Hickory Brown Sugar Pulled Pork Mac ‘N’ Cheese
Hickory Brown Sugar Pulled Pork Mac ‘N’ Cheese
Your mac and cheese is only as good as what goes on top. Most versions settle for store-bought pulled pork or a shortcut cheat, and you can taste it. This one starts with a 4 to 6 pound bone-in pork shoulder, rubbed down with Kinder’s Hickory Brown Sugar Seasoning and smoked at 250°F until it pulls apart without effort. That pork lands on a sharp cheddar and Gruyere cheese sauce seasoned with Kinder’s The Blend. Finished with a drizzle of Kinder’s Hickory Brown Sugar BBQ Sauce. Smoky, rich, sweet, and sharp all at once.
Smoked pork as a topping rather than a main, one of the more useful ideas in our grilling recipes.
Here’s a weekend cook built for a backyard cookout or a gameday spread. The pork takes time, 5 to 7 hours on the smoker, plus a mandatory rest, but most of that is hands-off. The mac and cheese comes together in 30 minutes while the pork rests. Plan ahead and the timing lines up clean.
Kinder’s Hickory Brown Sugar Seasoning does two jobs here: it builds the bark on the pork shoulder and carries the smoky-sweet flavor through every bite. Kinder’s The Blend seasons the cheese sauce without fighting the pork. The BBQ sauce at the end ties it all together, sticky, smoky, same register as the rub.
The roux is the key move in the cheese sauce. Cook it until lightly golden before you add any liquid. Warm the milk first, cold milk breaks a roux, and lumps aren’t worth fixing later. Add the cheese over low heat, a handful at a time, and it melts in smooth. Gruyere brings nuttiness. Sharp cheddar brings the pull. Together they hold up against the weight of the pork.
Serves 4. Smoke the pork a day ahead and refrigerate it, and the weeknight assembly becomes real. Warm it low and slow while you build the sauce.
Flavor First.
Hickory Brown Sugar Pulled Pork Mac ‘N’ Cheese
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Preheat your smoker to 250 degrees Fahrenheit approximately 45 minutes to 1 hour before you plan to begin cooking.
- Pat the pork shoulder completely dry with paper towels. Removing excess moisture helps the seasoning adhere better and promotes browning.
- Apply the Kinder’s Hickory Brown Sugar Seasoning generously all over the pork shoulder, on all sides, paying special attention to any crevices or deep areas.
- Place the seasoned pork shoulder directly on the smoker grates, preferably fat-side up.
- Smoke the pork for 3 to 4 hours undisturbed at 250 degrees Fahrenheit, until the internal temperature reaches 160 degrees Fahrenheit in the thickest part.
- Remove the pork from the smoker and wrap it tightly in heavy-duty aluminum foil. Return it to the smoker.
- Continue smoking for another 2 to 3 hours until the internal temperature reaches 205 degrees Fahrenheit. At this temperature, the pork will shred easily.
- Remove the foil-wrapped pork from the smoker and let it rest at room temperature for at least 1 hour. This resting period is crucial for allowing the meat to relax and making it easier to shred.
- Once rested, carefully unwrap the pork and discard the bone. Using shredding forks or a meat shredder, shred all of the meat into bite-sized pieces. Set the pulled pork aside.
- While the pork is resting, bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a boil. Add the elbow macaroni and cook according to the package directions until al dente. Drain and set aside. Do not rinse the pasta.
- Heat the olive oil in a large sauce pan over medium heat. Add the diced onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is completely translucent and soft, approximately 5 to 7 minutes.
- Add the minced garlic to the pan and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes, stirring frequently, until the garlic is fragrant and softened.
- Add the unsalted butter to the pan and allow it to melt completely. Once melted, sprinkle the all-purpose flour over the butter and stir constantly to form a smooth paste called a roux. Cook the roux for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring constantly, until it is lightly golden and the raw flour taste is gone.
- Slowly pour the warmed milk into the pan while whisking constantly. Continue to whisk to prevent lumps from forming. Once all the milk is incorporated, stop whisking and let the sauce simmer gently for 3 to 5 minutes until it thickens noticeably.
- Add the Kinder’s The Blend Seasoning to the sauce and stir well to combine.
- Reduce the heat to low. Add the shredded sharp cheddar cheese and the shredded Gruyere cheese, a handful at a time, stirring constantly until each addition is melted and fully incorporated. Do not allow the sauce to boil, as this can cause the cheese to break and become grainy.
