# Cheese Problem



## gulf shucker (Jun 10, 2015)

Tried my first attempt at cold smoking cheese last night in my MES 30 with mailbox mod and amaze pellet smoker. 
Has anyone else had trouble getting the amaze pellet smoker to stay lit during a cold smoke? I re-lit several times with no luck after a while, moved all of the cheese back into the fridge. What should i do next? Can i attempt to smoke it again tonight or is it ruined? Also, how can I stay lit? Thanks


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## thackman (Jun 10, 2015)

Its probably not getting enough air flow.  Open the exhaust and intake all the way.


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## gulf shucker (Jun 10, 2015)

The top vent is always open. The mailbox mod is in the chip loader hole.


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## daveomak (Jun 10, 2015)

WB, morning....    I have to turn on the heat in the MES to warm the cheese, above the dew point, so condensate does not form on the cheese...     Just get the heat going for a few minutes... then turn it off ... and maybe back on later if the temp drops...  I try to keep the MES temp around 70 degrees....    THAT also starts a convection current so you get some air flow through the MES....   
The MB mod....  I have holes in the door and the exhaust out the end of the MB....  that way I get "once through" air flow...  I think that's important because recirculating air, in the MB mod, is lacking in oxygen....   The holes in the door are about 3/4 - 1" and at floor level.... there are 2 of them.....













PelletsinMB mod.jpg



__ daveomak
__ Jun 10, 2015


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## gulf shucker (Jun 10, 2015)

Goodmorning Dave, Im placing a frozen water bottle inside the MES to draw down the temps. However I will turn on the heat for a bit to get a draft tonight then place the frozen bottle if needed. I will also make the holes in the mailbox mod. If my cheese sit in the smoker last night at 70 degrees but little smoke was applied, can I retry with the same cheese which has been in the icebox over night or should I scrape that and use new cheese?
Thanks again,


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## daveomak (Jun 10, 2015)

Do you have the heat turned on in the MES while you are trying to smoke the cheese ???    I leave the heat off....  just get the AMNPS burning in the MB mod and let the cheese smoke in an unheated MES...    If the MES gets too cold, about 50 deg I am guessing... turn the heat on for a few minutes to get the draft going again......   there is no need for ice unless you are trying to smoke cheese while it is 100 deg's out...   then smoke it at night....


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## gulf shucker (Jun 10, 2015)

Dave, no, for my first attempt last night I did not turn the  heat on.  But I am guess I need to turn the heat on momentarily to start a draft?


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## daveomak (Jun 10, 2015)

That's what I have to do....   the AMNPS won't burn in my MB mod until I get a draft going...   Just takes a bit of heat....   you will see and feel a draft coming out of the exhaust once the MES warms up....  then the AMNPS will or should create enough heat to keep the draft going....   the AMNPS alone in my MES, before the MB mod, would heat up the MES about 20-25 degrees if memory serves me correctly... that's why I took Pop's idea and added the MB mod.....  to cool off the smoke from the AMNPS....    It works for me....  might take some tinkering to get stuff to work...  always does seems like......

You may have to heat the MES up to 70 or 80 to get the draft going......


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## gulf shucker (Jun 15, 2015)

Wanted to update this thread with my first cold smoking success. 













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__ gulf shucker
__ Jun 15, 2015





Here are my selections: Gouda, Sharp Cheddar (12 months), and Mozzarella sticks.













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__ gulf shucker
__ Jun 15, 2015





Here we are cold smoking in the MES, yes those are cold smoked deviled eggs are were amazing. These are worth a try for everyone. 













image.jpg



__ gulf shucker
__ Jun 15, 2015





I pulled the mozzarella  sticks off at around 2 hours and the others off at around 3 hours, here are the results. All of the cheese rested overnight and was sealed tightly in plastic ziploc bags. I have been snacking on the sticks and they are great. Waiting  a couple weeks on the cheddar and gouda and can't wait to try it. 

Thanks for looking everyone!


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## talls6 (Jun 16, 2015)

Those look great.  I am finding that waiting is the hardest part.  What kind of wood "flavor" did you use?  
Darren


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## gulf shucker (Jun 16, 2015)

Talls6 said:


> Those look great.  I am finding that waiting is the hardest part.  What kind of wood "flavor" did you use?
> Darren



Darren, I used hickory pellets. Can't wait to try them.


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