# Beginning to Sound Redundant: My first Cheese Smoke & Use of AMNPS



## mneeley490 (Apr 15, 2012)

Ok, so I tried both for the first time today in my fridge conversion. Ambient temperature was about 65* today. I had originally planned on using the PID+ heating element to keep it at 75*, but that turned out to be unnecessary, as the smoldering AMNPS put out more heat than I anticipated for such a large space. In fact, I had to put in a pan of ice about halfway thru.








I used some of the oak pellets supplied by Todd to get the burn going, and then onto some Bear Mountain applewood pellets, because I can get them fairly cheaply here. But the applewood pellets smelled rather harsh, not sweet like the chunks I normally use.







Not much problem keeping them lit, except for the occasional breeze that would blow it out before I was ready.







The chosen victims: Sharp cheddar, colby-jack, and some string cheese.







Removed the string cheese at about 2 hours. Let the rest go for 3. You can see my ice pan underneath. Even with that, the temp was close to 80* just from the AMNPS.







Vacuum packed and awaiting their 2 week nap.

One bit of advise for other newbies, next time I will wear latex gloves when handling the finished cheese. I have showered and washed my hands at least 5 times, and they still smell heavily of smoke.

So the AMNPS worked like a charm, and I couldn't be happier with it. But perhaps I'll try one of Todds pellet blends next time.


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## smokinhusker (Apr 16, 2012)

Great job! Now the waiting!


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## so ms smoker (Apr 16, 2012)

The cheese looks good. 2 weeks is a long wait but well worth it. As for the harsh apple pellets, many of the cheaper ones are oak mixed with flavour wood. Todd gaurantees his are 100% flavour wood. Check the ingredient list.

Mike


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## seenred (Apr 19, 2012)

Nice job, looks great!  I gotta try some of that.


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## mneeley490 (Apr 19, 2012)

So MS Smoker said:


> The cheese looks good. 2 weeks is a long wait but well worth it. As for the harsh apple pellets, many of the cheaper ones are oak mixed with flavour wood. Todd gaurantees his are 100% flavour wood. Check the ingredient list.
> 
> Mike


Bear Mountain says theirs are 100% hardwood, but every flavor seems to have alder in the mix.

Another possible cause for the harsh smoke is that I don't recall checking if the damper was all the way open. I saw smoke coming out the stack, but didn't look closely enough, so maybe some creosote buildup?


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## tjohnson (Apr 20, 2012)

Cheese Looks Great!

The AMNPS will put out a little heat, but should dissipate in a large box, like a fridge conversion.  I would rig up a baffle of some sort to deflect the heat from going directly up.  This should help.

Bear Mountain Pellets are mostly Alder, with some "Flavor Wood" added to the mix.  These are "Blended Pellets" and you're mostly smoking with Alder.

Just cuz the bag says "100% Hardwood", doesn't mean the pellets produce good smoke.  These "Blended Pellets" are designed for BTU production first and smoke production 2nd.

The pellets I sell are 100% Flavor Wood.  If you buy Peach Pellets, you get 100% Peach in the pellets. No fillers or binders, just Peach Wood.

You could also pick up 1# bags of BBQr's Delight Pellets.  They are also 100% Flavor Wood.

TJ


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## frosty (Apr 20, 2012)

Good idea on the pan of ice.  I have three food saver bags of cheese in the fridge now, from back in February 2012 and they just keep mellowing.  Gonna use them on the next family get together, and some friends have already noticed them and are begging for another taste.  Hard to tell them no, so I just might have to do some more!!!

Great looking job!!!  Good luck!


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## jrod62 (Apr 20, 2012)

Looks good. The 2 week wait is hard to do. But worth it


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## mneeley490 (Apr 22, 2012)

I have to agree, Todd is right. Even though I live in the PNW, alder isn't a wood I usually use, except on salmon.

 I broke down and bought 5 lbs each of the peach, apple, and pitmaster blend.


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## scarbelly (Apr 23, 2012)

The hard part is the wait and it will be over soon. Good looking cheese smoke


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## ddt79 (Apr 23, 2012)

One week and counting down!  Hope all goes well, and you resist temptation.


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