To celebrate National Burger Month, we’re sharing burger recipes from some of our favorite Texas friends! This recipe comes from the blog Restless Chipotle.

Overview
Smoky cheeseburger sits on top of macaroni and cheese, then is covered with caramelized onion, bacon, and chipotle mayo. A great way to turn a cheeseburger into something even more awesome.

Ingredients
3 lbs ground chuck (80% lean)
2 tablespoons Liquid Smoke
Kosher salt
Freshly ground pepper
8 burger buns
Olive oil for brushing
2 cups prepared macaroni and cheese, made with smoked Gouda and Tillamook Sharp Cheddar
8 slices Tillamook Medium Cheddar
2 medium onions, sliced
1 tablespoon chipotle in adobo, mashed
½ cup Hellman’s mayo
16 slices of crisp bacon, optional

Preparation
Pour about a tablespoon of olive oil in a pan and add the onions. Saute slowly, stirring often, until they are golden brown and very tender then set aside. Mash the chipotle and stir it into the mayo and then set it aside.

Preheat the grill to high. Mix the liquid smoke into the burger gently, making sure that it is well blended. Separate the meat into 8 equal portions and gently form into a ¾ inch thick patty. (Be careful not to compact the meat too much. This will make it tough.) Grill for 3 minutes or until the burger is slightly charred with good grill marks. Flip and grill for 3 minutes more (for medium rare) or until the patty is just under temperature for desired doneness.

Brush the buns with oil and put them cut side down on the grill. Add the cheese to the burgers and close the grill cover for one minute to allow the cheese to melt. Remove buns and cheeseburgers from the grill. Place ¼ cup of hot macaroni and cheese on the bottom bun and put the cheeseburger on top. Add 2 slices of the crispy bacon if using and spoon ⅛ of the onions on top of the cheeseburger. Spread the cut side of the top bun with chipotle mayo and put it on the burger. Serve with a good, artisan amber ale and pretzels.

Notes:
Use shell macaroni for the macaroni and cheese – it stays in the bun better. You can use boxed mac and cheese if you must but it won’t be nearly so good.

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By Tillamook

I’ve seen some images floating around online of sushi rolls made with mac and cheese. Could it be that a marriage between sushi and mac and cheese, two of my favorite foods, really exists? There was only one way to find out if this urban legend was as scrumptious as it looked.

My experiment began with creating three different flavors of mac and cheese. The first was your standard fare, not too gooey, but certainly cheese laden. The second, I made extra cheesy. Something inside me said, the more cheese I added, the closer to sticky rice the consistency would get. The third was all about flavor. I used Tillamook Garlic White Cheddar to kick it up a notch. Once my mac and cheese was prepped, I let it cool in the fridge for an hour. You know how when you refrigerate leftover mac and cheese, it firms up? Well that’s exactly what I was going for!

An hour later, I removed it from the fridge and started making my rolls…easier said than done. I covered my sushi rolling mat in plastic wrap and sprinkled breadcrumbs over one third of the mat. Then, I scooped the mac and cheese onto the breadcrumbs and spread it out into a long rectangle, trying to make sure there were no gaps. I tried placing a few different things inside the rolls: pesto sauce, parmesan, more breadcrumbs, and thin strips of cheese. Rolling the rolls proved pretty difficult, especially with the plastic wrap. I ended up trying aluminum foil as well, which held its shape much better. The mac and cheese oozed out the ends of my rolling mat on my first few tries. Once I had the rolls complete and wrapped, I placed them in the fresezer for another hour.

I took the rolls out, unwrapped them, and sliced them into sushi pieces using a sharp knife. I let the rolls sit out and warm to room temperature before eating (I highly recommend this, they’ll hold their shape and taste much better). I sprinkled some cayenne pepper on top of a few of the rolls for good measure, and dipped the sushi pieces in pesto sauce, Tabasco sauce, and Secret Aardvark Habanero sauce.

As far as execution, the rolls with strips of cheese in the center held up the best. The pesto sauce leaked through the center of the roll, but still tasted great. I really recommend trying this experiment with the flavored cheddars. The Garlic White Cheddar rolls were my favorite!

