Frizzled Mac n' Rib Melt Panini

Have you heard of that famous panini/grilled cheese truck... that one that has a mac n' cheese & rib meat panini. Well, I have... I have been dying to make one. I mean mac n' cheese and BBQ on one sandwich, it really can't get more ridiculous than that. So when we decided to make BBQ ribs for the 4th of July, I knew I had to save some rib meat to make this amazing panini. Well, tonight was the night that we decided to make this yummy sandwich (with my own twist of course). Their recipe is just BBQ rib meat, mac n' cheese, grilled onions and cheddar (I believe). I decided to do BBQ rib meat, smoked cheddar cheese slices, mac n' cheese, red onion jam, and frizzled fried onion strings. It was soooo yummy... and ridiculous. But of course, it was right up Clayton's ally. It's definitely a sandwich for a man's man (I mean Clayton is definitely not a man's man), but it could definitely feed like Paul Bunyan or someone else really manly too (I just can't think of anyone right now). Ok, enough rambling... here's my adapted recipe! Enjoy :)

Smoked Cheddar Cheese, BBQ Rib Meat, Mac n' Cheese, Frizzled Onion Strings, Red Onion Jam

Frizzled Mac n' Rib Melt Panini

For the Red Onion Jam:

4C Red Onions, Thinly Sliced

1t Olive Oil

¼C Sugar

¼C Red Wine Vinegar

½t Dried Thyme  

For the Creamy Mac n’ Cheese:

8oz Elbow Macaroni

¼C Butter

¼C Flour

2C Milk

2C Cheddar Cheese, Shredded

Salt & Pepper, To Taste

For the Frizzled Onions Strings:

1 Sweet Onion, Shaved into Very Thin Slices

2C Buttermilk

1T Hot Sauce

2C AP Flour

1T Cajun Seasoning

½t Paprika, Garlic Powder, & Onion Powder

1Q Canola Oil 

For the Panini:

4T Unsalted Butter, Divided

4 Slices of French Bread

Prepared Red Onion Jam

1C Leftover Pulled Rib Meat

½C BBQ Sauce

4C Prepared Mac n’ Cheese

1 Sweet Onion Cut into Slices & Grilled

6 Slices of Smoked Cheddar Cheese

Directions:

1. For the Red Onion Jam: Sauté the onions in hot oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat for 10 minutes. Reduce to low and stir in the sugar, vinegar, and thyme. Cover and cook for 10 minutes or until the onion very tender. Keep warm or cool and place in a jar and put in the refrigerator until ready to use the sandwich.
2. For the Mac n’ Cheese: Cook the macaroni according to package directions. In a medium saucepan, melt butter over medium heat; stir in the flour, salt, and pepper; slowly add milk. Cook and stir until bubbly. Stir in cheese until melted. Drain macaroni and then add the cheese sauce and stir to coat. Spread the macaroni and cheese in an 8inch square-baking dish to about ¾inch thick. Cover with plastic wrap and chill until firm, about 45 minutes. Cut the macaroni into squares that are slightly smaller than the bread slices.
3. For the Frizzled Onion Strings: Place the thin onion slices into a dish and cover with the buttermilk and hot sauce, and let them soak for at least an hour. Combine all the dry ingredients and set aside. Heat your fryer to 375 degrees. Meanwhile, grab a handful of onions and toss them into the seasoned flour mixture and tap off the excess. Add the coated onions into the hot oil and fry them for 2-3 minutes or until golden brown and crispy. Drain them on a paper towel, and set them aside until ready to layer on the Panini.
4. Combine the BBQ sauce and the pulled pork in a saucepan over low heat and cook until warmed through, about 5 minutes.
5. Preheat the Panini grill to medium-high heat.
6. Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons butter and brush on one side of each bread slice. Flip over half of the bread slices and spread some of the red onion jam on each slice, and then layer 1 slice of cheddar, 1 Macaroni-and-cheese Square and another slice of cheddar on each. Top each with one-quarter of the pulled pork and frizzled onion strings and another slice of cheddar. Top with the remaining bread slices, buttered-side up.
7. Grill the sandwiches until the cheese melts and the bread is golden, about 5 minutes. 

source: BBQ Pork & Mac n' Cheese Panini. fried onion strings. 

Here's a Layer by Layer of the Panini