Barbecue Pulled Pork White Cheddar Mac and Cheese

For the pork:

1. Season pork roast with salt and pepper on all sides. Don’t be stingy with the salt—there’s a lot of pork there that all needs to be seasoned!

2. Place pork in a slow cooker along with beer (I love a good stout or IPA, but use a lighter version if you aren’t a fan of hoppy beers) or root beer.

3. Put the lid on and cook on low for 6-8 hours, until it shreds easily with a pair of forks or tongs.

4. Remove pork from slow cooker to a cutting board and drain liquid from slow cooker. Return pork to slow cooker and shred it with a pair of forks or tongs.

5. Pour your favorite barbecue sauce over shredded pork and mix well. Put the lid back on and return the slow cooker to low heat to let the flavors meld while you prepare the macaroni and cheese.

For the macaroni and cheese:

6. Cook pasta in a pot of very salty water for 3 minutes less than the package lists for al dente. Drain and set aside. Preheat oven to 375 F.

7. In a large pot (I use the same one I cooked the pasta in) melt butter over medium heat. When butter is melted, whisk in flour to form a roux. Let it cook until darkened in color and fragrant, about 1-2 minutes.

8. Add milk into the roux a little at a time, whisking constantly to work out any lumps. Cook over medium heat, whisking occasionally, until sauce has thickened. This will take about 8-10 minutes.

9. Remove sauce from heat. Stir in white cheddar cheese with a spoon or spatula. Add salt and pepper to taste. Continue to stir until cheese is melted and you have a smooth sauce.

10. Add cooked pasta to sauce and toss to coat.

11. Transfer pasta to a large oven safe skillet (mine is about 10″) or baking dish.

12. Top pasta with honey barbecue pulled pork. I like to pile the pork close to the center, so that people can control their pork to pasta ratio as the mac and cheese is served. Also, it just looks so pretty!

13. Bake pasta at 375 F for 15-20 minutes, until edges are slightly crispy.

14. Remove pasta from oven.

15. Drizzle remaining barbecue sauce over the top of the pasta and top with chopped cilantro. Serve immediately.

Notes:
– I like my pasta saucy, but not drowning. If you like a lot of cheese sauce on your pasta, I suggest doubling the sauce recipe and increasing the pasta called for by 1/3 the original amount.
– If a cheese sauce is ever clumpy, zap it with an immersion blender for a few seconds to turn it into a smooth sauce!