Smoking cheese

[Steve]

Recommendations?

[Brlesq]

Yeah, use a pipe and don't just roll it in a cigar wrapper so you don't get the molten stuff all over you!

[jledou]

This has @T.G. written all over it.

I have not tried but others who do have used a Tupperware formed block of ice on top of the cheese to try to keep the melt to a minimum.

[icehog3]

You spelled "weed" wrong......

[Chainsaw13]

Look at a device called the A-Maze-N smoker. Great for cold smoking, under 90-100° F. Try to keep the temps as low as possible. Put trays of ice cubes in the smoker to bring temps down.

[Steve]

Originally Posted by Chainsaw13

Look at a device called the A-Maze-N smoker. Great for cold smoking, under 90-100° F. Try to keep the temps as low as possible. Put trays of ice cubes in the smoker to bring temps down.

I have one of their smoke tubes, thought about using that in the old Weber. Around here the sun will keep the cooker between 90 & 100*, and I thought about using the pellet tube to add smoke.

[kydsid]

I could swear it was Peter, may he RIP, who when herfing described his cheese method as two cookers connected via dryer duct. Kept the heat away and let him smoke cheese and fish with ease. I remember this because I thought it was the most ingenious Red Green thing Red Green didn't think of

[Chainsaw13]

Originally Posted by kydsid

I could swear it was Peter, may he RIP, who when herfing described his cheese method as two cookers connected via dryer duct. Kept the heat away and let him smoke cheese and fish with ease. I remember this because I thought it was the most ingenious Red Green thing Red Green didn't think of

I use a similar method when I cold smoke with my Bradley smoker. Unhook the smoke generator, place a box over it, with a flexible dryer hose to the main chamber.

[Steve]

Thanks for the input so far!

To clarify, what types of cheeses, etc have y'all been successful smoking? I have enough smokers and "toys" that I can get cold smoke temperatures (even in my Lang), but I wasn't sure about the actual cheeses and any prep or techniques you use to give it flavor.

Thanks again to all!

[Chainsaw13]

Originally Posted by Steve

Thanks for the input so far!

To clarify, what types of cheeses, etc have y'all been successful smoking? I have enough smokers and "toys" that I can get cold smoke temperatures (even in my Lang), but I wasn't sure about the actual cheeses and any prep or techniques you use to give it flavor.

Thanks again to all!

Surprisingly that’s something I haven’t smoked. Naturally cheddar, Gouda, provolone. I wonder how a hunk of Parmesan would do. Hmm...

[T.G]

Originally Posted by Chainsaw13

I wonder how a hunk of Parmesan would do. Hmm...

It's pretty wonderful.

But it, and any dry, hard, aged cheese has some caveats.

The more aged it is, the longer it will need to be left in a vacuum bag in the refrigerator after smoking to allow the smoke flavors to a) mellow and not overtake the cheese b) migrate through the cheese as to not just be a surface coating. Harder cheeses, the smoke doesn't absorb as well during the process, it just builds up on the surface.

I did some 36 month aged stuff once. It took well over a year in a vac bag in the refrigerator for the flavors to meld.

Smaller / thinner wedges/chunks will shorten that time, but you don't want to go too thin or you'll end up with too much surface area vs the core and it's easy to oversmoke and then you're right back to having to leave it in the refrigerator forever to mellow.



Steve, I'll post something this weekend on what I've learned that works for me. Too many work projects to wrap up today to get into a long post.

To quickly answer your question on what types, you can pretty much smoke any cheese except fromunda. Things like block size/weight, smoking time, and storage time before consuming can vary depending on the type of cheese though.

[Steve]

Thanks Adam! Work is really crazy for me all of a sudden as well, so I understand!

I thought I remembered you and Peter discussing cheese smoking a while back, but a quick search didn't find the old thread and I didn't take time yet to do an exhaustive search. I look forward to hearing about your lessons learned though!
Have a great weekend!

Steve

Originally Posted by T.G

It's pretty wonderful.