- Add the cooked elbow macaroni to the cheese sauce and stir gently but thoroughly to combine, ensuring every piece of pasta is coated with the creamy cheese sauce.
- Transfer the mac and cheese to a large serving dish or divide among individual serving bowls.
- Top each portion generously with the smoked and shredded pulled pork.
- Drizzle the top of each serving generously with the Kinder’s Hickory Brown Sugar BBQ Sauce.
- Serve immediately while hot. The combination of creamy pasta, smoky pork, and sweet-savory sauce is absolutely irresistible.
Nutrition
Notes
- Warm the milk — Cold milk hits a hot roux and clumps. Warm it to just below steaming before you whisk it in, and the sauce stays smooth from the start.
- Keep the heat low on the cheese — High heat breaks the emulsion and turns your sauce gritty. Add cheese a handful at a time over low heat, and stir until each addition melts before adding the next.
- Adjust the sauce thickness at the roux — For a thicker sauce, add an extra tablespoon of flour to the roux. For something more pourable, reduce the flour slightly. Make the call before you add the milk, not after.
- Smoke the pork a day ahead — The pork holds refrigerated for 1 to 2 days. Warm it gently in a slow cooker or covered saucepan before serving. This turns a weekend cook into a weeknight pull.
- Grate your own cheese — Pre-shredded cheese contains anti-caking agents that prevent clean melting. Shred sharp cheddar and Gruyere fresh off the block for a noticeably smoother sauce.
- Don’t skip the rest — After the pork hits 205°F, let it rest wrapped for at least 1 hour. The muscle fibers need time to relax. Rush it and the shred fights you.
- Serve in wide bowls — the pork needs room to pile on and the sauce needs a vessel that holds heat. A simple green salad with a sharp vinegar dressing cuts the richness without competing. Roasted broccolini or charred corn work the same way.
- For a full smokehouse spread, add cornbread on the side. The crumb soaks up any sauce left in the bowl.
- At a cookout, set this up as a build-your-own station — cheese sauce in a pot on low, pulled pork on the side, BBQ sauce for drizzling. Guests plate their own and everything stays hot.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Keep the pulled pork and mac and cheese in separate containers if you can — it makes reheating cleaner and keeps the pasta from absorbing all the sauce overnight.
- To reheat the mac and cheese, add a splash of whole milk and warm it over low heat on the stovetop, stirring often. The sauce tightens in the fridge; the milk loosens it back without breaking it. You can also cover and reheat in a 350°F oven for 15 to 20 minutes.
- Skip the freezer. Pasta and cheese sauce don’t survive the freeze-thaw cycle — the sauce breaks and the pasta turns soft.
Tried this recipe?
Let us know how it was!Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use a different cut of pork for pulled pork mac and cheese?
Pork shoulder is the right call, the fat content and marbling handle long smoke times without drying out. Pork butt and Boston butt are from the same muscle group and produce the same result. Leaner cuts will dry out before they shred.
How long does it take to smoke a pork shoulder?
At 250°F, plan for 5 to 7 hours total, 3 to 4 hours unwrapped to build the bark, then 2 to 3 hours wrapped in foil until the internal temp reaches 205°F. Add at least 1 hour of rest before shredding, then 30 minutes to build the cheese sauce.
Can I make pulled pork mac and cheese without a smoker?
Yes. Season the shoulder with Kinder’s Hickory Brown Sugar Seasoning and braise it in a slow cooker on low for 8 to 10 hours. You lose the smoke bark but the seasoning carries the flavor. A few drops of liquid smoke in the rub helps close the gap.
What’s the best cheese for mac and cheese?
Sharp cheddar and Gruyere. Cheddar brings the sharp pull, Gruyere brings nutty depth. Both melt clean when grated fresh off the block and added over low heat. Pre-shredded bags have an anti-caking coating that prevents smooth melting, skip them.
Why does mac and cheese sauce turn grainy?
Heat is the culprit. If the sauce boils after the cheese goes in, the proteins seize and the fat separates. Keep the heat on low, add cheese gradually, and pull it off the burner if it starts to climb. If it breaks, strain through a fine-mesh sieve and whisk in warm milk over low heat.
How far ahead can I make hickory brown sugar pulled pork mac and cheese?
Smoke the pork 1 to 2 days ahead and refrigerate it. Reheat gently before serving. Make the cheese sauce fresh, it comes together in 30 minutes and holds much better straight off the stove than it does reheated.
More like this: Pulled Pork Recipes · Summer Grilling Recipes · Kinder’s Recipes
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