Can someone tell me how you smoke Cheese

[johnny1]

My son was telling me about some smoked cheese he had and how great it was..So I thought I would give it a try myself...So I am open to suggestions..

1-What type of cheese do you use?

2- How long do you leave it in the smoker?

3- Does it make a difference what type of wood you use?

4- And at what temp. do you smoke it?

My smoker is gas.I do not know how low the temp will go. Maybe I will have to leave to door open a little bit...Thanks and have a nice holiday..

 

[ajthepoolman]

I haven't done it yet myself, but I do know that a very low temperature is critical for obvious reasons. (the cheese will melt, ya know, in case it wasn't obvious to ya!)

 

[smokeys my pet]

Maybe this will help!!!!!!!
First Cheese

 

[ron50]

Just to add to Smokey's info:

Use whatever type of cheese you enjoy. I have smoked gouda, fontina, cheddar, mozarella, muenster and monterey jack. All were delicious.

I would go easy on the first time you smoke as cheese gets oversmoked easily, 30 -60 minutes should be plenty. try to keep it under 90 degrees if you can.

I would go with a mild wood the first time, you can always change it but cheese soaks up smoke quickly. I used apple and it had plenty of smoke flavor.

Let in sit wrapped in the fridge overnight before you eat it. The flavor mellows out overnight. I think you will love it!

 

[walking dude]

i have done cheese twice now......and am going to do some more newyears day..........or eve.........

any hard cheese.......don't think smoking a semi soft cheese will werk out that well.......like in brie..........

i use apple/cherry/hickory...........i smoke for at LEAST 1 hour.........this last time did it for 3 hours..........at first it was overpowering (after 24 hours rest as Ron mentioned), but mellowed out.......my mom LOVED it.......smokebuzz loves it also.........

keep temps under 100........best round 90.......with these cold temps my last smoke didn't get above 50.......just hot enuff to get the wood chunks smoking/smodering........like they say.....thin/blue

maybe for you first time........do a hour........then if not smokey enuff......try longer.....its basically a trial and error with cheese.......till you get the smoke flavor YOU enjoy...........

hth

 

[tnelson42345]

Does the amount of cheese affect how long you smoke it? As in would you smoke 6 ounces of cheese the same amount of time as 2 pound of cheese to achieve the same amount of smoke flavor?

 

[walking dude]

well...........thats a good question...........leave it to me not to take notes.......cause i have done both...........one thing to consider tho......is surface area.........the more surface area.........the greater area to recieve the smoke...........

but, like i said.........i now need to do it again.......and take notes

another thing to consider........is it Kr*aft........or local.........or a knock off..........that also has to come into consideration.........

i have found......its a trial and error........and its best to take notes....(note to self....start taking notes).........until you find it to YOUR liking....all our tastes are diff. some like alot.........some like alittle......


best part about it.......you get to eat your mistakes..........

 

[ron50]

Tony:

I wouldn't think it would matter much. As WD said it's the surface area that counts. You aren't going to get much smoke penetration deep inside the cheese.

When I smoked my last batch I had sizes ranging from 6oz to 2 lb blocks. All stayed in the smoke the same period of time.

 

[kookie]

Sounds good. I might have to try to do some sometime. Thanks for the info.

Kookie

 

[walking dude]

kookie ........take the jump.........my first time i was nervous.........ANYthing i do in this hobby new..........is a leap of faith.....but BOY.......bunches of folks here to either catch you.......or help pick you up.....brush you off...........and help you try again.......

 

[kookie]

I am just not sure how much cheese will make it to the smoker. I tend to eat it as quick as I get it home from the store.

lol. Oh well maybe I will give it a shot this weekend. It's cold here and I can always use my unmoded little cheif and set it outside and just get it smoking.

Kookie

 

[walking dude]

kewl........if you find you need to ask questions.......we willl be here

do it once........you will never turn back..........i am a BIG cheese nut........but since i have been smoking.......i make my self wait..........to get it into the smoker..........

