# Cold Smoking Cheese in the Smokehouse!



## pops6927

Now that Todd Johnson has graced me with his A-Maze-N Pellet Smoker, I have had visions of Sugarpl ... no, no, no... i'm too diabetic for that!.... of Cold Smoked bricks of Cheese dancing through my head!  Both my sons LOVE smoked cheese (and I can have a LITTLE bit too!).  Because of my latest stroke and being off work, money is tight (that's an understatement, lol!  Did you know in one week I had 12 doctors bill me for their services?  Geesh, you'd think I would have gotten to meet at least half of them... I can hear the discussion, "ARRRR!  New Meat in Rm. 352!  Get out your billing pads, boys and girls!!!... Sorry.. I digress...)  Anyways, digging through my wallet for ins. cards and medication lists, I found a Kroger Gift Card some nice lady (she will remain nameless, but a very generous SMF member!) sent me and still had a few $$ left on it that I'd forgotten, and in her honor I could only use it for smoking or processing meats, so what better thing to do than to spend it wisely on cheeses for cold smoking!  So, it gives me a great opportunity to further test out Todd Johnson's A-Maze-N Pellet Smoker unit in my smokehouse without having any heat on to drive it with, just the smolder of the unit itself.

First thing I had to do is to prepare the cheese for the smokehouse.  I got two 2lb bricks, 1 sharp cheddar and the other Pepper Jack that I cut in half, and 4 8 oz bricks - 2 extra sharp cheddar, 1 Colby and 1 Swiss, a total of 8 pieces altogether.  I put them in stockinette to hang from the smokehouse bars, vs. on a grate.  I knew the 8 oz because of their thinness would bend, but hopefully starting them early while still cool they would still maintain shape.  I do have the option of filling one or both of the drip pans with ice cubes if necessary, but it's 60° now and not supposed to get over 75° by noon so I think I'll be ok.

Here's a picture:








Bigger chunks in back, smaller ones in front to pull them if necessary, chill then put back in.

Now, there is a little trick to hanging product in a smokehouse via stockinette.  You have to tie your knots so they hang the thinnest, like the first piece on the left, to take up the least amt of room on the smokestick so you can hang more.  

The trick is tying the knot correctly.  First of all, it's a square knot:







not just a regular knot.  Second, it's positioning the product correctly and pulling the stockinette vertically to tie the knot.  

You want to lay the product on it's widest, flattest surface, like this:







Then, you want to stretch the stockinette vertically, pulling on the top and the bottom of the stockinette (only had one hand free, I'm holding the top and the bottom is dangling down, but you grab it there, not side-to-side, hand to hold the camera and take the picture with the other hand! lol!) and tie your square knot in the stockinette that way.

Then, when you put your hook on the stockinette, it will hang on the thinnest plane so you can fit more pieces on each stick.  On these cheeses it is not critical however, if you're hanging 14 lb. hams, and you want to hang 6 per row, you must follow that procedure correctly on every one or you won't be able to fit them in.  We smoked 36 hams at a time, 6 rows of 6 hams and sometimes there wasn't more than an 1/8" between them, and you had to leave a space otherwise the smoke wouldn't adhere and you'd leave a white spot, not a pretty result on a ham!







I'm holding up that piece showing how it hangs narrowest width as you face it with the hook.

It's now been an hour, the A-Maze-N Pellet Smoker is generating a great smoke from it; (I used a bottom layer of Hickory with a top layer of Corn Cob so I could get a hearty smoke into them!) and here's a pic so far:







No misconformity in the stockinette so far!  I'll post a second post after I'm done, but do hourly updates on it; plan on a 4-5 hour smoke.


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## fpnmf

Looking good!!

  Craig


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## michael ark

Great start pops .


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## rbranstner

Looking good Pops. Are those stockings the same thing you would use on a bird if you were hanging it in  the smoker? I am doing more turkeys for people this year and one note I had was to look into getting nets to hang them in to take up less space. Would those work? If so where do you usually get them?


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## ptcruiserguy

Now that is a nice lookin batch of Cheese Pops. Love the way they hang in the smokehouse.

Hopefully by next fall I can have mine built and be smokin in it.

Excellent so far, but of course I wouldn't expect anything but that from You.

