# Smoking some cheese in a little while... (Now With Q-View!!)



## wbrian (Dec 14, 2011)

Hi All!

After a nice, successful pulled beef smoke a couple days ago, I want to do some cheese for the holidays.   I have a couple lbs of sharp cheddar, white cheddar monteray jack/pepper.  I'm using my MES 40 for a cold smoke for the fiurst time.  I have the AMZNPS for it, so my plan is on using hickory pellets.  I'll pull the chip chute all the way out and take out the smoker tray in the MES.  SHould go for like 3 hours?  Will that be enough smoke, or should I light both ends of the AMZNPS?  Anything else I should consider? 

Thanks!

Brian


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## scarbelly (Dec 14, 2011)

My suggestion is to look and see how much smoke you are getting with the AMNPS. If you like a lot of smoke 3 hours would be my top end with the pellets- I always use the dust and go 3 hours but I like a medium smoke and the output of the dust is less than pellets.

Good luck and don't forget the camera


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## SmokinAl (Dec 14, 2011)

Yea, like scar says lighting both ends will be a lot of smoke. With the dust burner it's OK, but the pellet burner really puts out a lot of smoke. I would light one end & if you think it's not enough then light the other end. I light both ends in my Smoke Vault, but it has a lot of leaks & isn't double walled & insulated.


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## tjohnson (Dec 14, 2011)

Good Advice Guys!

Pull out your chip pan 1 1/2"

Remove your chip loader for more air

TJ


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## mballi3011 (Dec 14, 2011)

I'm with all of theses guys. Just do what they told you and your be golden.


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## papagreer (Dec 15, 2011)

mballi3011 said:


> I'm with all of theses guys. Just do what they told you and your be golden.




Agreed. Smoked cheese rules. If you have a vacuum sealer, seal them up after you take them out of the smoker and let it sit for 2 weeks (I used ZipLocks and pushed all the air out). That is the hardest part for me...the wait! The smoke mellows out and makes a huge difference in taste. MMMMMM!

Chris


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## wbrian (Dec 15, 2011)

Thanks folks!

The cheeses are in the smoker as we speak (or as I type, anyway!).  I've put in Sharp cheddar, white cheddar, swiss, pepper jack, and a1 lb ball of mozzarella.  Using a combination of jickory and cherry pellets for smoke in my AMZNPS.  MES 40 left off.  Pulled the chip pan all the way out and the chip loader tube all the way out as well.  Initially, possible too much smoke, so I've put the tube back inside the side hole, but pulled out about 1-1/2 inches.  Temp is running about 83 degrees.  Planning on 2 and a half hours of smoking...

Here are some Q-View shots going in...







Smoke just started...







Lovin my MES!

Later,

B.


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## scarbelly (Dec 15, 2011)

wbrian said:


> Thanks folks!
> 
> The cheeses are in the smoker as we speak (or as I type, anyway!).  I've put in Sharp cheddar, white cheddar, swiss, pepper jack, and a1 lb ball of mozzarella.  Using a combination of jickory and cherry pellets for smoke in my AMZNPS.  MES 40 left off.  Pulled the chip pan all the way out and the chip loader tube all the way out as well.  Initially, possible too much smoke, so I've put the tube back inside the side hole, but pulled out about 1-1/2 inches.  Temp is running about 83 degrees.  Planning on 2 and a half hours of smoking...
> 
> ...


Just a couple of suggestions to help on the next smoke 

1 Put your cheese on the top two racks of the smoker as far away from the AMNPS as possibe

2 Try to cut into equal sizes to ensure that you get the same penetration  for the same smoke period. You will have some variation by the density of the cheese but cutting into equal sizes will give you better end product. 

Good luck with your first batch. You are going to be a happy camper in a couple of weeks after the resting period


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## wbrian (Dec 15, 2011)

Thanks for the tips!  All help is appreciated.  I can see what you mean about the heat from the AMZNPS.  The cheese directly above it got a little melty-ish.  Higher would have been better.  But they're still OK. 

Here goes the Q-View...

























Very happy.with the outcome, overall.  The Mozzarella looks beautiful.  Can't wait to try it!

Later,

B.


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