Hey guys, and gals ;) I have been smoking for many years but decided it was time to go to some smoked cheese (I love it).
I cut a 1 lb loaf of Tillimook Sharp Cheddar into 5 pieces so they were about 1 1/2" or 1 3/4" thick and 4"x4".
I built a cold smoke box adapter for my OBS and it worked great if I do say so myself.
I ran smoke for 2 hrs alternating 3 apple, 2 alder and 1 hickory. Temp remained 60-65*
When it was all said and done the cheese definetely took on a strong smoke smell. I immediately vac-sealed the pieces and put them in the fridge. The one thing I noticed was that the cheese did not take on any additional color. I am waiting 2 weeks before trying the cheese so I dont know what the taste is yet but... do you guys get a color change on Cheddar? Was 60-65* ok?
Thanks all
Brent
Kinda surprised you didn't get some color change.
Might have if the temp got to 80* or so.
There should have been a little color change, I get more color when smoking in the 85-90 degree range. It still will taste great. :)
I smoke the same Tillimook cheese and while I wish I could keep my temps down like you did - mine are usually in the 80 -90 range - I get a bit of colour change, but not that much. The proof will be in the eating !!
One thing, I don't cut my cheese up into as small a block as you did. Normally I just cut in half.
I try to smoke the cheese at 80 to 85 F
I have also noticed the harder cheeses dont take on much of a color compaired to the softer cheeses.
I'm thinkin it will still taste great.
Speaking of cheese if I don't smoke that Big batch of mine here real soon it will be all gone. The Italian Sharp has been renamed Stinky Feet Cheese it smells but boy is it good!!
Okay, I've got a large chunk of cheddar in the fridge and have been wanting to smoke it. I don't have the cold smoke adapter yet. Should I wait or just keep an eye on the OT so it doesn't get over 100?
Have some pepper jack and sharp cheddar all wrapped in the fridge. Will be 14 days on Saturday. I am thinking I will not touch it until next weekend for the smoke out at Buffett.
Quote from: DarqMan on May 04, 2010, 07:56:13 PM
Okay, I've got a large chunk of cheddar in the fridge and have been wanting to smoke it. I don't have the cold smoke adapter yet. Should I wait or just keep an eye on the OT so it doesn't get over 100?
You can smoke with what you have I would suggest making a bowl of sorts out of tinfoil and filling it with ice put that on the bottom rack then put your cheese on an upper rack. apply your 1-2 hours of smoke or how ever much smoke you wish to apply. When your done chuck the ice.
Quote from: Tenpoint5 on May 05, 2010, 05:31:25 AM
Quote from: DarqMan on May 04, 2010, 07:56:13 PM
Okay, I've got a large chunk of cheddar in the fridge and have been wanting to smoke it. I don't have the cold smoke adapter yet. Should I wait or just keep an eye on the OT so it doesn't get over 100?
You can smoke with what you have I would suggest making a bowl of sorts out of tinfoil and filling it with ice put that on the bottom rack then put your cheese on an upper rack. apply your 1-2 hours of smoke or how ever much smoke you wish to apply. When your done chuck the ice.
HMMM, smoke ice. I wonder how that would go in my favorite adult beverage? ;) ;D. Without a cold smoke adapter I think you had better watch it real close. Do as suggested with some ice. Seems I also read somewhere that you can open the door a crack to help keeps the temp down but I don't know about that. You'd think you'd lose a lot of smoke. Also sun and out side temp might have a effect. I did some once in an OBS and the sun moved, as it usually does ;), and I wasn't paying attention. Came out to find the smoker in the sun and a messy blob in the smoker.
Quote from: DarqMan on May 04, 2010, 07:56:13 PM
Okay, I've got a large chunk of cheddar in the fridge and have been wanting to smoke it. I don't have the cold smoke adapter yet. Should I wait or just keep an eye on the OT so it doesn't get over 100?
Smoke your cheese early morning or late evening when things are cooler, unless you are still having cooler days.
Is some good stuff.
I built one just like the one ArnieM and Quarlow did, in these Pics.
http://forum.bradleysmoker.com/index.php?topic=15547.0
It was very easy to bulid. Took about 20 minutes and about $15 worth of hardware. I got the box from work. I was very impressed how well it worked. My OBS is on the shady side of my house. I smoked in the evening and it held around 65*.
I will try to post pics this weekend.
Well, it had been about 3 weeks so I broke out one of the pieces on Sunday. It was good....very good. The family loved it and it was gone in about 5 minutes, lol.
I gave out a few pieces and I only have 1 left. Guess what I'm doin this weekend??? ::)
Thats good to here Mr B
Next time you better smoke up another batch,
before the first batch is done ageing. :D
Glad it worked out for ya Mr B. The problem with smoking cheese is the required patience afterward. Damn, if I cook something I want to eat it - now ;D
I look for sales. A little of this a little of that. It goes into the freezer until I have 10-12 pounds worth and/or it's cool enough to cold smoke.
I shoot for about 80o cabinet temp. Much lower and the cheese doesn't seem to take on as smoke or color. Much higher - you like grilled cheese sandwiches?
I might do a mix of soft and harder cheeses. The softer cheeses take on more smoke. Mozzarella, for example, will be pulled a little early. It's a real big hit around here. Try some on pizza.
Smoked cream cheese, on bagels with lox and red onion can't be beat (IMO).
Glad you're having fun.
I just did my first batch of tillamook on my OBS using the Bradley cold-smoke adapter. All I can say is: NOT GOOD! I smoked for about 2.5 hours using hickory on a nice cool afternoon. Ambient temp was about 60 and the smoker box didn't get above 70. Cheese took on zero color change, and had the distinct odor and flavor of creasote. Eat a couple slices of the stuff and it's like licking an ashtray!
After thinking about it a bit, this seems like the expected result. A slow-smoldering, smokey fire, and then cool the smoke before it gets to the smoker. Sounds like a perfect recipe for all those nasty combustion products to condense out of the smoke. That's the same reason they tell you to burn your woodstove hot to keep the creasote from forming in the chimney as the smoke cools.
So if anyone has any suggestions, I'd love to hear them! I'd like to get some nice color, and flavor that tastes more like smoked cheese, and less like a mouthful of ashes. Any ideas??
Thanks!
You need to age that cheese for at least 10 to 14 days before you taste it.
Vac seal or wrap in plastic, stash in the back of the fridge, and forget about it for a couple of weeks.
It should mellow out nicely.
The cheese will take on color when box temp is above 70 and below 80 to 82.
Like FLBR said, you have to age the smoke cheese.
Wrap it and stash it.
The longer you can wait, the better the cheese.
Did you have the vent fully open?
EZ... good question! Actually I did NOT have the vent fully open... I was open about 1/4 to 1/3... wanted to "keep more smoke"! It occured to me late last night that might have been a mistake. Open vent for cheese??
Thanks.
Actually open vent for everything at least 3/4. Mine stays full open - I don't know why I just don't take it off as it snags on the cover when I take the cover off!
I had the last block of my cheddar last night. It was even better than the first. This last one had 4 weeks on it after smoking (vacume sealed). Mine smelt ash-like at first also. You need to let it rest and mellow at least 2 weeks. The longer the better.
Mine did not take on much color either at 65* but it came out great.