# First time cheese question



## reedy21212 (Nov 20, 2016)

I just finished my first ever smoke (4 pounds of brisket), and now I'm ready to smoke everything I put in my mouth. I have a propane smoker and sub 90 degrees probably a aren't achievable.  I've been looking at either the Amazn pellet or tube smoker. Leaning towards the tube smoker because ive seen more positive results keeping it lit. For smoking cheese, is this all I'll need for heat source?


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## SmokinAl (Nov 21, 2016)

You do not need any heat to smoke cheese.

The pellet smoker will generate some heat so you will want to smoke the cheese on a cool day.

On my propane smoker I put the tube under the water pan & in the chip pan.

Al


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## cmayna (Nov 21, 2016)

I smoke cheese in my gasser with the propane disconnected,  using a mailbox mod and an AMNPS.   See if I can find some pics of my cheese smoke from this past weekend.


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## cmayna (Nov 21, 2016)

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## daricksta (Nov 22, 2016)

Reedy21212 said:


> I just finished my first ever smoke (4 pounds of brisket), and now I'm ready to smoke everything I put in my mouth. I have a propane smoker and sub 90 degrees probably a aren't achievable. I've been looking at either the Amazn pellet or tube smoker. Leaning towards the tube smoker because ive seen more positive results keeping it lit. For smoking cheese, is this all I'll need for heat source?


I don't use the mailbox mode but I'm thinking about it. Both the AMNPS and the AMNTS go out in my MES 30 Gen 1 during cold smokes. The MES 30 has poor airflow at lower temps. I've placed two 1/2 gallon plastic jugs of frozen water placed below the racks but even when cold smoking the water thaws relatively quickly so it's useless for keep the interior temp down.

Despite the challenges I've always managed to produce more than enough smoke to fully flavor cheeses and beef jerky. What's great about cold smoking and then vacuum packing these goodies is that that smoke continues to permeate and circulate throughout them so that in a few weeks the cheeses are noticeably darker and smokier tasting. The jerky develops better color and the flavors also become more pronounced.


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## reedy21212 (Nov 22, 2016)

Thanks!  I'm in Minnesota so the temp will be around 20-30 degrees if I smoke soon. I'm actually worried about it being too cold.


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## JckDanls 07 (Nov 22, 2016)

the lil bit of heat the tube puts out should get temps (40`+)  up in the smoker...  run a test with a tube full of pellets and see what temps are inside the smoker...


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## daricksta (Nov 24, 2016)

Reedy21212 said:


> Thanks! I'm in Minnesota so the temp will be around 20-30 degrees if I smoke soon. I'm actually worried about it being too cold.


As has been posted in this thread, wood pellets do put out a certain amount of heat, as do wood chips if that's your smoke source. Besides avoiding frostbite, your challenge is to keep your smoke source burning and, well, smoking. I have this problem with my MES and I'm finally considering building the mailbox mod to solve the problem with cold smoking.


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## cmayna (Nov 24, 2016)

What I've noticed is that when I was using the AMNPS or AMNTS at the bottom of my gasser smoker (with no gas of course) when cold smoking, the average temp increase in the chamber is an average of 12* higher than ambient temp  whereas when using the mailbox with 4 feet of pipe between the mailbox and chamber as shown above, last couple times, the difference averages 2*.


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## daricksta (Nov 24, 2016)

cmayna said:


> What I've noticed is that when I was using the AMNPS or AMNTS at the bottom of my gasser smoker (with no gas of course) when cold smoking, the average temp increase in the chamber is an average of 12* higher than ambient temp  whereas when using the mailbox with 4 feet of pipe between the mailbox and chamber as shown above, last couple times, the difference averages 2*.


That's why I do believe I'm mailboxing cold smokes next year. The dual-edged cold smoking problem for me is that on cold days when cold smoking, the wood pellets in my AMNPS go out because the air's too cold inside the smoker to generate adequate airflow. When that happens I just turn on the heating element for short periods of time but within that period the temp can get as high as 150° before I shut it off. So, then I got a problem with the cheese softening to the point of melting into the Q-MATZ. I've resisted the mailbox mod for a few years but I'm finally coming around to it. It'll work better for me than the MB Cold Smoking Kit.


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## cmayna (Nov 24, 2016)

With or without a mailbox mod, one should also consider using  dust since it was originally designed for cold smoking.   I have both pellets and dust but keep forgetting to use the dust since I typically don't have issues keeping the pellets lit.   Next time, I'm going to put a sticky note on my forehead as a reminder to get the dust out and use it.


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## daricksta (Nov 24, 2016)

cmayna said:


> With or without a mailbox mod, one should also consider using  dust since it was originally designed for cold smoking.   I have both pellets and dust but keep forgetting to use the dust since I typically don't have issues keeping the pellets lit.   Next time, I'm going to put a sticky note on my forehead as a reminder to get the dust out and use it.


Bearcarver has always advised using Dust for cold smokes. I'm going to buy some bags of hickory and oak from Todd and try them out next year. I won the 6" AMNTS but I may spring for the extendable model.


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