CHEESE

Regforte · July 21, 2004, 04:51:35 PM

QLiss,

The ashy taste you describe may be because of the temperature of the cheese when you put it in the smoker.

Was it cold right out of the fridge? If so, that may create condensation on the outside of the cheese, which will cause the cheese to take up all kinds of bad flavors. You want anything you cold smoke to have a dry surface, so condensation is very bad.

Let your cheese come 100% to room temperature before you smoke it. This goes for anything that you cold smoke.

I regularly cold smoke for 8 hours or longer with no off flavors imparted to the product at all.

QLiss · July 23, 2004, 02:50:51 AM

Thanks for the tip, Regforte, I'll certainly give it a try. It may have also just been too warm outside. I'll retry it on a cooler night or maybe early morning also.
QLiss

whitetailfan · July 29, 2004, 04:26:03 PM

QLiss,
Sorry to here you did not like your cheese experiment. I truly love the stuff and it is very easy to get rid of at a social outing - can't keep the vultures off the stuff[;)]

I don't prop my door at all. Full top vent, four pucks, hour and 20.

whitetailfan
"Nice Rack"
Lethbridge, AB

BigSmoker · July 30, 2004, 02:47:19 PM

Tried some cheese last night. I used white cheddar. It's probally my favorite and adding some to home made mac-n-cheese is a must. I now know its better smoked. I let cheese come to room temp, unplugged smoker from smoke generator, filled water bowl 3/4 with ice, opened top vent all the way, 3rd rack down pie pan with more ice, top rack white cheddar 1lb., 4 pucks for smoke(used special blend because I couldn't decide) turned out perfect. Grated it on a salad and some chicken corn chowder. This was the first time I have cold smoked, with the cheese no real cleanup. I think the amount of ice used will depend on the season of the year and/or where you live.
Only thing I might change next time is to add more cheese, some nuts, eggs or something to fill the box a little more.

Jeff

Some say BBQ is in your blood, if thats true my blood must be BBQ sauce.
http://devoted.to/bbq

Regforte · July 30, 2004, 03:17:49 PM

Sounds good Jeff. Glad to see we've got another fine member of the cheese club.

Some good news for you: The cheese gets even better after it sits in the fridge a few days.

PS - I have a backyard full of smokers and I bought the Bradley because it's the best cold smoke machine for the money available.

SmokinLarry · November 30, 2004, 08:59:40 PM

Never tried cheese yet, but will tomorrow.How about wrapping in cheese cloth??

BigSmoker · November 30, 2004, 10:48:19 PM

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by SmokinLarry
 Never tried cheese yet, but will tomorrow.How about wrapping in cheese cloth??
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
Larry,
I just set the cheese on the rack and let her rip. Just use some ice to keep the temp down and then after its done wrap in plastic wrap and put in fridge overnight[;)].

Jeff
www.bbqshopping.com
Some say BBQ is in your blood, if thats true my blood must be BBQ sauce.

Cold Smoke · January 23, 2005, 01:16:17 AM

As I'm no expert on smoked cheese I'll invite anyone to donate any tried and true recipes/tips to add to our new state-of-the-art menu. I will be smoking a chunk of blue cheese this weekend and report my findings.

Thanks!

Cold Smoke

manxman · January 23, 2005, 01:22:58 PM

Hi Folks,

I have tried a few methods of smoking mature cheddar. I have found the best to date is really a combination of ideas already mentioned in the previous posts.

This for a block of cheddar around 1.5lb

Let the (unwrapped) cheese come to room temperature before smoking.

Use the John Watkins/Grakka method to separate the smoke generator from the smoke box to ensure true cold smoking. This ensures temperatures of no more than a couple of degrees above ambient.(never went above 48degF/8degC) In hot weather/climates, would utilise ice as well.

Smoke for 3- 5 hours depending on personnal taste. This was for oak smoke which is probably the UK prefered smoke flavour.(akin to hickory in USA?)

Wrap in cling film (plastic)immediately on removal from BS and leave in fridge for at least 24 hours. I have found it tastes a bit ashy if eaten straight away.

One option I have tried is "T shirt" method mentioned elsewhere, wrapping cheese in single layer of clean white cotton. This seems to work well.

Had plenty of positive comments from friends who sampled it, even the dogs had a smile on their faces when they tried it!!!

Also tried blue cheese, oak smoked as above but for 3 hours. It was ok but not sure if it actually added anything to the already strong flavour of this cheese. Reserve judgement on that one.

My next step is to try some other smoke flavours... apple?? Anyone got any experience of other flavours other than oak and hickory?

Manxman.

tsquared · January 23, 2005, 06:42:27 PM

I used maple and thought it came out nicely. Of course you have to consider the source. I'm Canadian, eh, and we love our Maple Leafs...[8D]
Tom

JJC · January 23, 2005, 10:15:10 PM

I've smoked cheddar with both hickory and apple. They're both great, but I think I prefer apple. With the BS, I'm going to try a mix of both.

John
Newton MA

whitetailfan · January 24, 2005, 10:11:04 PM

Manxman,
I started out with Hickory, which is still very good, but lately I've been using Pecan. It's just a bit milder, and it seems to appeal to a wider variety of people. Read...I got more compliments from the Pecan.

I've not yet tried a cheesecloth or t-shirt, but I may during the summer smokes. Even with the ice trick, I have gotten "sweaty" results before, I just wiped the brick down before refrigerating, but the cloth wrap would probably protect the cheese and eliminate this.

"Nice Rack"
Lethbridge, AB

MallardWacker · January 25, 2005, 02:19:21 PM

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Use the John Watkins/Grakka method to separate the smoke generator from the smoke box <hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

Where is this located on the forum, I would like to look into it.

SmokeOn,

mski
Perryville, Arkansas
Wooo-Pig-Soooie

If a man says he knows anything at all, he knows nothing what he aught to know. But...

manxman · January 25, 2005, 05:05:10 PM

Hi Mallard Wacker,

This site has pictures of the set up I mentioned:

http://www.johnwatkins.co.uk/personalpages/coldsmoking.htm

Manxman.

MallardWacker · January 25, 2005, 08:00:27 PM

Very interesting, I bookmarked this. Thank you.

SmokeOn,

mski
Perryville, Arkansas
Wooo-Pig-Soooie

If a man says he knows anything at all, he knows nothing what he aught to know. But...