# Smoked Cheese time?



## Smokin' Granny (Aug 1, 2018)

How long to smoke cheese in a Masterbuilt cold smoker.  I am new to this smoker!  I have 20 lbs in there now and have smoked for 50 minutes.  I have put some ice blocks in the pan at the bottom of the smoker to keep the temp at 63 degrees.  Everything looks fine but I am not accustomed to this type of smoking.  In the past I used another type of smoker with a element in the bottom for the pellets and a big tray of ice on the first rack.  The temp did get too high on occasion.  (Melt down).
My friends at the Farmers Market love my Smoked Cheese so I don't want to screw this up.  Please advise


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## 73saint (Aug 1, 2018)

That's going to be a personal preference thing.  I would start out at 4 hours, but also pay attention to your color, and when it "looks" ready.  Also remember it's critical to let that cheese rest for a while (I do at least 2 weeks but 30 days is better) in the fridge, for the smoke to mellow.

I have smoked my cheese up to 12 hours, and yet to open a pack that was too smokey (as long as it has mellowed out before tasting).


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## gmc2003 (Aug 1, 2018)

Sorry I'm not all that familiar with your smoker. When I smoke cheese on my  WSM using apple sawdust I'm finding that if I go two rounds at two hours apiece I can eat the cheese right out of the smoker. I would avoid using uncovered ice next time. You don't really want to add any extra moisture to the process. If you need to cool your chamber down freeze a large soda bottle or two full of water and put that on your rack. 

Chris.


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## Smokin' Granny (Aug 1, 2018)

thanks for your advice.  I smoked this batch for 2 hours and will store (two weeks)wrapped in the refrigerator before I try it out.  I'll use a freezer block to keep the smoker cool on my next smoke.  thanks again,  Smokin' Granny, Pender Is., BC


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## PolarSuns (Aug 11, 2018)

Smokin' Granny said:


> How long to smoke cheese in a Masterbuilt cold smoker.  I am new to this smoker!  I have 20 lbs in there now and have smoked for 50 minutes.  I have put some ice blocks in the pan at the bottom of the smoker to keep the temp at 63 degrees.  Everything looks fine but I am not accustomed to this type of smoking.  In the past I used another type of smoker with a element in the bottom for the pellets and a big tray of ice on the first rack.  The temp did get too high on occasion.  (Melt down).
> My friends at the Farmers Market love my Smoked Cheese so I don't want to screw this up.  Please advise



I just did my first batch a few days ago in my Masterbuilt smoker with cold smoker unit, and I did a few pounds of cheddar for 2 1/2 hours with hickory. Most of it is resting but the piece I've been gnawing on is good, but needs a little more. 

I'm currently in the middle of a batch right now and going to do this one for 4 hours. I didn't use ice the first time and everything came out fine, the outside temps were in the high 50's.


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