# A few cheeses smoked and a few experiments tried



## fire it up (Jan 2, 2010)

Ran out of smoked cheese a few weeks ago so I fired up the smoker (cold fired up I should say) and smoked up some goodness.

I had a few chunks of jack, pepperjack and extra sharp cheddar.
I smoked them over oak and pecan for 2 1/2 hours averaging 72 degrees.

I wanted to try a few ideas I had this time so in addition to the regular smoking process I seasoned up a few of the chunks as well.

First I took some pepperjack and put it in some hot chili sesame oil for several hours.


Next was another chunk of pepperjack coated in fresh ground black pepper



My third experiment was a chunk of cheddar coated in some paprika, chipotle, garlic and oregano


I let all the cheese sit in the fridge unwrapped for one hour then set on the counter for one hour so the outside of the cheese would develop a nice dry skin on it.
Everybody ready to party.


For building the fire I started a few coals, placed 4 of them in a circle with a few small pieces of wood in the center, since it was a bit cold out I ended up having to add 2 more coals to the pile to reach my desired temperature (anywhere between 70-90 degrees)

Here is the same pile nearing the end of the smoke, I had to add wood twice and used a total of around 10 coals for the entire smoke.



Ready to come out


A few shots of the seasoned ones



The rest of the gang ready to get wrapped and take a long nap.


Now comes the hard part...waiting 2 weeks for the smoke to mellow and meld with the cheese.  You can eat the cheese before that but 2 weeks seems to be the perfect amount of time for the cheese to set.
Tic...Toc...

Smoking cheese is another one of those things I feel tastes so much better when you do it yourself compared to buying some from a deli that was smoked who knows where with who knows what.

Hope you enjoy my cheese smoke Qview, I'll be updating in about 2 weeks


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## meat hunter (Jan 2, 2010)

Looks really good there FIU. Be sure to post it in 2 weeks when its time to eat
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





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Question for you. How far will the smoke penetrate into the cheese?


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## 1adam12 (Jan 2, 2010)

thanks I am going to try the pepperjack


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## scarbelly (Jan 2, 2010)

Wow FIU that is some great looking cheese. Please be sure to post some results for us. I am looking forward to hearing about the peppered and the chili oil ones


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## scpatterson (Jan 2, 2010)

I have gotta do me some cheese...Gotta give you some points for trying something diff...Thanks for sharing


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## bigslick (Jan 2, 2010)

Can not wait to hear how the seasoned ones turn out.
Newb question, so you wrap tight and put in the frig for the 2 weeks?  do you let cool before wrapping to avoid moisture?
Love the Q-view thanks for sharing and for trying something new!





Godspeed,
bigslick


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## hell fire grill (Jan 2, 2010)

I like what your doing with coating / soaking the cheese, I think it will add some interesting flavors. 

I have a couple questions on your method. Whats the benifit to targeting 70 - 90*? Why do you smoke the cheese for 2 1/2 hours. It seems like those two conditions in a smoker could dry the cheese out.


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## solaryellow (Jan 2, 2010)

Looks great! I can't wait to hear how the experimental stuff turned out.


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## rivet (Jan 2, 2010)

Jim, you've done some creativity here! Love that hot chili sesame oil baby....wow. 

Keep us posted on the results. Everything looks so good! You may have just pushed me into trying this.


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## fire it up (Jan 2, 2010)

You can wrap tightly in plastic wrap but I vacuum seal them and then let them sit for 2 weeks.  And yes, I let them cool completely to room temperature before sealing them.

The 70-90 is just somewhat of a standard for cold smoking cheese, if you go above 90 you run the risk of your cheese softening too much and possibly even melting.
Normally I smoke these types of cheese for 2 hours and mozzarella for 3 but my last batch could have used just a touch more smoke flavor which is the main reason I gave them the extra half hour.  You want them to go long enough to pick up ample smoke flavor and you don't have to worry about the cheese drying out, you don't want it to be moist to begin with which is why you need to let the cheese sit for a while so it will develop a "skin" on the outside.

The paprika/chipotle one smells amazing, it's going to be hard waiting for that one.


John, I hope you give it a shot sometime this Winter.  When I first tried smoking cheese I really wasn't sure if I could keep a proper low temp in the sNp but it works like a charm.

A tip to anyone who decides to smoke cheese, some folks will place ice in their water pan inside of the smoker to keep the temps cool, it's a good idea if you are unable to get temps down to where you need them.


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## beer-b-q (Jan 2, 2010)

Jim, your cheese looks fantastic...