 

[longshot]

For me, I have smoked Swiss, Cheddar, Pepper Jack, and Mozza. I like fruit woods for cheese as well as eggs. When it is cold I just use my Big Chief with the lid ajar. When it is warmer I use my gas cooker with a chip pan covered with a box and dryer vent tube (the aluminum not plastic) I some tims use a small fan (like a computer fan) to vent the smoke through the tube into the Big Chief. I have found that if you keep the tube covered with a wet towel it helps keep the temps down.
I haven't yet had a meltdown and my family fave is definitely swiss.

LS

 

[tropheus]

I did my first cheese the weekend before Christmas. It was snowing and blowing like crazy, but it all worked out. I had Motz, pepper jack, monterey jack, colby, cheddar (sharp and white) then a block white. I used apple wood and smoked for about 1 hour. Took them off, let them cool down then food saver'd them. Gave most of it away as Christmas presents to the Bro in law's. Cut the rest up for snacks on Christmas eve. Everyone thought it was great. I loved it. I will be doing it again for sure.

The one thing I need to watch out for though was the dripping coming from my lid. I will take a tip from here and place some foil over the top, slightly raised from the cheese.

I lurk here most of the time, but I will say one thing, I sure have learned a lot. I feel like I can actually give some advice now.

 

[walking dude]

The one thing I need to watch out for though was the dripping coming from my lid. I will take a tip from here and place some foil over the top, slightly raised from the cheese.quote]

yeap........had that happen to me before.......foil is good.........

also.......any one try string cheese......i have........werks GREAT........wow

doing more string cheese this weekend

d88de

 

[ggnutsc]

I've smoked several batches of cheese and learned something new each time. I have soome pics and ideas posted from the last time I smoked a batch back in December. Here is the post http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/for...ad.php?t=11573
You mention that you are using a gas smoker so I kinda have to believe that it is either a GOSM or something similar so maybe this information will help.

One real important point mentioned in that post is trying to get some of the expanded metal trays like I have pictured. They help a lot with supporting the cheese if it does start to get a little gooey in the event of too much heat..... I also made sure and sprayed them with cooking spray before putting the cheese on them....

Good Luck

Greg

 

[insdude91]

A few weeks ago I made my first attempt at smoking cheese. I used Jarlsberg and Cheddar. I used my MES at put it at its lowest setting of 100 and kept it on there for about 3 hours. I also used the water tray and filled that up about 3/4 full thinking that would help keep the heat down. I ran at 1/2 open exhaust. I also used Alder, as I have about 100lbs of that. When I took it out, it was rubbery, but not melted. Put it in the fridge overnite and the next day, gave it a try and damn!, it was great. I brought some in to work the following Monday and it was gone in about 15 minutes.

I am doing Beef Sticks tomorrow and maybe I will do some more cheese on Sunday. Vacuum sealing the cheese makes it last a long time if you hide it well in the fridge so noone but you can find it.

 

[navionjim]

lol. Oh well maybe I will give it a shot this weekend. It's cold here and I can always use my unmoded little cheif and set it outside and just get it smoking.

Kookie[/quote]

Well here's a thought for you, I used to use a little chief to smoke cheese and it was a tad too hot. Lhuer Jensen recommends extending the length of the smoke/ heat column using the box the little chief comes in. That worked for me in cold weather >55º F. In Oregon, but not here in Texas.

Now days I have a stick fed vertical (NBB) smoker which is always too hot even on a cooler day in Houston so I'd given it up until another NBB user in Chicago posted some pictures where he removed all the racks except the upper and lower one. Then he put the cheese on the upper (pre-cleaned) rack and intentionally let the cheese melt and drip down through the smoke to the lower rack (about 2.5 feet) where a pan, or better yet, a pizza was waiting to catch it! Pure genius! I wish I could remember who it was or find the post for you. I've tried it with a pizza and then covered it for a day in the fridge and finished cooking it on a hot grill with a stone the next. It was totally Smokey and I'll do it again soon. Just an option for you if you find the cheese melts in the little chief, because it will.
Jimbo

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/for...ght=nbb+cheese

 

[walking dude]

this what you are looking for jim?

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/forums/showthread.php?p=142090&posted=1#post142090