History

Kurt Beecher Dammeier opened Beecher's Handmade Cheese at 1600 Pike Place in 2003, with the curds-and-press operation visible behind glass. The mac and cheese, code-named World's Best, debuted that year on the counter menu: penne tossed in a sauce of Beecher's Flagship cheddar, Just Jack and a touch of cream, then portioned and re-baked to order. In 2008 Oprah Winfrey put it on her annual Favourite Things list and the line outside the shop has not shortened since. A New York City outpost opened in Flatiron later.

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Common allergens: Dairy, Gluten

Make it at home

Yield 4Hands-on 20 minTotal 45 minDifficulty Easy

Ingredients

  • 300g penne pasta
  • 30g unsalted butter
  • 30g plain flour
  • 500ml whole milk
  • 200g Beecher's Flagship cheddar, grated (or substitute a sharp 18-month cheddar)
  • 100g Beecher's Just Jack (or substitute a young Monterey Jack)
  • 1/2 tsp chipotle chilli powder
  • 1/4 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 tsp sea salt
  • Black pepper to taste

Method

  1. Cook the penne 2 minutes shy of the box time, in well salted water. Drain and toss with a teaspoon of oil.
  2. Heat oven to 175 C. Melt the butter in a heavy saucepan. Whisk in the flour and cook 90 seconds, until foaming.
  3. Whisk the milk in a steady stream. Bring to a simmer, whisking, until it thickens to coat the back of a spoon, 4 to 5 minutes.
  4. Drop the heat to low. Stir in the cheddar a handful at a time, then the Jack, then the chipotle, garlic, salt and pepper.
  5. Fold the pasta through the sauce. Tip into a small cast-iron skillet.
  6. Bake 15 to 18 minutes until the top is bronzed and the edges bubble. Rest 5 minutes before serving.

Tip from the editors. The dish was designed for cast iron; the iron sets the bottom crust and the cheese sauce clings to it. A glass dish gives you mac, not mac and cheese.

Where to eat beecher's mac and cheese

Beecher's mac and cheese in Seattle

Beecher's Handmade Cheese ★ 4.4

$ Street food

Beecher's Handmade Cheese in Seattle is the Pike Place counter where curds get made behind glass: Flagship cheddar, Just Jack, World's Best mac since 2003.

TryWorld's Best Mac and Cheese

Directions

Matt's in the Market ★ 4.4

$$$ Pacific NorthwestPike Place Market

Matt's in the Market in Seattle is the Pike Place Corner Market room with windows on the clock: a Pacific Northwest kitchen sourcing five floors down.

OrderThe catfish sandwich at lunch, on Macrina sourdough with house remoulade.

TipLunch counter seats walk in at 11:30 and turn fast; dinner needs a reservation for window tables.

Directions

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