Short Rib Mac n’ Cheese Enjoy your childhood comfort food, but kicked up a few notches. Chef Jose's signature macaroni and cheese is totally irresistible with al dente cavatappi pasta and a decadent four-cheese sauce. Adding braised beef makes the dish a bit heartier and more ba

Preparation

For the Cheese Sauce:

1. Melt the butter in a pot over medium heat. Add the flour and cook until the flower is incorporated well. Add the aromatics and saute for 1 minute, then incrementally add the milk and cream, stirring constantly to prevent the flour from clumping.
2. Bring the mixture to a simmer, add the cheese in batches while stirring constantly. Once all the cheese is melted and the sauce is smooth, not stringy, remove from heat and chill.
3. Once cold, blend the sauce in a blender on high speed and strain through a fine chinois.

For the Mac n’ Cheese:

1. Cook and drain your favorite pasta shape for macaroni and cheese. Mix with the cheese sauce over low heat.

For the Red Chile Braised Short Ribs:

1. Preheat an oven to 300*F.
2. Heat a rondeau over medium high heat, and add the oil. Season the beef with salt and pepper. Once the oil is hot, sear the beef on all sides and reserve. Sweat the onions until translucent. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Picage the guajillo and tomato paste. Add the chicken stock, beef base, aromatics, and short ribs to the rondeau. Cover and braise until fork tender (about 3 hours).
3. Remove the beef from the braising liquid. Blend the braising liquid on high in a blender and strain through a fine chinois. Rest the beef in the sauce overnight.

For the Toasted Breadcrumbs:

1. Toast the breadcrumbs with butter in a rondeau over medium-low heat, moving constantly to prevent burning or over toasting. Remove the breadcrumbs and let them cool. Once the breadcrumbs are cool to the touch, mix in the herbs and cheese.

Ingredients

For the Cheese Sauce:

(Yield: 32oz)

• Butter, unsalted: 29.6g
• AP Flour: 29.6g
• Dried Thyme: 0.6g
• Ground Black Pepper: 1.4g
• Nutritional Yeast: 1.8g
• Shallot, minced: 68.7g
• Garlic Powder: 8.3g
• Ground Nutmeg: 0.1g
• Bay Leaf: 1ea
• Whole Milk: 783.4g
• Heavy Cream: 282.7g
• Kosher Salt: 7.1g
• Yellow American Cheese: 29g
• Gruyere, shredded: 58.1g
• White Cheddar, shredded: 56.9g
• Yellow Cheddar, shredded: 42.1g
• Cream Cheese: 25.5g

For the Mac n’ Cheese:

(Yield: 32oz)

• Cavatelli, cooked: 635g
• Cheese Sauce: 272.2g

For the Red Chile Braised Short Ribs: 

(Yield 16oz)

• Boneless Short Ribs: 680.4g
• Yellow Onion, rough chop: 207.4g
• Garlic, minced: 13.8g
• Guajillo Paste: 131.9g
• Tomato Paste: 38.9g
• Beef Base: 9.1g
• Kosher Salt: 5.2g
• Fresh Thyme: 0.4g
• Whole Black Peppercorns: 1.8g
• Whole Juniper Berries: 2.6g
• Neutral Oil: 107.6g

For the Toasted Breadcrumbs: 

(Yield 4oz)

• Panko: 34g
• Butter: 34g
• Chopped Parsley: 1.4g
• Chopped Thyme: 0.7g
• Chiffonade Chive: 1.4g
• Grated Parmesan: 45.4g

For the Short Rib Mac n’ Cheese Build:

• Mac n’ Cheese: 32oz
• Red Chile Braised Short Ribs: 8oz
• Cheese Sauce: 12oz
• Red Chile Braising Liquid: 2oz
• Toasted Breadcrumbs: 4oz