# First batch of the season. Almost a loss.



## Steve H (Oct 23, 2022)

Morning all. Started my first batch of the season this morning.












Got her going at 6am. In the mid 40's out.






Got some course sea salt smoking too.







On a side note. Finally got my tractor back. Went to check everything out for the coming winter. And it threw the belt for the blower. Dealer wasn't sure why it happened. They tested everything before delivery. Come to find out. The pully on the blower got damaged somehow. Took 3 weeks to get it replaced. All good now. 






Anyway. Back on topic. Around 7:30 it started getting warmer faster than the weathermen predicted.  Ambient temp getting a touch over 100 in the smoker.






	

		
			
		

		
	
Pulled at 8:30. Cheese was starting to sweat. I usually only go to 2.5 hours anyway. The smell! Love this stuff. Now for the rest. Gonna be a long wait!


----------



## tbern (Oct 23, 2022)

good looking cheese!!  hopefully you won't need to use your blower much this winter.


----------



## Steve H (Oct 23, 2022)

tbern said:


> good looking cheese!!  hopefully you won't need to use your blower much this winter.


Thanks! Hopefully I won't use it at all!


----------



## gmc2003 (Oct 23, 2022)

Nice looking cheese Steve.That's gonna taste real good. I hope we get a good base coat of snow to keep the frost line above my water line. 
Point for sure

Chris


----------



## Winterrider (Oct 23, 2022)

Cheese looks good. I really had to watch mine the other day also as the sun shining on smoker heated it up close to 80° .
Have the JD 380X with that blower. Pretty awesome units. I had to make a winterfront  (front and side vents)for it as the sifting snow want's to get into engine compartment and will freeze carb up after shutting down. Not problem if kept inside heated area.


----------



## Steve H (Oct 23, 2022)

gmc2003 said:


> Nice looking cheese Steve.That's gonna taste real good. I hope we get a good base coat of snow to keep the frost line above my water line.
> Point for sure
> 
> Chris


Thanks Chris! The batch of this that I made last year didn't last long.


Winterrider said:


> Cheese looks good. I really had to watch mine the other day also as the sun shining on smoker heated it up close to 80° .
> Have the JD 380X with that blower. Pretty awesome units. I had to make a winterfront  (front and side vents)for it as the sifting snow want's to get into engine compartment and will freeze carb up after shutting down. Not problem if kept inside heated area.


Thanks! And thanks for the tip. It'll be in a unheated garage. I think I saw a kit from John Deere for this. I'll need to look for it.


----------



## clifish (Oct 23, 2022)

Nice work Steve,  need to do some cheese soon.  What type of pellets did you use.

That JD looks like a great unit,  reminds me of the Arctic Cat quad I bought last weekend for PA


----------



## Steve H (Oct 23, 2022)

clifish said:


> Nice work Steve,  need to do some cheese soon.  What type of pellets did you use.
> 
> That JD looks like a great unit,  reminds me of the Arctic Cat quad I bought last weekend for PA
> View attachment 646606


Thanks! I used the A-maze-n comp blend pellets. Nice quad!


----------



## Steve H (Oct 23, 2022)

Winterrider said:


> Cheese looks good. I really had to watch mine the other day also as the sun shining on smoker heated it up close to 80° .
> Have the JD 380X with that blower. Pretty awesome units. I had to make a winterfront  (front and side vents)for it as the sifting snow want's to get into engine compartment and will freeze carb up after shutting down. Not problem if kept inside heated area.


Thanks for jogging my memory. I meant to buy one. I just did.


----------



## Brokenhandle (Oct 23, 2022)

Sure glad you didn't end up having grilled cheese! Hope you don't have to use it Steve.  I use a front wheel assist tractor for moving snow, got lucky last year and only moved snow for about an hour between two farms...doubt I'll be that lucky again!

Ryan


----------



## Steve H (Oct 23, 2022)

Brokenhandle said:


> Sure glad you didn't end up having grilled cheese! Hope you don't have to use it Steve.  I use a front wheel assist tractor for moving snow, got lucky last year and only moved snow for about an hour between two farms...doubt I'll be that lucky again!
> 
> Ryan


You can only hope Ryan!


----------



## Brokenhandle (Oct 23, 2022)

Steve H said:


> You can only hope Ryan!


More likely we bought a new snowblower for our son last year...think he used it once. But we can hope!