But it, and any dry, hard, aged cheese has some caveats.

The more aged it is, the longer it will need to be left in a vacuum bag in the refrigerator after smoking to allow the smoke flavors to a) mellow and not overtake the cheese b) migrate through the cheese as to not just be a surface coating. Harder cheeses, the smoke doesn't absorb as well during the process, it just builds up on the surface.

I did some 36 month aged stuff once. It took well over a year in a vac bag in the refrigerator for the flavors to meld.

Smaller / thinner wedges/chunks will shorten that time, but you don't want to go too thin or you'll end up with too much surface area vs the core and it's easy to oversmoke and then you're right back to having to leave it in the refrigerator forever to mellow.



Steve, I'll post something this weekend on what I've learned that works for me. Too many work projects to wrap up today to get into a long post.

To quickly answer your question on what types, you can pretty much smoke any cheese except fromunda. Things like block size/weight, smoking time, and storage time before consuming can vary depending on the type of cheese though.

[bonjing]

Originally Posted by T.G

It's pretty wonderful.

But it, and any dry, hard, aged cheese has some caveats.

The more aged it is, the longer it will need to be left in a vacuum bag in the refrigerator after smoking to allow the smoke flavors to a) mellow and not overtake the cheese b) migrate through the cheese as to not just be a surface coating. Harder cheeses, the smoke doesn't absorb as well during the process, it just builds up on the surface.

I did some 36 month aged stuff once. It took well over a year in a vac bag in the refrigerator for the flavors to meld.

Smaller / thinner wedges/chunks will shorten that time, but you don't want to go too thin or you'll end up with too much surface area vs the core and it's easy to oversmoke and then you're right back to having to leave it in the refrigerator forever to mellow.



Steve, I'll post something this weekend on what I've learned that works for me. Too many work projects to wrap up today to get into a long post.

To quickly answer your question on what types, you can pretty much smoke any cheese except fromunda. Things like block size/weight, smoking time, and storage time before consuming can vary depending on the type of cheese though.

Anything smoked by this man Adam puts up a great sampler of cheeses during the troop auctions. I think one may be coming up soon.

The hardest cheese I've smoked is the colby seems to take a little bit longer to smoke or sit vacuumed up, I usually smoke it with other cheese too.

I like to smoke cheese I enjoy eating.

Pepper Jack, montery jack, low moisture mozzarella, habanero or jalapeno jack when I can find it, cheddar. I think if I can buy it in a block I'll try it.

[icehog3]

Originally Posted by T.G

To quickly answer your question on what types, you can pretty much smoke any cheese except fromunda.

Too close to the pole?

[kydsid]

Originally Posted by icehog3

Too close to the pole?

Nah all of it is already smoked from around these here parts partner

[AdamJoshua]

T.G. would be a great resource if you reach out to him.

[icehog3]

It all sounds so gouda.

[mosesbotbol]

I save cold smoking for the winter.

[Steve]

Originally Posted by mosesbotbol

I save cold smoking for the winter.

Yea, the more I thought about it, the more I came to this conclusion. I thought about using one of the little pellet tubes and putting it in the weber , but my grill reads a steady 110-130 just sitting outside turned off. I think I would have a melted, gooey mess!

[T.G]

Originally Posted by Steve

Yea, the more I thought about it, the more I came to this conclusion. I thought about using one of the little pellet tubes and putting it in the weber , but my grill reads a steady 110-130 just sitting outside turned off. I think I would have a melted, gooey mess!

Not if you wake up early.

When I run batches in the summer, I will pre-cut the bocks the night before and I'll go out there at 5am to load the smoker and start the run. I'll be done by 9 - 9:30 before it heats up. My house faces almost due east, so the sun will just be barely peeking over the top into the yard by then.

Some of the softer cheeses do tend to deform a bit more, but usually it's not too bad.

Plus I put everything on stainless cookie cooling racks, which have a small grid pattern, so it doesn't sink too far. If you get an ugly one, you just keep it for yourself, or shred it.