Nacho Crumbed Deep Fried Macaroni and Cheese

Deep fried macaroni and cheese is the pièce de résistance in the world of gluttonous snacks. The crispy golden exterior crunches down like the jaws of a Great White Shark on the supple leg of creamy smooth macaroni and cheese. It's horrifyingly good.

If you like this please remember to vote for me in the Snacks Contest :)

Ingredients

Packaged macaroni and cheese
Crumbed tortilla/nacho chips (you can also use Panko crumbs if feeling lazy)
Enough oil to deep fry (1 inch depth)
1/2 Cup All Purpose Flour (For Dusting)
1 Egg, beaten
2 Garlic Cloves, Minced
Thyme (optional)
Nutritional Yeast (optional)

Equipment

Deep fryer or a heavy base pot
Bamboo sticks
Cooking thermometer

Step 1: Cook the Macaroni and Cheese

Follow the instructions on the packaged macaroni and cheese. While cooking add the minced garlic.

If you really want to pimp out this recipe you can add a bit of thyme and some nutritional yeast (this will make it cheesier than a love letter by a smitten 16 year old).

Step 2: Place Macaroni and Cheese Into Ice Cube Trays

Once you've finished cooking the macaroni and cheese, spoon it into a silicone ice cube tray (I find these make it easier to remove the cubes than plastic or rigid trays).

Place it in the freezer for around an hour to let them cool, but not harden completely, then insert bamboo skewers into each of the cubes and return to the freezer to cool for 8 hours or overnight.

Step 3: Prepare the Batter

Place your flour in a small bowl or plate, put the beaten egg into a small bowl and place your crumbed nacho or tortilla chips into a bowl. A simple way to break up the nachos is to put them into a bowl and cover it with a tea towel then crush them with a rolling pin or the back of a wooden spoon, whatever is hard really.

Step 4: Batter Up!

Repeat after me: flour, egg, crumb, egg, crumb.

That's what you're going to want to do. Double batter this baby up and you're going to be in for one crunchy ride. Everyone wants crunchy, it's deep fried after all.

While doing this step, prepare the oil in your deep fryer or heavy based pan and heat to around 300F (150 degrees Celsius).

Step 5: Get Deep in the Fryer

Start deep frying your little packages of happiness in the pre-heated oil. Start with just one as a test run to ensure you get it right as cooking times will vary depending on the depth of oil you have, the size of your ice tray cubes and the heat of the oil.

For us, we cooked for around 7 - 10 minutes. If you find you're getting a golden crispy exterior, but it's not heating all the way through then drop the oil temperature and try again. It's an iterative process to perfection at this stage.