Brisket & Smoked Mac n Cheese

Next up on the blog for Cooking with Jake is one of our favorites, Smoked Brisket, Smoked Mac N Cheese w/ Bacon, and asparagus! We love making this meal on a Saturday or Sunday when we can spend the whole day prepping, cooking, and enjoying (and maybe a drink or two as well). It’s plenty of food for a big weekend meal, but you still have enough leftovers to enjoy for the next day or two.

The Smoked Mac n Cheese is a combination of multiple recipes, but the one Jake follows most often is by Louisiana Grills. Growing up, my mom always made homemade macaroni and cheese and I loved it. One day I was telling Jake about it, when we decided to try smoking it and adding bacon and a crunchy crust - turns out that’s a fairly common smoked recipe. It’s sooooo good! Every time we show up to a function with this side it’s an instant hit.

For the brisket we decided to try out a recipe from the Five Mary’s Ranch-Raised Cookbook - not only are the images in their cookbook absolutely stunning, but the recipes are delicious, fresh, and easy. I am so glad we purchased this book! The recipe we used is called “Beer-Braised Brisket” on pages 120-121.

And finally, for the asparagus. To keep the flavor complimentary (and not waste tasty-goodness), Jake sautéed the asparagus in the leftover bacon grease. Yum!

We hope you enjoy the recommendations, food, and photos.

Jake and Brit.

A little tip from Jake - if you find yourself often making the same seasoning or rub combination, make extra and toss it in a jar. Next time it’s already prepared!

And something you’ll frequently find utilized in our kitchen is the Our Place “Always” Pan. When we moved to our new home we completely got rid of our other pans (minus the cast iron, duh!). But really, it’s that good.

(and hopefully within a few short months all the vegetables used will be from OUR garden!)