Happy Smokin'

Mike


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## pops6927

I get them from Butcher Packer:

http://www.butcher-packer.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=22_78&products_id=228

They're $16.96 for 100 of them and 1 box has lasted me a couple years already still have ¾ of the box left !  They're cheap and are sooo useful, and it's from dad having his smokehouses and processing products that I know about them.  He used to buy the stockinette in a huge roll and we'd cut off what we would need, tying both ends, but these sacks are so much easier already precut and stitched one end!  Of course they are super stretchy and had no problem putting a ham or 16 lb. turkey in them either.  And, as the link says, you can boil them and remove product from the boiling water easily, so they'd be good for doing frankfurters or other colds meats too that you'd bring the internal temp to 155° via boiling!  Pull out the bag when done, instead of goin' fishin'!

Ham:







Turkey and chicken on maiden voyage of smokehouse:






 


rbranstner said:


> Looking good Pops. Are those stockings the same thing you would use on a bird if you were hanging it in  the smoker? I am doing more turkeys for people this year and one note I had was to look into getting nets to hang them in to take up less space. Would those work? If so where do you usually get them?


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## SmokinAl

I love your smokehouse Pops!

If my neighborhood would allow it I would have one in the back yard.

Actually I'm thinking of building a smaller version that I could hide behind the bushes.


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## Bearcarver

Gonna be some great cheese, Pops!!!

I Like your Square knot pic. Had to use them in Army for splicing WD1 commo wire----The sister "Granny Knot" (backwards second step) comes apart. That was a No-No!!!  
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





Bear


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## pops6927

Absolutely! One of the reasons to use it - you didn't want a whole ham falling into the grease pans ruining it just because you tied the knot wrong!  Plus, they wouldn't hang square either!


Bearcarver said:


> Gonna be some great cheese, Pops!!!
> 
> I Like your Square knot pic. Had to use them in Army for splicing WD1 commo wire----The sister "Granny Knot" (backwards second step) comes apart. That was a No-No!!!
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> Bear


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## scarbelly

Looks great Pops - You are going to love that cheese.


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## pops6927

Took the cheese out at 12 noon after pulling the piece of Swiss and testing it (just a little, SH!)  This is how it looked:







Next Question - did the sack stick?







NO! Not in the least - they did beautifully - the stockinette slid right off; the outer skin of the cheese, even though warm, hardened (just like a ham or turkey or skinless chickens) to a firm skin and didn't melt through the cheesecloth.  It was 84° out and the sun shining directly on the smokehouse, but although warm, the cheese was still firm enough to handle with ease and the stockinette came right off with ease, but allowed the smoke to penetrate and color and smoke the cheese with no problem (the sacks are pretty much 'smoke transparent') as this picture shows:







Before I could sample any more (one sample to both my wife and myself, a ½ x ½ " piece each) I got them in Ziplocs as quick as I could and put them in the back brining refrigerator - out-of-sight out-of-mind for two weeks to cure!







I can't say enough about the A-Maze-N Pellet Smoker by Todd Johnson!  It did its job absolutely perfectly!  I'd loaded it to the max just to make sure I had non-stop smoking, and smoked for 5 hours with it, then I still had this much left:







Just s simple matter of pushing the smoldering pile away from the fresh pellets and let it die out - no need to waste half a full fill!

As a side note, I want to add that this whole post, plus the answers to questions, has been a therapy for me in accordance with HealthSouth Cityview - I will hand in a printed version of this thread showing my typing.  I have to correct every mistake, out of pride more than anything (I don't have to and you could figure out most of what I'm trying to say with the gazillions of typo's I make).  But, the exercise and typing practice skills are beneficial to me to try and get back to 'normal' typing.  I also downloaded a typing tutor program at the advice of my occupational therapists and am working with that now too.  Prior to strokes, I could type 50 - 60 words a minute with 90% or better accuracy.   Now, I achieved my best score to date of 9 wpm with 35% accuracy, so you can see I've got a LONNNGGG way to go, so it's just going to require more and more smoking and more and more posting, lol!  Actually, next weekend I hope to be doing a cold smoke on more cheese and vegetables for my therapists!

I declare this test of the A-Maze-N Pellet Smoker a 100% +++ Success!


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## rbranstner

Do you ever freeze your cheese once  it is done being smoked? I was going to do up a bunch but I wasn't sure how good it would be if I froze it. I froze some cheese  years back and when I tried to eat  it all it wanted to do was crumble. I suppose it would also depend  on the type of cheese.


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## pops6927

Just wanted to show a 'before' and 'after' pic showing the color difference:

Before:







After:







I'm sure you noticed the Swiss missing, pulled it 10 min. earlier to test it, but it's on the block with the other cheeses before removing the stockinette in the Ziploc Bag:


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## smokingohiobutcher

Great Post Pops!!! And Great idea for smoking cheese! I got a bag of ham socks out in the garage (from B&P of course) myself and will give this a try!

Glad to hear you have a positive attitude!  Best of luck to you in your recovery!

