# Cheese Reload!



## humdinger (Oct 11, 2013)

UPDATE Tuesday Oct 15th. Two new pics added below.

So the stock pile of cheese I smoked last winter has finally dwindled to nothing. I know that may seem sad at first, however the local weather and supermarket cheese prices have conspired to help me at just the right time. For the past weeks I have been buying up cheese as it goes on sale around town. (Kroger was the latest to have a sale so if you got one near you, check it out b/c the sale ends this Sunday.) The humidity has finally broke too, giving us awesome crisp autumn days.

I'm also happy because I get to try out some new peach pellets. My last batch of cheese was smoked with oak pellets and I hit it pretty hard too. (The cheese was good but as you probably guessed had quite a bite to it!) So I was excited for this round b/c I have heard rave reviews about using peach for cheese.













2013-10-11 11.05.17.jpg



__ humdinger
__ Oct 11, 2013






Got some Hoffmans Super Sharp Cheddar (my fav), Wisconsin Pinconning, Kroger Moz, and Kroger Pepper Jack.













2013-10-11 11.15.53.jpg



__ humdinger
__ Oct 11, 2013






Cut up in about 1 or 1.5lb portions. I like to take cheese to a party as an appetizer. These butter-stick sized portions help keep me from being too generous. 
	

	
	
		
		



		
			


















2013-10-11 11.27.32.jpg



__ humdinger
__ Oct 11, 2013






Smoke is rolling! The peach smoke is much lighter than the oak and sweeter smelling than anything I have used before. When I was done I had about an inch of pellets left in my AMNPS but I just let it keep burning b/c it was making my back yard smell so good.













2013-10-11 15.44.17.jpg



__ humdinger
__ Oct 11, 2013






All done!













2013-10-11 15.45.10.jpg



__ humdinger
__ Oct 11, 2013






The mozz took the smoke real well and had a nice caramel color.













2013-10-11 15.45.28.jpg



__ humdinger
__ Oct 11, 2013






Mmmm. Might shred this later for a home made pizza!

UPDATE UPDATE

Ok, it's now Tuesday night. The Detroit Tigers just blew it again against Boston, so I guess there is nothing else to do but vac pac the cheese I did (above) last Friday.

Big thanks to Case (Dirtsailor2003) for recommending that it rest for a few days in the fridge before vac packing. I can really tell the difference from other batches I've done in the past that weren't rested.













2013-10-15 20.33.51.jpg



__ humdinger
__ Oct 15, 2013






Locked and loaded. This amount will probably carry me through the holidays...maybe super bowl.













2013-10-15 21.14.53.jpg



__ humdinger
__ Oct 15, 2013






LOL See Case! I told you I had a separate fridge just for beer and smoked goodies! (If you look closely, you can see the cheese in the middle drawer!)

Thanks again for looking.


----------



## pgsmoker64 (Oct 11, 2013)

Looks great!!

Remember, it's a good idea to let the cheese rest after smoking for a couple weeks or longer before eating.  This helps in mellowing the smokey flavor.

Bill


----------



## skypilot (Oct 11, 2013)

don't know if Louisiana is ever gonna get cool enough to smoke cheese but I'm hoping it does 'cause that looks amazing!


----------



## humdinger (Oct 11, 2013)

PGSmoker64 said:


> Looks great!!
> 
> Remember, it's a good idea to let the cheese rest after smoking for a couple weeks or longer before eating.  This helps in mellowing the smokey flavor.
> 
> Bill


Oh yeah that's a must. I did some last December and swore not to touch it until the Super Bowl in Feb. I was good and it actually lasted me to the end of summer. This new batch is resting in the fridge covered overnight and will get vac sealed tomorrow.


----------



## humdinger (Oct 11, 2013)

Skypilot said:


> don't know if Louisiana is ever gonna get cool enough to smoke cheese but I'm hoping it does 'cause that looks amazing!


Thanks for the compliment skypilot. Yeah we had kind of an indian summer through Sept up here in MI. But it's finally cooled off. It was about 43 degrees outside this morning, but the high today was 76. I love these kind of days.


----------



## disco (Oct 11, 2013)

Great looking cheese. You have inspired me. I am cold smoking some back bacon (Americans call it Canadian bacon) over apple on Monday. So I will put some cheese in the smoker too! Thanks for the post.