Would you try this cheestastic sushi experiment!?

By Amalya

As one of the few token moms of the Tillamook Marketing/Communications team, I find myself always sharing stories of my kids (and their love of all things Tillamook). Honestly, mostly my two boys (3½ and 7½) just eat Tillamook au natural – cheese sliced up as a snack (or meal, or lunch box inclusion), yogurt right out of the cup – no need for fancy recipes for them to enjoy the Tillamook goodness. But, they are pretty partial to homemade mac and cheese. We have a few recipes we rotate, but this is one of my favorites because it (in a very non-obvious to kids-way) includes a little bit of vegetable. ;-) Don’t tell the kids, the shredded carrot pretty much looks just like shredded cheddar. Not sure mine have ever really noticed it! If you’re making this for grown-ups and want to add some extra spice, feel free to add a little cayenne or hot sauce into the egg mixture with the mustard powder.

Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients
2 cups macaroni noodles
2½ cups coarsely grated carrot (about 8 small carrots)
3 cups grated Tillamook Sharp Cheddar Cheese
¼ cup (½ stick) Tillamook Unsalted Butter, cut into pieces
¾ cup Tillamook Sour Cream
¼ cup whole milk
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon kosher salt
¾ teaspoon mustard powder
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
¼ cup finely grated parmesan cheese

Preparation
Preheat oven to 400°F and grease an 8-inch square baking pan. Cook macaroni according to package instructions in a large pot of salted boiling water. Add grated carrot 3 minutes before pasta is finished cooking, then drain well. While pasta is hot, stir in all but ½ cup of the cheddar and the butter.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the sour cream, milk, eggs, salt, mustard powder, and pepper. Fold mixture into the pasta. Scrape the mixture into the prepared pan then sprinkle the remaining cheddar and the parmesan over the top. Bake until the casserole is firm to the touch and golden brown, about 30 minutes.

By Tori

At my old job I used to invite co-workers to my home for potlucks and one of them brought over this delicious dish. It completely changed the way I thought about macaroni and cheese. It’s the perfect hot and spicy meal on a cold and rainy day. I love it because you can use different types of cheese to completely transform the taste and character of the meal. We use Tillamook Pepper Jack and Sharp Cheddar, but if you don’t want it spicy you can just use the Colby. If you prefer a smokier flavor you can use the Smoked Cheddar, or if you really love your garlic, use a Garlic Cheddar. If you want to really kick it up a notch, try Tilamook’s Habanero Jack.

SPICY MAC AND CHEESE

2 Tablespoons Tillamook Unsalted Butter
2 tablespoon flour
½ onion, finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 ½ cups milk (I use nonfat)
1 (7 oz) can chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (chop the peppers, and keep the sauce)
16 ounces cooked macaroni (you can use a penne or ziti if you want, just make sure the pasta is tubular so that the cheese sauce can meander its delicious way through)
8 ounces Tillamook Sharp Cheddar Cheese, shredded
6 ounces Tillamook Pepper Jack Cheese, shredded
breadcrumbs and parmesan cheese (optional)

Note: If you want your mac and cheese to be extra cheesy, you might want to do 12 ounces of the sharp cheddar. You can use the full 8 ounces of pepper jack, but be ready for a mouth en fuego if you do.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cook pasta to al dente. Melt butter in a large saucepan then add the garlic and onion — sauté until nice and soft (about four minutes). Slowly add the flower and whisk to prevent clumping. When mixed and smooth, add the milk. Continue to whisk this mixture, then add both cheeses. Once the cheeses are nice and melted, add chipotle peppers and adobo sauce. If you find the sauce is too thick for your liking, just add a drop of milk, mix it, and repeat until you receive the desired thickness of your sauce. Pour the pasta into a 13 by 9 baking dish, then pour cheese sauce over the pasta. Mix the sauce around to fully coat all of your noodles. Smooth out the top so it’s moderately even. Sprinkle some breadcrumbs, parmesan, or any other kind of cheese on top. Cover, then cook, for about 15 minutes, then uncovered for another 15 minutes. This dish is best eaten when it’s hot!

By Jala