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## meateater (Jan 2, 2010)

I need to try that before summer, It gets a little hot my way!


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## old poi dog (Jan 2, 2010)

Aloha FIU,

Looking forward to your posting again in two weeks.  Thanks for the great Q-view.


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## alx (Jan 2, 2010)

Nice work Jim....I have been thinking of a chile rub for some and i like that peppercorn as well......Nice you did a bunch.....


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## treegje (Jan 2, 2010)

What a way to start a year


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## DanMcG (Jan 2, 2010)

looks good, I really looking forward to the taste tests. keep us posted.


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## hell fire grill (Jan 2, 2010)

Can you site your source of information? Id like to read it.


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## deltadude (Jan 2, 2010)

*Fire it up

thanks for the great post, I have to give give smoked cheese in the MES a try.  Your post will give me a good start on some ideas...
*


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## fire it up (Jan 2, 2010)

As with most things I do I get info from here, there, all over the place.
Here is a link to the section on smoking cheese from Smoking-Meat.com
http://www.smoking-meat.com/how-to-smoke-cheese.html

I'm sure I can dig even deeper if you would like any more info to read on the subject.


I sure hope you give it a try, it really is a lot simpler than many folks may think and so worth doing.
Some smoked pepperjack cheese on top of a homemade pastrami sandwich...Man it doesn't get much better!


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## etcher1 (Jan 2, 2010)

I'am going to have to try some of those experiments!


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## hell fire grill (Jan 2, 2010)

I read that link, and several others, a couple years ago when I was new to this site and started checking my own method against others. Thats not exactly how I smoke cheese but most folks dont have the experience or equipment that I do. One great thing about the whole outdoor cooking hobby is that most anybody can make something work and work well with minimal effort or experience, especially something as simple as cheese. Thanks for taking the time to share your efforts and results with us.


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## fire it up (Jan 2, 2010)

Would love to hear your method, always interested in learning different ways to do things.
You know what they say, More than one way to smoke a butt


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## hell fire grill (Jan 2, 2010)

This is what I use, for now at least untill I finish my smokehouse.

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/for...ad.php?t=81940

I dont let a "skin" develope on the cheese. In my opinion any time the cheese is unwraped its losing moisture so I dont leave it unwraped any longer than nessesary. Exposing it to room temps seems to speed the drying effect substantially. My method is to get it unwraped, cut and in the smoker as quickly as possible with the smoker already fired and adjusted. Smoke for one hour. Then vacume pac the cheese as quickly as I can and get it back to the fridge. I am fortunate enough to have a garage seperate from the house that stays cool most of the year and is set up for processing food, a cold kitchen so to speak. I always allow the cheese to mellow for about a week, if I can stand to wait.

I'm not knocking any other method just sharing good information.


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## mulepackin (Jan 2, 2010)

Must be the weekend for this. I just tossed a few bricks in my smoker this morning. Don't know if I can wait the two weeks though
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





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## kbk (Jan 9, 2010)

Great looking cheese. thanks for the seasoning idea. Doing my first smoked cheese's today.


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## stonebriar (Jan 9, 2010)

Jim -

Although I am new to smoking, I attempted smoking cheese in my second smoke. It really did turn out well - after the 2 week mellow time. However, your post today is the best I have seen on this subject. Excellent Q-View! I will take your suggestions to heart and hope you will post the results in two weeks...

Thank you!


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## flyfishjeep (Jan 9, 2010)

I too an anxious for the time to pass and some updated pics.  Everything looked great.


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## stonebriar (Jan 30, 2010)

FIU - I am about to start some cheese and will be following your recent experiments. Since over two weeks have passed, I am curious how things turned out (especially the chipotle/paprika experiment!)? I have looked for your update, yet have been unable to find it...


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## fire it up (Jan 30, 2010)

Sorry, so many things going on and I used the cheeses over several days and didn't open them all at once.  Wanted to post the update with them all together but out of them all the one I forgot to open (still in the back of the cheese drawer I assume) was the paprika one.
The other ones were great, the pepper one had a hell of a bite since the pepper was coated so much but it was great when melted, the hot oil one didn't really do too much so I will have to let sit longer next time.
As for the paprika one I'll have to look at it and make sure it's still OK to use but Meat Hunter has done a few really nice cheese smokes lately with different experiments.
Here are the links if you missed them...

http://smokingmeatforums.com/forums/...ad.php?t=87466

http://smokingmeatforums.com/forums/...ad.php?t=88354


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