Beer macaroni and cheese with tomato jam and caramelized onions makes for quite the title but how else will you know what all is in it? It definitely makes for unsavory SEO practices as far as the bots are concerned.
This is another recipe inspired from photos I've saved on Instagram where I decided to reverse engineer it and see what happens. Given the deliciousness of each individual component, I felt there was little way to mess this up, because I like beer cheese, macaroni, tomato jam, AND caramelized onions!
How to Prepare in Advance
Perhaps you're looking at this recipe and thinking it's way too much work. There are a lot of components to this dish, but several of them can be made ahead of time for a much easier night-of assembly.
Try making the tomato jam and caramelized onions at the same time a day or two ahead of time. This gets the bulk of the chopping out of the way in one swoop. The jam is pretty hands off once the chopping is done, so it can be made at the same time you're working on something else for dinner.
Or if you're working from home, start the jam during your lunch break and then you'll be able to put everything together that evening for a quicker dinner.
Beer Macaroni and Cheese with Tomato Jam and Caramelized Onions
Ingredients
Tomato and Caramelized Onion Jam
- 7-8 roma tomatoes
- 2 quarts boiling water
- 1 quart ice water
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 2 medium onion sliced
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup white sugar
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon salt
Caramelized Onions
- 1 onion cut into thin slices
- 1 tablespoon butter or olive oil
- ½ teaspoon salt
Beer Macaroni and Cheese
- 16 ounces cavatappi pasta
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
- 12 ounces brown ale (I used Newcastle)
- 2 ounces cream cheese
- 8 ounces white sharp cheddar grated
- handful microgreens to garnish
- salt and black pepper to taste
Instructions
Make the Tomato and Caramelized Onion Jam
- **This can be done several days in advance.**
- Bring 2 quarts of water to a rolling boil in a large stock pot.
- Have 1 quart of ice water waiting nearby. Gently lower the tomatoes into the boiling water. Let boil for 1-2 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon or spider colander and place immediately in the ice water bath.
- Peel the tomatoes. Core and deseed, and cut into smaller chunks and set aside. Discard the skin, core, and seeds.
- If you have an enamel dutch oven, this is a great use for it. If not, a heavy bottomed stainless steel pan will work. Place the butter in it and heat over medium high heat.
- Once the butter is melted, add the onions and stir to coat. Sprinkle with ½ teaspoon of salt and let the caramelization begin.
- Stir after 5 minutes and add 2 tablespoons of water and use a wooden spoon to scrape burnt bits from the bottom of the pan. Let cook 5 more minutes and repeat.
- After 15 minutes of caramelization, add in the sugars, tomatoes, lemon juice, vinegar, and salt. Stir together and bring to a boil.
- After a brief boil, turn the heat to low and let simmer for 2 hours. Stir occasionally and break up larger pieces as it cooks down.
- Once the mixture is a jam-like consistency, remove from heat. Use a potato masher to further break down any large chunks.
- After the jam has cooled down, transfer to an airtight jar. Store in the fridge for up to two weeks.
Make the Caramelized Onions
- **This can be done several days in advance.**
- Heat the tablespoon of butter or olive oil in a large saute pan over medium heat.
- Once hot, add in the onions and salt. Stir to coat.
- Let caramelize for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and set aside, or put in an airtight container in the fridge until ready to use.
Make the Mac and Cheese
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil for the pasta.
- Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and set aside.
- Melt the butter in a medium sized saucepan over medium heat.
- Once melted, stir in flour to make a paste and cook for 3 minutes. Slowly drizzle in beer, whisking constantly.
- Cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently to make sure mixture thickens.
- Add cream cheese and stir til it melts. Use the stirring spoon to break it into smaller chunks for quicker melting.
- Slowly add in cheddar and stir until it melts, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and pour into the drained pasta noodles. Stir to combine and salt to taste.
Assembly
- Divide the macaroni and cheese into bowls.
- Spoon a tablespoon or so of jam into each bowl.
- Top with caramelized onions to your preference (I like the amount I can grab with three fingers and drop on top).
- Garnish with microgreens, salt, and pepper as desired.
Notes
How to Choose A Beer to Pair with Cheese
There are a ton of different types of beers out there and most of them are totally unsuitable for this recipe. Let's do a process of elimination to find your best beers to pair with a mac and cheese dish.
- Eliminate fruit-forward and sour beers.
- Eliminate coffee and chocolate forward beers.
- Eliminate really hoppy beers with a high IBU (international bitterness units), which can be found on the can. Many really hoppy beers feature pictures or drawings of hops and pine trees so you know they are hop-forward.
- This leaves a mix of maltier beers, wheat beers, and lighter flavored beers. Your beer mac and cheese will have a strong flavor of whatever beer you choose, so choose one you like.
- Stronger, darker beers will have a more prominent flavor role here, and lighter beers can step back more and let the cheese be the star.
- I prefer beers that are strong examples of their beer style and are not muddied with flavors or a specific brewer's flair (not that there's anything wrong with it but for here, not so much). Most craft beer cans will give a decent flavor description.
My tried and true beer cheese pick is Newcastle, a mass-market brown ale that is readily available in any grocery store or gas station. Other styles I would choose are: brown ales, amber ales, Oktoberfests, marzens, wheats, pale lagers, and maybe a smoked beer if you're feeling crazy. Use the labels to eliminate any flavors above, and enjoy!
I did an entire spread on craft beer recipes for Columbia Living Magazine a few years ago, see if you can find more inspiration there! Also check out my spicy pale ale queso, beer cheese dip, and beer risotto.