Smoked Prosciutto-Wrapped Brie with Lobster Mac & Cheese

Mac and cheese is a pure comfort food – take carb-y delicious pasta and drown it in cheese sauce, so rich, so cheesy and creamy and like a warm hug in a meal. I like to step up my mac and cheese and when I had a catering company, I used to make a high/low mac and cheese, where I would use brie, cheddar, Orecchiette pasta, with a goldfish crumble, sometimes alternating the brie with a gorgonzola, or another “fancier” cheese than a typical white or orange cheddar. I decided for this recipe, I was going to make a lobster mac and cheese and use brie in combination with an Italian cheese blend. But, I couldn’t just leave it at that. The brie that goes into the mac and cheese sauce is the centre of a wheel of brie. I took a small round ramekin (I didn’t have a round cookie cutter on hand) and cut out the centre of a large wheel of brie. I then wrapped the ring of brie in prosciutto and put the whole thing in the smoker, reserving that centre piece of brie for the cheese sauce. Once my cheese sauce was made, cooked short tube pasta and lobster meat was added into the pan. I put the mac and cheese into the smoker for about 15-20 minutes for a light smoky flavour. I then filled up the centre of the smoked prosciutto-wrapped brie with the lobster mac and cheese. It is a next-level decadent dish, probably best to share with a couple of people because it is pretty rich. I definitely recommend trying this recipe at least once and making sure if it’s part of a larger meal, that everything else on the menu is light. If you want to find out how I made my Smoked Prosciutto-Wrapped Brie with Lobster Mac and Cheese, keep reading, or jump to the full recipe.

Preheat your smoker to 300F and bring a pot of water to a boil. Using a small ramekin or cookie cutter, remove the centre of your wheel of brie, keep the centre piece of brie.

Take the ring of brie and wrap it fully in prosciutto, making sure to loop the pieces of prosciutto around the centre, so the middle of the brie wheel is left open and empty. Place in the smoker for about 20 minutes.

To make your cheese sauce, place your cast iron pan on the plancha and add in the butter. Once melted, sprinkle in the flour slowly, mix to combine.

Pour in the cream or milk to the pan and stir, then add in the shredded cheese and mix until melted. Add the reserved centre piece of brie to the cheese sauce.

Stir and break apart the brie with a wooden spoon, add more cream if it needs to be thinned out. The cheese sauce is finished when the brie is completely melted and you have a smooth and creamy consistency.

Add your cooked pasta to the cheese sauce in the cast iron pan. Add the pre-cooked lobster and mix, allow to cook a few minutes to heat up the lobster.

Place the cast iron pan in the smoker for 15-20 minutes for a light smoke.

Remove the prosciutto and brie wheel from the smoker and place on a plate. Fill in the centre with a generous portion of the lobster mac and cheese.

Season with Maldon salt, pepper and chopped chives.

And now for the full recipe...

Smoked Prosciutto-Wrapped Brie with Lobster Mac and Cheese

Serves 2-4 people

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 40 minutes

Total Time: 50 minutes

Ingredients:

½ cup Shredded Italian blend cheese

1 large wheel brie

125g sliced prosciutto

350 ml cream or milk

1 tbsp all-purpose flour

Salt

pepper

1 cup uncooked short tube pasta

½ cup pre-cooked tail & claw lobster meat

½ cup butter

1 tsp chopped chives

Maldon salt for garnish

How to Make Lobster Mac and Cheese and Smoked Prosciutto-Wrapped Brie

Preheat your smoker to 300F and bring a pot of water to a boil.

Using a small ramekin or cookie cutter, remove the centre of your wheel of brie, and make sure to keep the centre piece of brie for later. Take the ring of brie and wrap it fully in prosciutto, making sure to loop the pieces of prosciutto around the centre, so the middle of the brie wheel is left open and empty. Place in the smoker for about 20 minutes.

To make your cheese sauce, place your cast iron pan on the plancha and add in the butter. Once melted, sprinkle in the flour slowly, mix to combine. Pour in the cream or milk and stir. Add in the shredded cheese and mix until melted. Add the reserved centre piece of brie to the cheese sauce. Stir and break apart the brie with a wooden spoon, add more cream if it needs to be thinned out. The cheese sauce is finished when the brie is completely melted and you have a smooth and creamy consistency.

Add your cooked pasta to the cheese sauce in the cast iron pan. Add the pre-cooked lobster and mix, allow to cook a few minutes to heat up the lobster. Place the cast iron pan in the smoker for 15-20 minutes for a light smoke.

Remove the prosciutto and brie wheel from the smoker and place on a plate. Fill in the centre with a generous portion of the lobster mac and cheese. Season with Maldon salt, pepper and chopped chives.

Make sure to subscribe to my newsletter so you never miss out on a new recipe, follow me on all my social channels @chefmattbasile and check out my new project @alchemygrills for updates, recipes and videos.