Just had some Thanksgiving turkey and the appy was smoked cheese, store bought, and candied salmon ala Ken. Realized I can probably smoke my own cheese!
Any links on the details of what to do? I've been scrolling pages here and I've come up with:
2hrs of pecan seems to be the choice (don't have any)
vacuum seal (have it)
wait 2-4 wks before eating (will be hard to do)
and cold smoke?
Is cold smoking necessary? I saw a thread showing a cardboard box and dryer vent, any instructions on that one? Didn't really understand how the cable was extended to reach the Bradley from the control unit (not overly electrically inclined, resistor talk loses me pretty quick).
Might need to get on this fairly quick if I'm going to have cheese ready for the upcoming holidays.
Thanks a bunch in advance and happy Thanksgiving to everyone north of the border (the rest of you all will have to wait for yours ;) )
You can smoke cheese in your Bradley with out a cold smoke adapter.
You may have to pick a cool or cold night. OR use Ice on the first rack
OR open the door every now and then to release the heat. OR a
combination of all of these. You will need a way of monitoring the
heat inside the cabinet. 80* to 90* inside the cabinet is a good
range for smoking cheese.
Apple works good for cheese. If you use Hickory or Oak you may
want to cut down on smoke time just a bit.
21 days is kinda the minimum before you get to enjoy the cheese.
Longer is better. Once you do it, you will want to do it all the time.
Hope this helps.
If you have the digital you can extend the sensor plug wire by slicing in longer lengths of wire, or you can call Bradley and request to purchase a By-pass plug, or you can make your own By-pass plug.
Just follow Pens instructions, you don't have to understand what resistors are, or how they work.
Cold Smoke Bypass (http://forum.bradleysmoker.com/index.php?topic=9164.msg97088#msg97088)
Here is some additional information on smoking cheese:
Cold Smoking Cheese (http://www.susanminor.org/forums/showthread.php?32-Cold-Smoking-Of-Cheese&p=42#post42)
Heres a post of what I did when I smoked cheese ;D
http://forum.bradleysmoker.com/index.php?topic=20415.0
As usual, thanks for the advice and links. The cold box looks simple but my shop is currently stored in our play room as the old small garage is demo'd on Wednesday for a new big one and won't be back up and running until maybe Christmas...point being...not construction projects in the near future.
Being fall here (Vancouver Island, Pacific Northwest) it's getting cool so I think I'll try an evening smoke with ice and frozen water container to cool. I assume I can just hang in my digital thermometer for monitoring?
Do I unplug both wires going to the Bradley? Not sure why they would even need to be plugged in? Just power to the digital box to time and run the puck element?
With the digital just put your ice on the bottom position. Then set the Smoke Generator 1:40 and let the smoke roll for 1:20 gives you a 20 minute warm up. I use Hickory Most times if I want a good heavy smoke I will use 2 hours of smoke. As long as your cabinet temp stays below or around 80ยบ you will be fine Just look at your cheese and see if it is sweating. If it is wipe it off or the smoke won't stick. Make sure the cheese is close to room temp before you put it in the smoker this will help with the sweating.
I (and my neighbors) prefer Apple wood on cheese
Just crack the door open with a pencil if your cabinet temp goes beyond 95 degrees.
OK, if all goes well I've be smoking cheese tomorrow. Most likely apple will be the choice, I think for 1:40hr. Will put ice in a tray on the 1st rack, unplug the heating element, hang in the digital thermometer to monitor and open the door a crack if needed.
all sound good?
Afterwards, cool in the house until room temp, wipe with paper towel any moisture or oils, then vacuum pack and label.
Not sure after this? Does it go straight into the freezer until needed? (will try to wait the 4 wks!) Does it "cure" the flavour in the fridge for 4 weeks before freezing? Just not clear on what to do after it's smoked.
Thanks