Cheez-It Mac with Braised Chicken Thighs

Place the chicken thighs and 1 cup stock in a baking dish (if you use a 9×13 dish you can save some dishes later). Turn oven to 400 F. Salt the thighs, and place 1/2 tablespoon butter on top of each piece of chicken. Roast until cooked through, for roughly 50 minutes. Remove to a plate to cool, reserving the juices. Set the dish aside as well. Increase oven temperature to 450 F.

While the thighs are cooking, cook the pasta 2 minutes less than the package instructions for al dente. Drain and set aside.

Process the Cheez-Its in a food processor or crush in a plastic bag until coarse crumbs form.

When the chicken thighs and pasta are cooling, make the sauce: Add the remaining 2 tablespoons butter to a large pot (the same one you used to cook the pasta is good) over medium heat. When the butter is melted, add the flour and whisk for 1 minute to create a thin roux. Add the beer, drippings from the chicken pan, and the half-and-half. Whisk, and increase the heat on the pot to medium-high. Let the mixture come to a bubble, and add more stock as needed to make about 3 cups total (3 cups including the beer, stock and half-and-half).

Add the paprika, garlic, nutmeg and 2/3 of the grated cheeses to the pot. Stir until the cheese is melted, then turn off the heat. Shred the chicken with your fingers or two forks, so that it’s in bite-sized pieces.

Into the cheese sauce, add the pasta, chicken and remaining cheese. Stir to combine, then taste. Add salt to your preference.

Pour into the baking dish (again, I used the same one I used to braise the chicken). Top with the Cheez-it crumbs, then bake at 450 F until bubbly and slightly browned on top. This should take about 15 minutes if you cook the mac right away.

Enjoy!

Notes:
– For boneless, skinless thighs, reduce cooking time by 10 minutes. For bone-in, skin-on thighs, add 10 minutes to cooking time.
– This can be made in advance and kept in the fridge for 3 days or in the freezer for several months. To reheat from the fridge, place in a cold oven and turn to 425 F. Cook for 30-45 minutes until bubbly and slightly browned on top. From frozen, thaw on counter for 3 hours, then follow instructions above.