Disco


----------



## mr t 59874 (Oct 11, 2013)

Your cheese looks very good.  If you are going to store for long periods, you may want to consider waxing.  If you are interested, I would be happy to help you get started.

Tom


----------



## themule69 (Oct 11, 2013)

Looks GREAT! Nice color. The weather is getting right here for cold smoking. I have a bunch of cheese ready to go in the smoker.

Happy smoken.

David


----------



## humdinger (Oct 15, 2013)

Disco said:


> Great looking cheese. You have inspired me. I am cold smoking some back bacon (Americans call it Canadian bacon) over apple on Monday. So I will put some cheese in the smoker too! Thanks for the post.
> 
> Disco


Thanks disco. I haven't gotten around to doing any bacon or back bacon for that matter. It's funny that Canadians don't call it "Canadian" bacon...especially since Americans have no problem saying "American" Cheese. lol


Mr T 59874 said:


> Your cheese looks very good.  If you are going to store for long periods, you may want to consider waxing.  If you are interested, I would be happy to help you get started.
> 
> Tom


Tom, Thanks for the tip. This stuff probably won't last til next spring. One day though I would like to try waxing some really good stuff to keep long term. I love Limburger and Lorraine Swiss, so maybe I'll do those. I will definitely keep you in mind. Thanks again.


themule69 said:


> Looks GREAT! Nice color. The weather is getting right here for cold smoking. I have a bunch of cheese ready to go in the smoker.
> 
> Happy smoken.
> 
> David


Thanks Dave. I'll be on the lookout for your post!


----------



## marteenhook (Oct 16, 2013)

These cheese looks so yummy. It's looks superb. I will try this recipe surely. I can't wait to taste these smoking cheese.


----------



## oregon smoker (Oct 16, 2013)

Humdinger,

the cheese looks great!. i myself am getting low and time to do more. peach pellets, one i have not tried. are they common or something local?

Tom


----------



## handymanstan (Oct 16, 2013)

Hum Hum Hum... Wow that cheese looks good but your refrigerator looks better.  Good job on the cheese Kurt let us know about the flavor of the peach.  I am using mulberry for my next cheese smoke but so far Cherry is my favorite.

Stan


----------



## oregon smoker (Oct 16, 2013)

i like cherry as well (on my harder cheeses) but most of my cheese is done with apple mainly then alder for a change up

Tom


----------



## humdinger (Oct 16, 2013)

Oregon Smoker said:


> Humdinger,
> 
> the cheese looks great!. i myself am getting low and time to do more. peach pellets, one i have not tried. are they common or something local?
> 
> Tom


Thanks Tom. A few months ago I read a thread where some folks using peach on their cheeses and thought it sounded good. I think it will be good because the smoke was light and sweet, and when I was vacuum sealing it, the cheese already had a mild sweet smell to it. I get the Pellets from Todd at Amazen Pellet smoker. He should have some good deals coming up this holiday season so keep an eye out.


HANDYMANSTAN said:


> Hum Hum Hum... Wow that cheese looks good but your refrigerator looks better.  Good job on the cheese Kurt let us know about the flavor of the peach.  I am using mulberry for my next cheese smoke but so far Cherry is my favorite.
> 
> Stan


Stan the man! How's it going? Thanks for the compliments on the cheese (and refrigerator). I still gotta get some Dubliner to smoke. That stuff you brought to the Michigan gathering was tops! Mulberry sounds good. Have you ever used it? Lets us know how it goes. Take care!


----------



## handymanstan (Oct 17, 2013)

Kurt I have not tried mulberry yet but this spring the tree trimmers cut a bunch off my tree by the power lines and I saved it. I ran a few of the bigger Branch's through a router table and made dust. It's pretty dry now so soon more cheese. 

Stan


----------



## oregon smoker (Oct 20, 2013)

mull berry does sound different. i have made dust and or chips/chunks out of odd woods with varying success....what i noticed with a hand full that i thought would be fine is a high amount of creosote forming in my cold generator barrel with chunks/chips (possibly too much moisture still or saps), not the scientist just the experimenter.. one we had a lot of access to in Medford was pear wood. i used pear on many things including cheese with great success, sweet and light. please let us know how the mulberry works out

Tom


----------

