# AMNPS Christmas Cheese Smoke, 32 lbs!!! with Q-View



## teeznuts (Dec 5, 2011)

After bringing it to Thanksgiving gatherings, my smoked cheese has been requested for Christmas gatherings here in California and in Chicago. Guess I better get hustling. Started off with 32 1/2 lbs of yummy cheese of different varieties.








Fired up both ends of the AMNPS with a mix of hickory, apple, cherry and maple. I like a heavy smoke for 3-4 hours so I light both ends when I do cheese.







Love me some provolone!!! 11 1/2 lbs worth of provolone logs bathing in AMNPS goodness.







While the provolone was smoking I cut up the cheddar, pepper jack and colby jack in preparation for their turn in the smoke.



















Flash forward 3 1/2 hours and the provolone is done. It looks beautiful IMHO.













Colby jack, cheddar and pepper jack making the rotation.







3 1/2 hours later.













left these guys on a little longer. maybe I should throw the other ones back on too. I love the sweat and color.







20 days to rest before this cheese makes it's appearance at Christmas gatherings. Should be perfect by the time it's served up.

Thanks for looking.


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## chef jimmyj (Dec 5, 2011)

Beautiful...Wish I was on your Christmas list of Stops!...JJ


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## ptcruiserguy (Dec 5, 2011)

Lol, now that is alot of really nice lookin cheese.

Gonna be alot of happy people.

Happy Smokin'

Mike


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## SmokinAl (Dec 5, 2011)

It's going to be a great Christmas for your friends & family. 

Great looking color on the cheese!


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## tlcase (Dec 5, 2011)

Nice! Where does one get these giant logs/blocks of cheese from?


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## tjohnson (Dec 5, 2011)

TEEZ

You gonna break the bank with all your smokes!

That cheese looks AWESOME!

Todd


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## sound1 (Dec 5, 2011)

a lotta smokin goin on.....looks great


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## scarbelly (Dec 5, 2011)

Hey Teez 

Great cheese post. Do you wipe down the sweat at the end of the smoke or do you let it air dry. There are two schools of thought on this one. One is wiping it down eliminates great smoke flavor and the other is to get the moisture off right away to avoid mold down the road. 

I will PM you my address for some of the provolone


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## teeznuts (Dec 5, 2011)

Thanks everyone! The smoked cheese is definitely a hit at the holidays and it's so much cheaper to do it myself than to pay retail for it. Plus some "smoked products" are not truly smoked as "smoke flavoring" is added. This is the real deal.
 


tlcase said:


> Nice! Where does one get these giant logs/blocks of cheese from?


Hey tl, the 5# colby jack and the 3 2#ers of pepper jack  I got at walmart. The logs of provolone I get from Smart & Final but they only have stores in Az, Ca and Nv. The cheddar I got at Cash & Carry (owns the smart & final chain) but they are only in Ca, Id, Or and Wa. Probably any restaurant supply store out your way would have em if walmart doesn't.




TJohnson said:


> TEEZ
> 
> You gonna break the bank with all your smokes!
> 
> ...


I SAVED $$$$

I spent $117.51 total on cheese but I can justify it since it's for several holiday gatherings. In a recent thread on money I save smoking myself, I noted that purchasing smoked cheese from the stores would run between $5.19-6.99 per 8 oz. At those prices this much cheese would have ran me between $332.16(low end) and $447.36(high end) if I didn't have the ability to smoke it myself. That would definitely be a BANK BREAKER!




Scarbelly said:


> Hey Teez
> 
> Great cheese post. Do you wipe down the sweat at the end of the smoke or do you let it air dry. There are two schools of thought on this one. One is wiping it down eliminates great smoke flavor and the other is to get the moisture off right away to avoid mold down the road.
> 
> I will PM you my address for some of the provolone


I don't wipe off a drop! That's smoke juice! I actually wrap it up tight, as is, and away it goes for 2 weeks. I've never had any mold issues. I cant wait to "sample" the provolone. One of my favorites.


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## rbranstner (Dec 5, 2011)

That is a load of cheese for sure. Great work. I can't wait to dig into my cheese I have aging as well. Waiting is the hardest part isn't it.


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## frizzlefry (Dec 5, 2011)

That's a lot of cheese!  Looks good!


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## bluebombersfan (Dec 5, 2011)

Wow that is a lot of cheese!!!  Looks great!


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## canadiansmoke (Dec 5, 2011)

Wow wish i could smoke in the Canadian Winter!!!!!!!!!!!! Good job!!


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## teeznuts (Dec 5, 2011)

CanadianSmoke said:


> Wow wish i could smoke in the Canadian Winter!!!!!!!!!!!! Good job!!




With the AMNPS you can do it in a card board box on the porch if you're careful.