Ryan


----------



## clifish (Oct 23, 2022)

Brokenhandle said:


> More likely we bought a new snowblower for our son last year...think he used it once. But we can hope!
> 
> Ryan


Same thing with me,  ordered a Dealer Ariens aand had it shipped from the dealer in Chicago to NY.  I went almost 2 seasons before there was enough snow to use it...lol


----------



## Steve H (Oct 23, 2022)

I have a Ariens 8526. Strong blower. Used it 3 times last winter. 2 of the times was after getting dumped on by over 10 inches of snow. Didn't use at all two winters before that.


----------



## clifish (Oct 23, 2022)

Steve H said:


> I have a Ariens 8526. Strong blower. Used it 3 times last winter. 2 of the times was after getting dumped on by over 10 inches of snow. Didn't use at all two winters before that.


I bought the Deluxe 28 SHO...probably overkill for most times but when you need it.....


----------



## Steve H (Oct 23, 2022)

clifish said:


> I bought the Deluxe 28 SHO...probably overkill for most times but when you need it.....


Hell of a blower there. Mine has a 8.5 HP engine. A touch smaller than yours. They are beasts. How well does the auto turn work? I wondered about that.


----------



## clifish (Oct 23, 2022)

Steve H said:


> Hell of a blower there. Mine has a 8.5 HP engine. A touch smaller than yours. They are beasts. How well does the auto turn work? I wondered about that.


Once you get used to it it works great,  I got it 2 years prior to Covid and am pretty sure it was about $1200 delivered then....now it would be $2k delivered.


----------



## Brokenhandle (Oct 23, 2022)

clifish said:


> I bought the Deluxe 28 SHO...probably overkill for most times but when you need it.....


Nice machine! We bought the Ariens Platinum 28 with tracks...way overkill lol! But that's the way I am, and will never say I should have bought the bigger one. I must be a big kid...kinda wanna get dumped on, I want to go play with it and see what it will do.

Ryan


----------



## clifish (Oct 23, 2022)

Brokenhandle said:


> Nice machine! We bought the Ariens Platinum 28 with tracks...way overkill lol! But that's the way I am, and will never say I should have bought the bigger one. I must be a big kid...kinda wanna get dumped on, I want to go play with it and see what it will do.
> 
> Ryan


yeah that would be super overkill for here,  but nice rig.


----------



## Steve H (Oct 23, 2022)

Brokenhandle said:


> Nice machine! We bought the Ariens Platinum 28 with tracks...way overkill lol! But that's the way I am, and will never say I should have bought the bigger one. I must be a big kid...kinda wanna get dumped on, I want to go play with it and see what it will do.
> 
> Ryan


No such thing as overkill! Nice rig. But. For that cost. You'd have thought that the drift cutters would be included.


----------



## indaswamp (Oct 23, 2022)

Nice Cheese 

 Steve H
 ! I won't be able to smoke cheese for at least another month! LOL! I'll be looking for the slice shot after it mellows....


----------



## Steve H (Oct 23, 2022)

indaswamp said:


> Nice Cheese
> 
> Steve H
> ! I won't be able to smoke cheese for at least another month! LOL! I'll be looking for the slice shot after it mellows....


Thanks! I'll be posting those in a month or so.


----------



## indaswamp (Oct 23, 2022)

Tell me more about that 16 year old aged cheddar! I bet the depth of flavor on that is outrageous!


----------



## Steve H (Oct 23, 2022)

indaswamp said:


> Tell me more about that 16 year old aged cheddar! I bet the depth of flavor on that is outrageous!


I've had it before. But first time smoking it. It is amazing. Smooth with those cheese crystals bursting with flavor. Simply astounding flavor. My wife puts it on crackers with summer sausage. I told her that this is grounds for divorce.....
I have smoked the 14 year cheese before. I cannot describe just how good it was.


----------



## indaswamp (Oct 23, 2022)

Funny stuff Steve! LOL! Yeah, some foods re meant to be savored for what they are and the complex subtle flavors muse be cleanly tasted on the palate.


----------



## schlotz (Oct 23, 2022)

Glad I saw this Steve. It reminded me I can now order from River Rat with the season changing. Trying a 8oz block of 16, 14 & 12 year yr old cheddar.


----------



## Steve H (Oct 23, 2022)

schlotz said:


> Glad I saw this Steve. It reminded me I can now order from River Rat with the season changing. Trying a 8oz block of 16, 14 & 12 year yr old cheddar.


Be prepared to be amazed! The mean and nasty is also worth mentioning. Not to mention the horseradish cheese.


