NOTE: There is a full instructional video showing all the step-by-steps for this above.

1. It’s best to cook the bacon at the beginning of the process since it doesn’t require much effort and you can get yourself organized while it’s cooking. Set bacon aside on a paper towel lined paper plate for later. You can refrigerate if you like.
2. Shred the sharp white cheddar cheese and the parmesan cheese. If you are using bags of already shredded cheese you don’t need to anything.
3. Separate two egg yolks by cracking the egg and transferring the egg back and forth between the shells and letting the white part fall away. You’ll need two small ramekins or bowls for this. You can save the egg whites to scramble at breakfast if you like.
4. For the cheese sauce: warm the milk in the microwave a minute or two. On low-to-medium heat, melt the butter in a medium-sized pot, then add the flour and mix until well combined. Cook for 4 minutes or so – you’ll want to cook off that raw flour taste. It’s done when it starts to smell nutty. Add the milk to the pot and whisk a minute or two. It will take a few minutes for the milk, flour and butter to heat and start to thicken. Stir a few times while that’s happening. When it starts to barely come to a slight boil add the salt and pepper and stir. Add the cheeses and stir. Turn the heat off and let the cheese melt on its on for a minute. One final stir – now put it on the back burner to cool for 20 minutes before adding the egg yolks.
5. Finely dice one medium onion.
6. You’ll need half of a French baguette to get 5 cups of bread cubes. Cut the French bread loaf in half. Then cut the half in half. Slice each half in half like you are making a sandwich. Cut the halves into thick strips, then into one-inch cubes. Set aside on a plate or small sheet pan. My video shows this well.
7. Put the ground beef in a large mixing bowl and add the Dijon mustard, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper. Mix together with gloved hands until it’s well combined.
8. Heat two large pans on your stove top.
9. In one pan heat a tablespoon of olive oil on medium heat and add the diced onions, salt and pepper. Cook for a few minutes and stir a few times until onions are slightly browned.
10. In the other pan add the ground beef on medium heat. You will need to chop the beef with a large wooden spoon or spatula continually while cooking the beef. It needs to be in small pieces – so keep chopping and mixing as it cooks. Should take about 8-10 minutes to cook.
11. When the beef is almost done you should carefully drain most of the fat with a large spoon and a bowl. Do this carefully – it is very hot. My video shows this well. Leave a small amount of fat in the pan.
12. Add the cooked onions to the beef mixture and stir to combine. Turn off the heat and give it a minute.
13. Once your cheese sauce has cooled down a bit – add the two egg yolks and mix until well combined. Egg yolks are not only a good binder, they will add a richness and creaminess to the sauce that takes it to the next level.
14. Time to assemble the casserole: Add the cooked ground beef to a 9x13 baking dish and spread out evenly. Pour the cheese sauce over the top of the beef, and be sure to scrape the pot to get it all.  Spread out the sauce evenly over the top of the beef using a spatula. Take the French bread cubes and place them, crust side facing up, on top of the cheese sauce. Depending on the size of your bread cubes should be approximately 8 cubes going across the long way of the pan and 5 or 6 going down short side. My video shows this well.
15. Bake in a preheated oven at 375 degrees for 30 minutes.
16. While it’s cooking, chop the bacon into small pieces. We don’t want it too tiny like bacon bits. Chop into pieces to scatter on top of the casserole.
17. Shred the orange cheddar. You can used the bagged stuff too if you’d like.
18. You can do what you want for toppings or do nothing. It’s up to you. Tomatoes, pickles and scallions work really well here. I chopped all three to spoon on top of the casserole. People can serve themselves. See above blog post for a list of prep you can do a day ahead so less work on game day. 🙂
19. At the 30-minute mark, take the casserole out of the oven and sprinkle the orange cheddar on top of the casserole. Try to put it in between the bread cubes (don’t cover the bread, it’s a nice presentation). Same with the bacon, add to the top of the casserole in between the bread cubes. If you refrigerated the bacon, then chopped it – I would microwave it for 5-10 seconds, then sprinkle on top of casserole.
20. Put back in the oven for a couple of minutes just to melt the cheese. Remove from oven. Let it cool for 10 minutes before serving.
21. If using, serve the diced tomatoes, pickles and chopped scallions on the side and let people serve themselves. Enjoy!