total Time: 24 hrs
• Prep Time: 24 hrs
• Cook Time: 0 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 8

• 1 lb elbow macaroni
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 cups milk , warmed, plus
• 2 tablespoons milk , for egg wash
• 1 lb grated cheddar cheese
• 1 lb grated smoked gouda cheese
• salt & freshly ground black pepper
• 2 large eggs
• 3 cups seasoned bread crumbs
• vegetable oil , for frying
• marinara sauce or alfredo sauce , to serve

Directions:

1. Cook the macaroni according to package instructions. Drain and rinse with cold water to stop the cooking. Drain again and set aside.
2. In a saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Sprinkle the flour into the butter and stir it with a whisk. Cook for 2 minutes. Whisk the warmed milk into the flour mixture, working out any lumps. Cook until the sauce thickens, about 2 minutes. Remove from the heat, add the cheeses, and stir until melted and smooth; season with salt and pepper. Fold the cheese sauce into macaroni. Pour the mac and cheese into a shallow pan and refrigerate until cold, at least 2 hours.
3. Shape the cold mac and cheese into meatball-sized balls and place them onto a waxed paper-lined tray. Freeze the balls overnight.
4. Beat the eggs and 2 tablespoons milk together to form an egg wash and pour it into a shallow bowl. Put the bread crumbs into another shallow bowl. Remove the mac and cheese balls from the freezer. Dip the frozen balls into the egg wash then into the bread crumbs. Put the balls back into the freezer until you are ready to fry.
5. Heat the oil in a deep-fat fryer to 350 degrees F. Fry the mac and cheese balls until they are golden brown and center is hot, about 5 minutes. Serve hot with your favorite marinara or Alfredo sauce or combination or both for dipping.

Reviews

[K's]

First of all I would like to appologize for a very late review, I made these balls a while ago but forgot to review them- I appologize for that. I made a slight change in the recipe.. I'm not sure how big of a difference it makes in the final product since we don't get smoked gouda cheese here and I have never tasted it, I used all cheddar cheese. I found the balls to be pretty bland- which could completely be due to to the cheese substitution- I don't know. Next time maybe I'll increase the seasonings. Overall a very nice recipe, thank you :)

[I Cook Therefore I Am]

I thought I knew what love was...until I found this recipe. This was amazing! And it is just like the poster said: this sounds a lot more complicated than it is. I even found that we were able to stick half the batch in a plastic freezer bag for later once they were breaded and frozen. I will be making this again! Thank you so much for sharing!