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A marriage made in BBQ heaven
Creamy, savory… the ultimate comfort food
Pulled Pork & Mac n Cheese Pies
The perfect game food
- Pairs great with veggies, ranch and BBQ sauce
- Smaller than a pot pie, yet super satisfying
- A modern take on Southern comfort food
- Dreamy BBQ meat and a glorious side together in one pie
What you need
Hand Pies
- Two homemade pie discs, store bought is fine
- 8 oz pulled pork, shredded (*see notes below on coking instructions)
- 1 batch of homemade mac and cheese (recipe below)
- Beaten egg for brushing the pies
- Brown food gel (*see note about football shapes and color)
Homemade Macaroni and Cheese
- 6 oz of elbow macaroni
- 2 tbsp of butter
- 2 tbsp of flour
- 3/4 cup of milk
- 1/2 of half and half
- 1/2 tsp of garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp of onion powder
- 1/4 tsp of dry mustard powder
- 1/2 tsp of seasoned salt
- 2 cups of cheese (you should use cheddar for at least one cup but then feel free to use another type of cheese)
- 1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese
- salt and pepper (to your taste preference!)
What to do
1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Over medium heat, cook your macaroni until it is just al dente. Then drain and set to the side.
2. In another saucepan, melt your butter over medium heat, then toss in your flour. Whisk the two until there are no lumps and you have a nice thick mix. Then slowly pour in your cream and milk and all the seasonings. Whisk that mix for a few minutes and let it thicken.
3. Remove your cream mixture from the heat and pour in all your cheese (yummy!), mix until smooth. Pour your cheese sauce over your noodles. Then pour your macaroni and cheese in a greased 8×8 pan and bake for about 15-20 min. When the macaroni is bubbling and starting a brown a bit, I turn on my broil (high) setting and let the top of the macaroni brown. This method makes for a nice crunchy top and edges! Let macaroni cool to room temperature.
4. Cut pie dough (or pastry) in half. Roll out first half and cut 7 or 8 circles or football shapes. Place dough on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Roll out the second half of the dough and cut 7 or 8 more shapes. When your pork and mac and cheese are cool enough, begin assembling on the 7 or 8 shapes. You can add about 2 tbsp of mac and cheese and about 2 or 3 pieces of pork on top. Then add the remaining shapes on top of the filling, press the dough with a fork. Freeze or refrigerate your pies for 20-30 minutes so they are extra cold before baking.
5. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Brush pies with the beaten egg and bake for 15-18 min. Ovens vary, so start checking at 14 min. You want your pies to be a nice golden brown color. Let the pies cool for 5-10 minutes and then INHALE’EM!
6. Store in fridge for up to 3 days after baking!
2. In another saucepan, melt your butter over medium heat, then toss in your flour. Whisk the two until there are no lumps and you have a nice thick mix. Then slowly pour in your cream and milk and all the seasonings. Whisk that mix for a few minutes and let it thicken.
3. Remove your cream mixture from the heat and pour in all your cheese (yummy!), mix until smooth. Pour your cheese sauce over your noodles. Then pour your macaroni and cheese in a greased 8×8 pan and bake for about 15-20 min. When the macaroni is bubbling and starting a brown a bit, I turn on my broil (high) setting and let the top of the macaroni brown. This method makes for a nice crunchy top and edges! Let macaroni cool to room temperature.
4. Cut pie dough (or pastry) in half. Roll out first half and cut 7 or 8 circles or football shapes. Place dough on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Roll out the second half of the dough and cut 7 or 8 more shapes. When your pork and mac and cheese are cool enough, begin assembling on the 7 or 8 shapes. You can add about 2 tbsp of mac and cheese and about 2 or 3 pieces of pork on top. Then add the remaining shapes on top of the filling, press the dough with a fork. Freeze or refrigerate your pies for 20-30 minutes so they are extra cold before baking.
5. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Brush pies with the beaten egg and bake for 15-18 min. Ovens vary, so start checking at 14 min. You want your pies to be a nice golden brown color. Let the pies cool for 5-10 minutes and then INHALE’EM!
6. Store in fridge for up to 3 days after baking!
Helpful tips
Here are some important Pro tips by Maude
- To make your pie dough brown like a football, I add brown food gel to my water before I pour it into my butter/flour mix. This is a little bit of a process because you have to work your dough to incorporate the color- BE CAREFUL: You don’t want to overwork the dough. The pies could come out tough! No one wants that. Also, you can use puff pastry strips to achieve the little stripes on the footballs.
- Chilling your dough before baking is critical. If you want flaky layers, chill your pies for at least 30 min before baking.
- Making pulled pork is EASY! Place your pork shoulder in a crockpot and pour chosen sauce on top (pour enough to cover the piece of meat). Cook low and slow for about 8 hours. Once cooked, shred meat with two forks then let the meat cool.
- Chilling your dough before baking is critical. If you want flaky layers, chill your pies for at least 30 min before baking.
- I usually boil my macaroni (al dente) because it will continue to cook once they are in pie form.
- Make sure your meat and macaroni and cheese are not hot or even warm when assembling the pies. They need to be cool or they will melt your pie dough.
- Reheating your pies is easy! Bake your pies at 350 degrees for about 15- 20 minutes. They still taste delicious.
