Cheese in a pellet smoker

[mark-ct]

First time smoking cheese in a Treager pellet smoker. I did cheddar and Monterey Jack. I set the cheese on a grate over a pan of ice. I used apple pellets. Set on smoke, I started the timer for one hour at which time I was going to flip them over. Right away I noticed the temp rising over a 100 degrees in the smoker. The outside temp was in the mid 50s. After about a half hour the jack was looking a little soggy but the cheddar was looking good. Now I've read posting where guys smoked anywhere from 20 minutes upward of 5 or six hours. I don't have one of those smoke tubes so I was hopping the ice would cool cool it down. After about 50 minutes the jack just couldn't hold up and melted through the grate. Poor little guys tried but just couldn't hold out any longer. I took them off the grate and put them on a plate to rest along with the cheddar. Funny thing was the space between the grate cut the jack into nice sections. After resting for about 30 minutes I tried the jack. It was still soft but had a real nice taste. Not overpowering like if I had left it on for hours. I wiped the oils off and wrapped the cheddar in plastic wrap and put it in a zip lock for a few days to rest. The jack is going to be real hard not to eat now but since it's kind of mellow it will slowly go.

I think the next time I'll try putting the cheese inside the tray and put that tray on ice. I have some chopsticks to raise it up some. Unfortunately there's no way to really cool down the inside of the smoker. But like everyone said, there's no bad smoked cheese.

 

[crazymoon]

MC, I'm glad you were able to salvage your cheese !

 

[gmc2003]

Mark, I'll offer another suggestion. When you start to see the cheese getting soft or sweating to much take it off and let it cool down then you can put it back on the smoker.

Chris 

 

[mark-ct]

Thanks GMC I really didn't think of that this being my first time. It was kind of funny how the cheese went from being on top of the rack to under the rack in a matter of minutes. On the plus side the spacing on the rack sliced the cheese into nice bite size pieces. Treagers video had the cheese inside a pan surrounded by ice in another pan but I tried putting the cheese on a rack over a pan of ice that I had seen in another video. Unfortunately the heat on smoke rose too high for that way of doing it. I just ordered a smoke tube that I'm going to try next. [ATTACHMENT=3439]IMG_0038.JPG (1,223k. JPG file)[/ATTACHMENT]

 

[disco]

I use my A-Maze-N Pellet Smoker or Tube Smoker in my Louisiana Grills pellet smoker. They aren't that expensive and you can just fire it up, put it in the smoker and not turn it on and, voila, you have a cold smoker that does cheese perfectly.

Disco

 

[gmc2003]

Mark try using frozen soda bottles instead of a pan of ice. You don't really want the moisture build up on the cheese. The tube will help out allot as it gives off minimal heat. Cabot cheese is on sale here for 1.99 a block so I stocked up(30 blocks). My WSM will be filled up in the next week or so. I use hickory saw dust or apple pellets and the Amazn tray.

Chris 

 

[mark-ct]

Good idea about the water bottles. I have a lot of Poland springs bottle that are waiting to be recycled so I can use a bunch of them. I just ordered my tube smoker and it should be here by the weekend. Living in Vermont I'm sure you can get good prices on most Cabot cheese. I have a Cosco and BJ,s here so I'm going to check their selections. Did you put the cheese over the bottles on a rack or did you put it in a pan with the bottles in another pan around it?

 

[gmc2003]

I just lay the bottles down on the rack and the cheese as far away as possible. I didn't use a pan you can if you wanted to.

Chris

 

[driedstick]

you will love the tube smoker!! 

A full smoker is a happy smoker,,,,, is your smoker happy today 

 

[mark-ct]

It was last weekend when I smoked some ribs, meatballs and pecans. My tube just got here the other day. Now I'm waiting for a cool enough day to smoke the cheese. I just finished the last of my melted Monterey Jack that I was able to save. It actually had a real good taste for only smoking for about 90 minutes. This was the first time that I smoked pecans. Everyone went "nuts" over them.....

 

[grillingoons]

I have a 2 lb. block of Monterey Jack I want to cold smoke. I will use my amazen smoker tube with apple pellets. Should I cut it up in 1/4s for smoking? And how long should I smoke the cheese for 1hr - 2hrs...?

