# First Big Cheese Smoke!



## Smokin' in AZ (Jan 11, 2020)

Well after seeing all the recent posts on smoking cheese I thought what the heck why not. I have never done it before so I jumped in both feet first, like I usually do.   

I was at Sam's club and decided to see what they had for cheeses and they actually had some nice cheeses at reasonable prices so I grabbed a bunch.















*We are having a cold front moving through with temps in the low 60's for highs, so I decided to get it started early. Added apple pellets to the amazn tube and put a pan with blue ice in ziplocs above it for smoke dispersion and cooling.*





*
After 3 hours I pulled them, highest temp was 70ish so no oil leakage.*






*And this after resting in the fridge for 24 hours, although it appears that one of the colby jack pieces had a severe shrinkage issue.....Sue?*

*I just saw her snacking on it a few minutes ago, so it will not make it through the day, poor thing.....the cheese I mean. *






*So I spent the morning vacuum packing what was left....*






Thanks for lookin'

Now off to the hopscotch chickens that I just threw on the REC TEC for tonight's dinner.

John


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## Rico123 (Jan 11, 2020)

Hi John,  Looks good, I do pretty much the same, apple pellets, 3 hrs.  Now I only do Gouda, & Swiss.
After vac packing, I let rest for at least a week in the frig.  Aged like a fine wine.


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## Bearcarver (Jan 11, 2020)

Nice Cheese John!!
Nice Job!
Like.
Only thing around here more expensive than meat---Cheese!!
Bear


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## Rico123 (Jan 11, 2020)

& Better cheese tastes better smoked!

Nam vet as well 67 to 71


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## jcam222 (Jan 11, 2020)

Looks fantastic!! One of these days I’ll give cheese a try.


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## smokerjim (Jan 11, 2020)

looks great John, nice selection. Enjoy!


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## GATOR240 (Jan 11, 2020)

Nice looking haul. Like


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## fullborebbq (Jan 11, 2020)

Nice looking cheese run! One thing I have found is using gloves is a must for long term storage. I was in a hurry once and after 3 months the Swiss had finger prints on it! Lol.......

P.S. 60 degree cold front, that's funny! we just had a 63 degree heat wave here in Buffalo,NY today.....


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## thirdeye (Jan 11, 2020)

Tillamook is my favorite cheese brand for smoking.  It behaves wonderfully in the smoker and Sam's has 2.5 pound bricks instead of the 2 pound bricks at my grocery stores.


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## Jabiru (Jan 11, 2020)

Nice work. Looks so good and a nice assortment. We love smoked cheese at our place. I did about 10KG in winter and we are down to the last 4 blocks, bring on Winter.


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## cmayna (Jan 11, 2020)

Looks good.   I started out with multiple flavors of chesse as well.  Now I smoke only Mozzarella.


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## martin1950 (Jan 12, 2020)

Welcome to the addiction of smoked cheeses. Your 1st attempt? You nailed it.


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## SmokinAl (Jan 12, 2020)

Good looking cheese!
Looks like your set for a while!
Al


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## Smokin' in AZ (Jan 12, 2020)

Rico123 said:


> Hi John,  Looks good, I do pretty much the same, apple pellets, 3 hrs.  Now I only do Gouda, & Swiss.
> After vac packing, I let rest for at least a week in the frig.  Aged like a fine wine.


Thanks Rico, I am planning to do the same if I can keep it away from my wife...



Bearcarver said:


> Nice Cheese John!!
> Nice Job!
> Like.
> Only thing around here more expensive than meat---Cheese!!
> Bear


Thank you Bear for the like!

I know what you mean about cheese prices , as that is what has kept me from doing it sooner. But Sams prices on the where pretty good so I bit the bullet.



jcam222 said:


> Looks fantastic!! One of these days I’ll give cheese a try.


Thanks for the like jcam222!

Winter is the time for it, especially here in the desert.



smokerjim said:


> looks great John, nice selection. Enjoy!


Thanks for the like Jim!

I was going for a big selection for the first time to evaluate what was best moving forward.

John


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## Smokin' in AZ (Jan 12, 2020)

buzzy


 Central PA Cowboy


 BandCollector

Thanks for the likes!


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## Smokin' in AZ (Jan 12, 2020)

GATOR240 said:


> Nice looking haul. Like


Thanks for the like gator! And the nice comment



fullborebbq said:


> Nice looking cheese run! One thing I have found is using gloves is a must for long term storage. I was in a hurry once and after 3 months the Swiss had finger prints on it! Lol.......
> 
> P.S. 60 degree cold front, that's funny! we just had a 63 degree heat wave here in Buffalo,NY today.....


Thanks for the like fullbore!

Fingerprints...too funny. I didn't wear any we will see if mine show  up.   

Oh and this is the only time of year I mention the weather....somehow saying it is 110 degrees doesn't get the same effect.



thirdeye said:


> Tillamook is my favorite cheese brand for smoking.  It behaves wonderfully in the smoker and Sam's has 2.5 pound bricks instead of the 2 pound bricks at my grocery stores.


Yes it is a really good cheese in general, and I was hoping it would smoke well. So thanks for confirming that. And at just under 8 dollars was a good deal....



Jabiru said:


> Nice work. Looks so good and a nice assortment. We love smoked cheese at our place. I did about 10KG in winter and we are down to the last 4 blocks, bring on Winter.


Thanks Jabiru! Hoping this lasts me until next winter. I did get a bit carried away probably should have only done half as much. 

John


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## Smokin' in AZ (Jan 12, 2020)

kruizer


 6GRILLZNTN
  Thanks for the likes!


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## Smokin' in AZ (Jan 12, 2020)

SmokinAl said:


> Good looking cheese!
> Looks like your set for a while!
> Al


Thanks for the like Al!

John


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## sawhorseray (Jan 12, 2020)

Wow John, that's quite a piece of work! What do you do with all that cheese after it's vac-sealed? Freezer? Like, RAY


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## Smokin' in AZ (Jan 12, 2020)

sawhorseray said:


> Wow John, that's quite a piece of work! What do you do with all that cheese after it's vac-sealed? Freezer? Like, RAY


Thanks for the like Ray!

I did some reading and apparently cheese is only good for about 6 months in the freezer even when vac packed (not sure of the validity of that, as meat is good for up to 2 years). Need to get a validated source to be sure. It did say harder cheeses like gouda, asiago, etc. freeze better, so I put all of the havarti in the fridge with most of the remaining, I did one block of the asiago, gouda, sharp, medium, and colby jack in the freezer.

As far as refrigerated goes people here on the board have said they have had it in the fridge for multiple years....

John


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## cmayna (Jan 12, 2020)

I believe most do not freeze their cheese.  Fridge only after vacuum seal.  Have had some from last winter.  Well aged.....


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## JJS (Jan 12, 2020)

I have froze smoked cheese in the past, it seems to mess with the texture of the cheese, I just vac seal and in the refrigerator now


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