And as always!!!!!!

YOU DA MAN!

SOB


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## pops6927

I never have, but I know cheese keeps a long time too, and I know with my two sons, it won't be around very long at all!   Keep it in the fridge and if it gets mold on it, just gently scrape it off, it's still good!
 


rbranstner said:


> Do you ever freeze your cheese once  it is done being smoked? I was going to do up a bunch but I wasn't sure how good it would be if I froze it. I froze some cheese  years back and when I tried to eat  it all it wanted to do was crumble. I suppose it would also depend  on the type of cheese.


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## rbranstner

Pops6927 said:


> I never have, but I know cheese keeps a long time too, and I know with my two sons, it won't be around very long at all!   Keep it in the fridge and if it gets mold on it, just gently scrape it off, it's still good!




Yea I usually only do a few bricks at a time but I was thinking about doing a big batch to stock up but if it's just going to get moldy in the fridge because I can't eat it fast enough I don't want to do it. That is why I was curious if anyone froze them. I might have to start a thread and see if anyone does and if they have a different experience then I did in the past.


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## exhaustedspark

Looks good pops

I understand about the typing. I am very grateful for spell checking.

I used to wrap all my cheese until i saw how the pellets would do. I now just set the cheese on these plastic mats from Little chief smokers and put them on the racks in the UDS and no bending or driping.  Works great.

Easy to wash also.

I love smoked Cream cheese on my baked spud. Yum

Keep practicing on the typing as the brain does get better with the exercise. They ignored my brain injury for years so some damage cannot be undone and it has been found that the more you work and the sooner you work on the brain it does like all muscles and get better.

Good Luck and God Bless

Karl


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## venture

Another excellent post!  Thanks Pops.

Good luck and good smoking.


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## Bearcarver

Perfect looking cheese, Pops!!!

Looks like that load could have gone 11 or 12 hours. Just can't beat that AMNPS !!!

Thanks,

Bear

Ross----I froze some cheese, and the same thing happened to mine----Very crumbly!


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## smokin - k

Great Job POPS!  This site is also therapy for me... Keep up the good work and thanks for the post! Happy Smoking, Smokin - K


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## tjohnson

Hey Pops!

What a fantastic Finish!

It looks like you got plenty of smoke for your smokehouse

Enjoy My Friend!!!

Todd


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## SmokinAl

The cheese looks great Pops. I really like the way you hung them up. No grill marks!

I freeze cheese all the time, but I will add that the only cheese I smoke is Muenster, and it's a soft cheese like mozz.

Maybe some of the harder cheeses like sharp cheddar don't freeze well.


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## alelover

Cheese looks awesome. Nice smokehouse too. Is there a post of the construction on it somewhere?


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## homebrew

What a great post with awesome pics. I love the idea of hanging the cheese. There are so many things that would be so much easier hung. Off to order a box.

Thanks again.


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## pops6927

Yes, check out the link at the bottom of any of my posts, the first one, "Smokehouse"


alelover said:


> Cheese looks awesome. Nice smokehouse too. Is there a post of the construction on it somewhere?


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## alelover

I see it. I was looking at the grey one that said Plywood Smokehouse and was thinkin why won't it work dammit. Thanks.


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## bluebombersfan

WOW pops excellent job!!


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## billyj571

Hay Pop's just got my A-Maze-N-Pellet-Smoker from Todd yesterday and now I  know what I'm going to try and smoke with this for the first burn cheese. Thanks for the photos looks real good


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## andrew82

Awesome Smokehouse!!


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## simple

We freeze cheese all the time.  Used to live 20 minutes from  a cheese maker.  we would by sharp cheddar and colby as a small wheel, cut into chunks and freeze.  I may crumble a bit when sliced after freezing, but never enough to create any problems.  The little crumbs that might flake off are small enough they contain no calories or fat, so we didn't mind picking them up and stuffing them into our faces.

Having said that, my daughter was a cheese monger (her term, not mine) for a couple years at a high-falutin' healthy foods grocery store, and she insists that freezing cheese changes its "complexity, texture, flavor, and aromatics".  We still buy in bulk, chunk (soon to add smoke to the process), and freeze...


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## flareside92

Pops your cheese looks awesome!

 Ok i have a couple ameturish questions.

1. When smoking cheese is it wise to use a tray of ice cubes?

2. Do you leave the door open just a crack?

The only reason I ask is.. I decided to smoke some cheese in the garage tonight, since it was a bit brisk and breezy, and my wife remarked about how smokey it was.

I had the door open just a crack because I didn't want it to heat up.

