# The Smallest Fire I have Ever Made.



## bbq engineer (Jan 23, 2010)

I have never smoked cheese, but this last weekend I had some free time and decided that I might give it a go. I bought something cheap to experiment with, and I happen to like smoked mozzarella anyway. I don’t have a smoke generator (I plan to build one…stay tuned for that) so I will be using the 2 to three briquette system and see how this goes.

Here is the victim…


I put this on a small rack to put in my smoker. I did this so the cheese wouldn’t be sitting on a greasy smoker rack.


It was about 35° degrees outside, and the smoker had set outside overnight, so it was cold too.


To make sure that the insulated cabinet didn’t hold heat, I filled the water pan with snow.


This is the smallest fire I have ever built…three briquettes and a small piece of cherry wood. I alternated small pieces of apple and cherry for the duration of the smoke. I had to refresh the briquettes several times.


Make no mistake…this small fire produced a good deal of smoke. I was impressed.


Here is the Mozz sitting in some thin blue…


This is the final smoked cheese…


I put the cheese in a food saver bag and vacuum sealed it for a week…This will let the cheese mellow and “absorb” the smoke throughout. I just cut some off and tried it…IT IS FANTASIC! I can’t believe that I have paid top dollar for smoked cheese when it is this easy to make at home. If you haven’t tried to smoke your own, I strongly suggest that you give it a go.


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## dirt guy (Jan 23, 2010)

Nicely done!  Panning up some snow sounds like a great idea to keep the temps right.


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## scarbelly (Jan 23, 2010)

Now that you have this figured out try the mozarella packed in water. You dont have to wait a week to taste and what a fantastic taste. Just leave it out for a couple of hours to get a skin on the outside. You will love it


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## alx (Jan 23, 2010)

Looks great dana....That size fire is how i smoke my peppers....When i started doing it years ago it really gave me appreciation of how little smoke it takes to get flavor etc....

Gotta give you some
	

	
	
		
		



		
			






for the snow....


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## fire it up (Jan 23, 2010)

No truer words have ever been spoken


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## the iceman (Jan 23, 2010)

When I saw this thread I thought you were using the "Iron Maiden" for the smoke. 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





Nice work.


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## meateater (Jan 23, 2010)

Great idea on the snow! Maybe I can smoke in the summer after all on the UDS.


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