Cheese and more

[ron50]

It's been a bit since I've had the chance to light up the smoker. Didn't have much time today either but I was able to sneak in a cheese smoke.

Didn't have a lot of time to finesse the temps down to 90 degrees so I was a little high at 105 and as a result I got some melting.

Mix of pecan and hickory for the woods, cheddar, mozarella, gouda and fontina for the cheeses. Maybe an hour over the smoke.

I also threw on a few pieces of firm tofu since my daughter decided to go vegetarian. I pressed out as much water with a weighted plate on top for about 30 minutes and it seems like it took up the smoke nicely. We will see how it tastes after 24 hours in the fridge.

Thanks for looking.

 

[richtee]

Mmm smoked Fontina! And Gouda! and Tof...errr WHAT?!?!?

It's STILL gonna taste like that...LOL! But yer a good Dad. I think. Maybe a good Dad would tie her down and force feed a filet?

 

[ron50]

LOL. Now Rich, keep an open mind. I agree that it isn't baby back ribs but prepared correctly it can taste great as part of a meal, especially in a stir fry or with other foods where there is a sauce.

A good dad would respect her wishes, especially when it is due to her love of animals and her respect for life. That's a discussion for another day and forum lol.

Thanks for looking.

 

[richtee]

OK...fine. I have actually had the stuff in a spicy stir-fry, and din't mind it. It does pick up other flavors. I also had a slice "straight". Ugh. sooo..smoking it can't hurt a thing LOL!

 

[richoso1]

Sounds good Ron, do you find it easier to work with smaller chunks/pieces of cheese? Reason I asked is I've never smoked cheese, but soon will be giving it a try.

 

[ron50]

I don't know if it's any easier. I cut them up to exposre more surface area to the smoke, especially since it isn't in the smoker very long.

Another reason is I freeze most of it and it's mostly me eating it so I just take out what I need for a few days.

 

[sumosmoke]

Nice pics of the smoked cheeses, Ron. Been missing your qvue so it's good to see this one pop up.

Never smoked cheese before but you made it look (and sound) pretty easy! You're a great Dad for making things that your daughter can enjoy, even on the smoker .......

 

[smokin365]

Great lookin cheez smoke ron, im thinkin about smoking some more cheeze. The wife brought home some "smoked" cheddar from the store the other day and i thught to my self "i can do it better", so i think i will...eventually. Only this time ill do more than 1 half moon.

 

[walking dude]

i smoke softer/white cheese a hour.........yellow harder cheese up to 1.5-2 hours.........my mozz i slice up into 1/2 by 1/2 by the width of the cheese, bout 45 minutes, since it takes smoke fast. THEN i bread em, and make fried mozz. sticks outta em..........YUM! ! ! !

 

[smoke freak]

Ron, Thats a buncha cheese. I love the smoked cheese.

My daughter also tried the veg thing. Her problem is that she doesnt like most vegetabales or fruit. Yeah this is gonna work out good, right? She also didnt like tofu. Her veg diet was mostly potatoes and cheese. Well I just waited her out. First she would snag a chunk of pepperoni or summer sausage. "Dont worry dear, I wont tell anyone." Then it was grilled chicken. After that she didnt wanna talk about it. Now Its brisket any chance she gets. Thank God shes is back!

 

[richoso1]

How do you guys manage to keep the temps so low? I could only get down to 125 with 3 pieces of charcoal and one chunk. and that's on the top rack.Yer klillin' me...

 

[ron50]

It is difficult Rich, especially when the outside temp is high. My advice is that since you only need the smoke and not the heat is to preburn a few chunks, maybe one piece of charcoal and just use that. I even need to move the lid on the WSM so I lost some of the heat, otherwise it was too hot. Even with that I got more melting then I wanted. Or you can just take a lit piece of charcoal and throw some smoking wood sawdust on it.

 

[walking dude]

maybe you can take this idea, and adapt it to your own setup

http://www.virtualweberbullet.com/coldsmoker.html

 

[curious aardvark]

get an empty can of beans (pint sized) make a hole about an inch from the bottom large enough to firmly wedge the working end of a cheap soldering iron into.
Tip of soldering iron should end up in the centre of the tin.
Add wood chips in the top of the can - half full can should smoke for 30 minutes plus. Plug in the soldering iron. put it in bottom of smoker put food top of smoker.
You now have a $5 smoke generator that shouldn't significantly heat your smoker. But does produce a decent amount of smoke. have your chimney/choke mostly closed.

Yes I tried this - yes it works. But remove any excess plastic from the tin end of the soldering iron. The tin gets warm enough to melt the plastic when the wood is smoking :-)

So remember if adding more wood - tin will be HOT :-) lol I found this out the hard way ;-)
But the soldering iron handle should let you move the thing around easily.

 

[smokin365]

LOL Aardvark, im glad that im not the only one who puts my hands in gear before my brain has a chance to start. that is innovation at its finest.

 

[curious aardvark]

yeah - and the smell of burning plastic came as a surprise as well.
that's why i changed the design to have the soldering iron at the bottom of the tin rather than the top :-)

on another note - I really do need to sort out my vege-meat recipe for you guys - NOBODY should ever have to eat tofu !

 

[ron50]

Nothing wrong with tofu Aardvark. Some people actuallly like it; it is even better smoked :)

 

[walking dude]

*gag* *gag*..........

 

[ron50]

To each their own.

 

[walking dude]

I apologize Ron.........i just remembered you have a daughter that is a vegitarian.....just have problem with it myself.......