I have just spent the last hour trying to come up with some definitive answers to how long to smoke cheese and am still confused. I am smoking gouda, Habanero, and Jarsburg swiss. I have heard that the swiss takes longer to take up the smoke. Also, what smoke to use? I was thinking apple, or maybe cherry. Don't want it to be ashtray tasting. I will also leave mellow for about 2 weeks after the smoke. Any help is appreciated. Thanks!
Terry
Thanks for posting this inquiry. I'm looking forward to some cold smoking and look forward to the information you gather.
Apple would be a good wood to use. Smoke time is a personal preference, and something that you will need to experiment with. I use any wheres from 2 - 3 hours. I generally use maple, but have also used apple, pecan and hickory. For the sharper cheese I like pecan or hickory and thought about using oak, for milder cheese I will often use maple or apple. Hickory and pecan I apply 2 hours of smoke, and the other two I apply 3. There are some on this board who will apply 5 hours or more. I've smoked jarlsberg, and haven't noticed that it needed longer smoke time.
Ditto to Habs comments.
Swiss seems to smoke much faster for me than any other cheese. I generrally use apple for all my cheeses but have used oak, hickory and maple also. But apple is king around here.
You have to try it a few times, I can usually tell by the color of the cheese. Sometimes I have smoked cheese for four hours and other times two hours. Swiss is normally around two hours and cheddar, horseradish ect. up to four hours.
It's difficult to oversmoke cheese to the point it is uneatable, the biggest problem I have seen is not allowing it to age for a few days before eating. I think I would start out smoking for two hours on the first batch and see how you like it after it ages for a few days. You can always smoke your next batch a little longer next time.
Have fun!
I've only smoked sharp cheddar and pepper jack (about 25 pounds) a couple of times, and I used an apple/hickory blend. I smoked for 2 hours and found that to be just about right for my taste. Be sure to let the cheese come up to room temp before smoking, to avoid "sweating".
I mostly use cherry and apple for a lot of types of cheese, no more than an hour of smoke ,Here in south Florida, I always do it at night with lots of ice in the bradley.
Shouldn't need ice here today for my cheese smoke. Only a high of 8 expected. Thanks All!
Question.....for aging after the smoke should it be vacuum packed if possible?
Lil Smokie, I vacuum seal mine. Some people here do, others don't.
Lil' Smokie, I vacum sealed all of mine as well.
Some I vacuum seal, if it's for me. The cheese I do for others I do not vacuum seal, I only wrap with plactic wrap. I never give them thier cheese back till it ages for three to five days and then I tell them it will just keep getting better if they allow it to sit. It all tastes the same to me, vacuum or not.