I closed the door and went back in the house. ( we both smoke but don't smoke in the house)

I do some computer work on the side and 2 hours later, went back to the garage only to find that my pepper jack had started to soften/melt more than the 3 blocks of cheddar.

I removed all of it and sealed it up seperately and put it in the fridge.

I was using cherry/hickory dust but didn't think it would get warm enough or get that soft.

Is that normal?


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## pops6927

The questions are fine, always glad to try to help!

What was the outside temp and the inside temp in your garage?  You may have been better off smoking it outdoors if your temp differential was considerable (like 60° outside and 75° or higher inside).

did you have your vents open all the way to draft out any excess heat instead of opening the door?  Could the door opening have possibly fanned the smoldering to a higher level that adversely affected your temp?

check your temp inside your smoker and let that determine whether or not to use ice cubes or bricks (an alternative is to freeze water in milk cartons, then just refreeze).  I stsrted early enough that temp was not an issue early on (60's) and just started getting near 80° when I pulled them at noon.  I'd thought about using ice in my drip pans but didn't need to, the cheese remained firm enough and didn't melt into the stockinette at all.
 


Flareside92 said:


> Pops your cheese looks awesome!
> 
> Ok i have a couple ameturish questions.
> 
> 1. When smoking cheese is it wise to use a tray of ice cubes?
> 
> 2. Do you leave the door open just a crack?
> 
> The only reason I ask is.. I decided to smoke some cheese in the garage tonight, since it was a bit brisk and breezy, and my wife remarked about how smokey it was.
> 
> I had the door open just a crack because I didn't want it to heat up.
> 
> I closed the door and went back in the house. ( we both smoke but don't smoke in the house)
> 
> I do some computer work on the side and 2 hours later, went back to the garage only to find that my pepper jack had started to soften/melt more than the 3 blocks of cheddar.
> 
> I removed all of it and sealed it up seperately and put it in the fridge.
> 
> I was using cherry/hickory dust but didn't think it would get warm enough or get that soft.
> 
> Is that normal?


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## Bearcarver

Pops6927 said:


> The questions are fine, always glad to try to help!
> 
> What was the outside temp and the inside temp in your garage?  You may have been better off smoking it outdoors if your temp differential was considerable (like 60° outside and 75° or higher inside).
> 
> did you have your vents open all the way to draft out any excess heat instead of opening the door?  Could the door opening have possibly fanned the smoldering to a higher level that adversely affected your temp?
> 
> check your temp inside your smoker and let that determine whether or not to use ice cubes or bricks *(an alternative is to freeze water in milk cartons, then just refreeze).*  I stsrted early enough that temp was not an issue early on (60's) and just started getting near 80° when I pulled them at noon.  I'd thought about using ice in my drip pans but didn't need to, the cheese remained firm enough and didn't melt into the stockinette at all.


Exactly what Pops said.

Example---This is in my old MES 30:

I keep a bunch of these 3/4 filled and in the freezer I don't use much.

They're good for saving watts in the freezer, and always ready for a cold smoke.








Bear


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## pops6927

Egg  Zakkly!  Purfeckt!


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## chubbabubba

Totally awesome Pops. Funny, i was just telling coworkers today that my goal is to master smoking cheeses as the temp is dropping outside. This is really an inspiration. Smoking a turkey breast tonight. 

sorry to hear about strokes Pops, i'm glad to hear it's not been too debilitating. My great uncle and aunt had strokes within the last 6 years. I know what it's like to worry about loved ones. I pray your health gets better and you can continue smoking, and inspiring newbies like me. Thanks!


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## exhaustedspark

Attention Flareside92

First off i assume you are using a insulated oven smoker.

I suggest for cheese you do not do that. It is designed to keep the heat in and that is not what you want to do with cheese. If you are just insisting on using the insulated smoker then leave the door open and put a sheet/pillowcase etc, accross the opening. I also am assuming you are using a pellet or Dust burner and not the units heat source. You can even use the ice to keep it even cooler.

Try to do the cheese when the outside temp is 60 or lower. Should have no problem after that.

Karl


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## samuel trachet

Looks Great Pops! Thanks for the link for the stockinettes. Keep up with the great QVIEW!!


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## jc1947

*Pops, thanks for another excellent tutorial. *

*JC*


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## chamois

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## whodat

Todd,

The 3 pellet smokers you shipped to me are fabulous!

Nice packing peanuts!!


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## tjohnson

whodat said:


> Todd,
> 
> The 3 pellet smokers you shipped to me are fabulous!
> 
> Nice packing peanuts!!




Dang things just fell in the box!

Enjoy!

Todd


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