This will be my maiden voyage so for the first time I would appreciate some suggestions, then I can modify my technique after the first smoke. Thanks.

 

[mark-ct]

I have a 2 lb. block of Monterey Jack I want to cold smoke. I will use my amazen smoker tube with apple pellets. Should I cut it up in 1/4s for smoking? And how long should I smoke the cheese for 1hr - 2hrs...?

This will be my maiden voyage so for the first time I would appreciate some suggestions, then I can modify my technique after the first smoke. Thanks.

 

[mark-ct]

So I ended up smoking my cheese for about 3 1/2 hours. After 1 1/2 hours I turned it over. I used the tube smoker with apple pellets and placed the cheese on a rack over a aluminum pan filled with ice. This kept everything nice and cool for the whole smoke. But like others have wrote, you have to let the cheese rest sealed for a couple weeks. I waited 3 weeks before trying my Monterey Jack and it was great. Just the right amount of smoke. I know you'll want to try it right out of the refrigerator, I did, but let it come to room temperature, about 15 minutes and it'll taste even better. Soft, buttery and nicely smoked.
By cutting the blocks into about 3 sections means you'll have 3 servings to enjoy. I did Monterey Jack, cheddar and pepper jack. I just opened the cheddar and it came out great too. Let us know how yours came out. Good luck.

 

[grillingoons]

So I ended up smoking my cheese for about 3 1/2 hours. After 1 1/2 hours I turned it over. I used the tube smoker with apple pellets and placed the cheese on a rack over a aluminum pan filled with ice. This kept everything nice and cool for the whole smoke. But like others have wrote, you have to let the cheese rest sealed for a couple weeks. I waited 3 weeks before trying my Monterey Jack and it was great. Just the right amount of smoke. I know you'll want to try it right out of the refrigerator, I did, but let it come to room temperature, about 15 minutes and it'll taste even better. Soft, buttery and nicely smoked.
By cutting the blocks into about 3 sections means you'll have 3 servings to enjoy. I did Monterey Jack, cheddar and pepper jack. I just opened the cheddar and it came out great too. Let us know how yours came out. Good luck.

Thanks for the detailed info...I’ll update in a few weeks

 

[SonnyE]

I think I would reserve the Treager for meat, and get a cold or cooler smoker for cheese and other sensitive stuff.
If you'd like to do killer cheeses, I think you'd do better with a different tool.

But that's just my opinion...

 

[cincysmoker]

I had smoked cheese using an AMNS and dust for years in an MES30 electric with no heat. This unit was pretty well insulated so even on fairly cool days it was hard to keep the temp down just due to the small amount of heat generated by the smoldering dust. Due to several problems, I was left with only my MES40 propane to do cheese this Fall. In 45-50* ambient temps and with no heat used, I sat the AMNS with wine barrel dust lit at both ends in the bottom, loaded cheese adn shut the door.
The unit held at never more than 50* for 4 1/2 hours with a light smoke and produced my best smoked cheese ever. Did cheddar, pepper jack, butterkase and colby jack in this batch. It seems the better air circulation and lack of insulation made the big old gasser a much more friendly environment. I'm ready now to try it again. Never have any trouble getting rid of the stuff, but have found some hidden in the fridge for a year that tastes even better than the month old! Cheese is easy and fun.

 

[dan the mano]

Mark try using frozen soda bottles instead of a pan of ice. You don't really want the moisture build up on the cheese. The tube will help out allot as it gives off minimal heat. Cabot cheese is on sale here for 1.99 a block so I stocked up(30 blocks). My WSM will be filled up in the next week or so. I use hickory saw dust or apple pellets and the Amazn tray.

Chris

i like that does the frozen bottle really help out that much , i mean i would think it would get a little warm .. but then youd still have the heat on the very top of the cheese too . i like that though , ill try that next .... i just got finished smoking a bunch of cheese yesterday ..thank you

 

[gmc2003]

The frozen bottles won't turn your smoker into a refrigerator, but they should help in keeping the temps in check. At least for a while depending on how hot it is.. Also I wouldn't put them in until you start noticing your smoke temp rising.

Chris,