----------



## bill ace 350 (Oct 23, 2022)

Steve H said:


> Morning all. Started my first batch of the season this morning.
> View attachment 646600
> 
> 
> ...


nice cheese.

Here is my snow mover.


----------



## Fueling Around (Oct 23, 2022)

That looks really good even with the slight temperature problem.
Waiting for you to cut the cheese. ... So we can see the results.
Not planning to either smoke cheese or use the snowblower this year/winter.
I give away most of my smoked cheese and decided to spend my time on other things before we leave for Florida in a month.
My old Snapper 824 will sit unused in the garage for another winter


----------



## Steve H (Oct 24, 2022)

bill ace 350 said:


> nice cheese.
> 
> Here is my snow mover.


Nice tractor!


Fueling Around said:


> That looks really good even with the slight temperature problem.
> Waiting for you to cut the cheese. ... So we can see the results.
> Not planning to either smoke cheese or use the snowblower this year/winter.
> I give away most of my smoked cheese and decided to spend my time on other things before we leave for Florida in a month.
> My old Snapper 824 will sit unused in the garage for another winter


Thanks! Snapper is a name I haven't heard in a long time.


----------



## Fueling Around (Oct 24, 2022)

Steve H said:


> ...
> Thanks! Snapper is a name I haven't heard in a long time.


How about the old Coast to Coast that sits along side the Snapper?


----------



## bauchjw (Oct 25, 2022)

Nice Steve! Cold smoked cheese hadn’t even been in my thought process lately, you have me self correcting! That sounds amazing!!!!


----------



## Steve H (Oct 25, 2022)

bauchjw said:


> Nice Steve! Cold smoked cheese hadn’t even been in my thought process lately, you have me self correcting! That sounds amazing!!!!


Thanks Jed!


----------



## DRKsmoking (Oct 25, 2022)

All looks good Steve

Good that you are ready for the winter. I am sort of ready , But HATE the thought of it .

David


----------



## Steve H (Oct 25, 2022)

DRKsmoking said:


> All looks good Steve
> 
> Good that you are ready for the winter. I am sort of ready , But HATE the thought of it .
> 
> David


You and me both. Hate winter.


----------



## tbern (Oct 25, 2022)

don't like winter as much as i did when i was younger, but winter is what makes spring/summer/fall so enjoyable and something to look forward too


----------



## clifish (Oct 25, 2022)

Steve H said:


> You and me both. Hate winter.


Then you are living in the wrong place.


----------



## Fueling Around (Oct 25, 2022)

Steve H said:


> You and me both. Hate winter.


Wife hates winter.  I tolerate winter.
This from a Minnesota side.
After our first snowbird winter in Florida, wife loved it and I could used to this.
Leaving in 3 weeks to get out of the northern winter and hopefully the southern storm season is done for this year.


----------



## xray (Oct 26, 2022)

Nice batch of cheese, and it’s a good thing you kept a watchful eye on it, that’s some pretty special cheese to lose !

Liking the tractor with the blower too Steve! Hopefully for all our sakes, you don’t have to use it this winter. My JD is a mid-1990s model, it still runs great, I just have to jump the starter solenoid with a metal spatula to get it going. I really want to get a Z turn for mowing, might have to keep this around anyway and just attach a blower plow to it.


----------



## tx smoker (Oct 26, 2022)

Nice job and apparently a good save. Nice to have a load of smoked cheese on hand. I still have some that I smoked last March but supply is getting a bit low. Might have to get more going if we can get a cool enough morning.

Robert


----------



## jcam222 (Oct 26, 2022)

Looks fantastic Steve! I’ve still got the oldest smoked cheddar you sent me stashed for a special occasion


----------



## Steve H (Oct 27, 2022)

jcam222 said:


> Looks fantastic Steve! I’ve still got the oldest smoked cheddar you sent me stashed for a special occasion


Thanks Jeff! The longer it sits. The better it gets! I'm a poet. And didn't know it


----------



## Steve H (Nov 4, 2022)

Ok all. Here is the 3 year old cheese.








Man! This cheese has character! A little strong yet. I packed it back up for a few more weeks of rest. Which I suspected. Awesome flavor and texture. Not many crystals in this. I had it with shrimp cocktail. At work. Which got a lot of attention!


----------



## jcam222 (Nov 4, 2022)

Steve H said:


> Ok all. Here is the 3 year old cheese.
> 
> View attachment 647785
> 
> ...


Looks great Steve!


----------