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## hoity toit (Jan 29, 2012)

[h1]I don't wipe the moisture off either. Once its vacuum packed the humidity soaks right back into the cheese.[/h1]


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## cabin (Jan 30, 2012)

That looks amazing. I will be trying for the first time next week could you help me with the following;

- Will the amazin saw dust work or do I need pellets?

-How do you let it rest or age for the 20 days, in fridge or freezer?

Do I need to put ice in smoker, or was that just because it was hot outside?


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## teeznuts (Jan 30, 2012)

That looks amazing. I will be trying for the first time next week could you help me with the following;

- Will the amazin saw dust work or do I need pellets? I've only used pellets but I'm sure you're fine with saw dust.

-How do you let it rest or age for the 20 days, in fridge or freezer? It only needs to rest 2 weeks and it's done by wrapping it tight in plastic wrap, ziplocks or meal saver type sealing bags. Place in the fridge. I've heard some people get crumbly cheese if placed in the freezer but I've never tried  it. Most here just wrap and place in the fridge for 2 weeks.

Do I need to put ice in smoker, or was that just because it was hot outside? I use ice even when its freezing outside because I burn both ends of the AMNPS which doubles the heat coming from the unit. If you only light one end you may be able to do without ice but I like a nice pounding of smoke so I light both ends and smoke from 3-4 hours.

Feel free to ask any other questions you may have.


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## tjohnson (Jan 30, 2012)

Great Answers Teez

Sawdust works great, and burns a little cooler too.

Ice is not really necessary, unless it above 70° outside.  Teez like to light both ends, and this increased the heat inside the smoker.

Personally, I like about 2 1/2 hours of light smoke on my cheese.  It's a little bit of "trail and Error" to find what you like

Todd


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## tlcase (Jan 31, 2012)

My personal preference is 3 hours with one end lit using pellets. As long as I can keep my chamber temp below 85 degrees or so, no ice for me. Of course that will change when I try this summer...which will inevitably happen because I and everyone I share with is addicted to smoked cheese.


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## riverratt (Feb 8, 2012)

Couple of quick questions. I have the Masterbuilt 30" electric smoker. I will be using the AMNPS. Do you flip the cheese half way through? Since it is cold around here and I will not not need any ice but do you still you a water pan at all?


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## tyotrain (Feb 8, 2012)

looks amazing.. Man O Man i love me some smoked cheese


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## sprky (Feb 8, 2012)

Man I don't know how I missed this when it first came up.  My dad brought 50 pounds of cheese with him at Thanksgiving and again at Christmas, for me to smoke. He lives in Wisconsin and buys direct from the cheese factory. It gets to be more and more each year. It's always provolone, sharp cheddar, swiss, pepper jack, and muenster. I keep around a pound of each and the rest goes back with him. He sells it to his buddies at the gun club and pays for most of  his trip that way. I don't try and do it at 1 time, I do it over several days, as I can only load the top 1/2 of the smoker due to temps. I see you cut your cheese fairly thick. I slice mine into around 8 oz chunks to smoke, which appear to be around 1/2 as thick as yours. I smoke for around 3 hours or so. I don't have the AMNSP yet, I just use a couple lit chunks of charcoal and apple chips. My color comes no where close to what you have, it is a very light coloring. I am getting the AMNSP which will make things easier, but  I am wondering if they will be too thin and take on too much smoke when I get the AMNSP. Any thoughts on this?


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## teeznuts (Feb 9, 2012)

Riverratt said:


> Couple of quick questions. I have the Masterbuilt 30" electric smoker. I will be using the AMNPS. Do you flip the cheese half way through? Since it is cold around here and I will not not need any ice but do you still you a water pan at all?


I dont flip the cheese but I'm sure it wouldn't hurt. I also do mine in a masterbuilt 30" electric. I wouldn't use any water personally. The only reason I use the pan is for ice to keep my temps down. It doesnt cool down a whole lot here in California and I also burn both ends of the AMNPS which generates more heat. Can't wait to see how yours turns out.
 




sprky said:


> Man I don't know how I missed this when it first came up.  My dad brought 50 pounds of cheese with him at Thanksgiving and again at Christmas, for me to smoke. He lives in Wisconsin and buys direct from the cheese factory. It gets to be more and more each year. It's always provolone, sharp cheddar, swiss, pepper jack, and muenster. I keep around a pound of each and the rest goes back with him. He sells it to his buddies at the gun club and pays for most of  his trip that way. I don't try and do it at 1 time, I do it over several days, as I can only load the top 1/2 of the smoker due to temps. I see you cut your cheese fairly thick. I slice mine into around 8 oz chunks to smoke, which appear to be around 1/2 as thick as yours. I smoke for around 3 hours or so. I don't have the AMNSP yet, I just use a couple lit chunks of charcoal and apple chips. My color comes no where close to what you have, it is a very light coloring. I am getting the AMNSP which will make things easier, but  I am wondering if they will be too thin and take on too much smoke when I get the AMNSP. Any thoughts on this?


