# Smoked my 2nd batch of cheese,but it took  seven hrs.to get any smokey taste..



## delaware smoker (Dec 15, 2012)

Yesterday it was about 51 degrees,winds were about 5-10 miles.I put on some different kinds of Cabot cheese.The cheese itself is cheap,$2.08 for 8oz.I was using my CG,& dome temp,& oven temp.,nevered moved.The cheese went on about 130,& came off at 830..After the 1st 2.5 hrs,I checked the taste,no smoke taste,kept checking every hr.,still nothing.Finaaly about 6pm,the winds calmed down,& I had to add more pellets.Got a good smoke going again,& smoked another 2hrs,before I could get any smoke taste.My 1st batch of cheese took about 5hrs,& that batch I used Colby.I really don't care that it's taking a long time,just wondering how you guys are doing it in about 2.5 hrs.Once the cheese is done,it does taste good.Both batches are vacumed sealed,& in the fridge.

BTW,this  smoking cheese is addictive.


----------



## driedstick (Dec 17, 2012)

You problaby wont get good taste results right away is what you need to do more than likely is smoke for about 2-3hrs then vac pac or wrap in sarahn wrap and put in ziplock and try to get as much air out as possible then put in fridge for at least two weeks if not longer to get the flavor, the longer the better.

I have never tried right off the smoker


----------



## tamarockstar88 (Feb 13, 2013)

What was the ambient temp of the smoker? I've seen others say if it's too cold it wont absorb much smoke, too hot and it melts. I'm in Mass and doing my first batch tonight, others suggested turning on the smoker to warm it up, letting it cool slightly before throwing the cheese in so that's what I'll do. I've seen 70 - 90* as a good heat range and It's 36* out here now. If you have trouble keeping the heat up try turning on your burner briefly, using a hot plate, or a heat lamp to keep temps in that range

So I did my first batch last night. it was 32* I ended up lighting both sides on the amnps and it produced a little more heat. The temp was settling around 52*. I would go out and crank the burner on every 15-20 mins just for 30 secs to bring the temp up higher. I cut my cheddar in half and there was smoke flavor in the middle. Wrapped it up to age.

You're problem is probably due to it being too cold (also aging would probably help as well). People further down south probably don't have this issue, but it can get pretty cold up here. Today it's in the 50's I started a little earlier and the temps holding in the 60's which is better. I'd just try to hold off for a warm day like today, spring is coming soon so I might just hold off on buying a heater or hot plate, in the summer ill just use ice.


----------

