Smoking some cheese in the GOSM today

[ggnutsc]

Well, it's cold enough here that I started smoking some cheese today. If it's too warm out, I can't keep the temps down. I started out with about 2 Lbs of pepperjack and 2Lbs of Colby/Jack marble. I usually just cube it and serve them as snacks before/after Christmas dinner, so I cut it into strips about 1/2" x1/2" an cut those into cubes after the smoke, I also kept it in the freezer until I'm ready to put it in the smoker.



When I smoke it, I usually try and fire the smoker pretty hard until I get the smoke rolling pretty good out of the box, then kill the fire and place a can of sterno alcohol fuel in the smoker to keep the wood chips going without adding too much heat. (the can says it burns at approx 205 deg F)



To top all of that off I use an aluminum pan and fill it with ice, or in this case today snow, as a backup means of keeping the temps in the smoker down.



Occasionally I've had the smoke kind of die off so I've actually had to pull the cheese and sterno can so I could relight the propane fire for a while and get the smoke going again, but this is pretty rare if I get it going good the first time.

Anyway I thought this might be a help to any otheres out there who love smoked cheese, but don't have a "cold smoker" to get the job done with.

 

[bwsmith_2000]

GG,
Thanks for the cheese smoking process. I don't have the cool weather here in Florida that you have (no complaints either) but I think I will give your process a try. Thanks again and points to you.

 

[cowgirl]

Looks great!!

 

[morkdach]

looks good what flavor smoke

 

[ron50]

Is that a ketchup lava lamp on the left hand corner of your counter? My daughter is a big fan of anything to do with ketchup and she got a similar one last year but broke it.

 

[smokeys my pet]

gg I loved the first cheese I did and now I will have to do some more this week. Thanks for the reminder!!!!!!!

 

[ggnutsc]

To answer Mork's question...
I used hickory with just a little bit of mesquite thrown in with it. One thing I've noticed about smoking cheese, is that it mellows a little after a few days, so I thought the mesquite might help with that. I have it all cubed and setting in zip lock bags hidden from the kids, I'll break it out in a few days....

Ron, Yes that is a ketchup lava lamp. My wife is kind of a lava lamp nut, I think she got that one off ebay. She's got so many of them, it's kind of like a secondary heat source for our home in the winter.

 

[billlutz]

What are the hazzards when smoking cheese at those temps? I am just asking because I love smoked cheese but I would hate to make someone sick!

 

[DanMcG]

Nice Q-view ggnutsc, I been meaning to do a batch for about a week now. I think your pic's might get me motivated.

Billutz. I don't think there are any dangers when smoking cheese. You're basically keeping it at room temperature for 3-4 hours, Which I think improves the flavor of most cheeses anyways.

 

[ol' smokey]

My solution for cold smoking is the Smoke Daddy smoke generator. Been using it since last fall and it barely increases the internal cabinet temp over the outside ambient. Here's the link and the unit on my Bradley:

http://porkypas.com/

 

[fired up]

Thanks for the info! Points!

 

[fire]

I've tried smoking cheese on my drum smoker with some reasonable success.

The battle with it is keeping the temperature below 100 F. But it's worth it!

I've used some white oak to smoke white cheddar and it totally transforms the cheese.

I try to smoke for at least an hour, but when the temperature decides to want to climb up to 85 or 90 I shut the air intake vent down, nearly close the top air vents, and let the smoke idle around a bit longer before taking the cheese off.

 

[fiddler252]

Thanks for showing your set up using the Smoke Daddy. I use it for smoking LOX and cheese all the time. I have been very pleased with all the positive feedbacks I have been getting from people that have tried it. It really works well for cold smoking. You can also use it with a heating element for hot smoking.
Porky Pa http://porkypas.com