I don't think they'll take on too much if you keep slicing them. I would try a test run doing some sliced like you currently do, and do some in larger chunks and see which you prefer. Good luck!!


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## jjwdiver (Feb 9, 2012)

SPRKY

I do mine about the same size as you and they turn out great!   Triend some actual sliced provalone and theyalmost turned to cardboard...but that was an experiment gone bad.  I use the AMNPS here in the tropics in a Weber Kettle without using ice and only occasionally get melting due to the ambient temps.  I do choose the least hot days/times to smoke.








can you tell which piece was closest to being directly over the heat source?


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## graystratcat (Feb 9, 2012)

sprky said:


> Man I don't know how I missed this when it first came up.  My dad brought 50 pounds of cheese with him at Thanksgiving and again at Christmas, for me to smoke. He lives in Wisconsin and buys direct from the cheese factory. It gets to be more and more each year. It's always provolone, sharp cheddar, swiss, pepper jack, and muenster. I keep around a pound of each and the rest goes back with him. He sells it to his buddies at the gun club and pays for most of  his trip that way. I don't try and do it at 1 time, I do it over several days, as I can only load the top 1/2 of the smoker due to temps. I see you cut your cheese fairly thick. I slice mine into around 8 oz chunks to smoke, which appear to be around 1/2 as thick as yours. I smoke for around 3 hours or so. I don't have the AMNSP yet, I just use a couple lit chunks of charcoal and apple chips. My color comes no where close to what you have, it is a very light coloring. I am getting the AMNSP which will make things easier, but  I am wondering if they will be too thin and take on too much smoke when I get the AMNSP. Any thoughts on this?




sprky, I do cheese in my Master Forge all the time (I know you have a Master Forge as well).  Just a simple cold smoke with the AMNPS (not running the LP burner).  I also like to cut my chunks fairly small.  I think that produces better smoke penetration.  I usually smoke for 4 hours using the AMNPS loaded with 50:50 Apple/Maple or 50:50 Apple/Pecan pellets.  I only light one end of the AMNPS when doing cheese.  Here's some pix of one of my first cold smokes using the Master Forge and the AMNPS.  I've done quite a few cold smokes in it since.  Since this was my first run with the AMNPS, I only ran a small batch of sharp cheddar and provolone, but have since started loading up the smoker when cold smoking cheese.

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/gallery/album/view/id/87463/user_id/51381#page=0&sort=display_order

-Salt


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## graystratcat (Feb 9, 2012)

Riverratt said:


> Couple of quick questions. I have the Masterbuilt 30" electric smoker. I will be using the AMNPS. Do you flip the cheese half way through? Since it is cold around here and I will not not need any ice but do you still you a water pan at all?




Hey Riverrat, no need for water in the water pan when cold smoking cheese.  Also, I never flip, since I put my cheese directly on the grates, I don't think there's a need.  I also try to keep my smoker at around 70*-80* when cold smoking cheese.  I really think running at a higher temp while cold smoking cheese gives you a much nicer and darker colored product.  I know a lot of guys like to cold smoke around 40*-50*....just my opinion....

-Salt


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## riverratt (Feb 10, 2012)

When using the AMNPS in a MES30 for cheese do you open the top vent or keep it closed? Do I have to do anything to let air in the smoker like pull the chip loader out or the ash pan?


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## riverratt (Feb 10, 2012)

sorry for the double post


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## teeznuts (Feb 10, 2012)

Riverratt said:


> When using the AMNPS in a MES30 for cheese do you open the top vent or keep it closed? Do I have to do anything to let air in the smoker like pull the chip loader out or the ash pan?


Hey Riverrat, when I cold smoke using the AMNPS I take the chip tray out completely and sometimes I even pull the chip loader tube out an inch or so. I also added a 3" elbow to the top vent per a suggestion from Todd at A-MAZE-N. The elbow fits tightly over the vent and I just leave the vent wide open. Here's a pic.


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## jno51 (Feb 16, 2012)

I am with Hoity on this part.
 


Hoity Toit said:


> [h1]I don't wipe the moisture off either. Once its vacuum packed the humidity soaks right back into the cheese.[/h1]


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## moikel (Feb 18, 2012)

Trial &  error
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





down here. MES got to hot 37c softer cheese sagged before I could save it.Taste wont be affected. 28c here today so should have put ice in water tray earlier,opened door left it that way added ice .Problem solved ,harder cheese more stable. I do love that AMZPS.


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