More Cheese

BuyLowSellHigh · October 30, 2010, 08:59:26 AM

Been having some unusually cool mornings here in southeast TX this week, it was 45° this morning. Time for the second round of cheese smoking this season - want to load up for the upcoming holidays.

Today the selection was Pepper Jack, Spanish Manchego, Hoffman's Super Sharp Cheddar, Black Diamond Aged Cheddar, Jarlsberg, and some fresh Mozzarella that I brined for 8 hours, 6.5 lbs total. Here's the lineup, minus the Pepper Jack that didn't make it for the photo.

Fresh Mozzarella is so soft that I set it on small squares of cheesecloth. Before smoking one of the Manchego pieces got rubbed with Spanish Sweet Paprika and Cumin and one piece of the Mozzarella got roiled in cracked black pepper. After two hours of mixed apple and alder (1 hour of each), here is what they looked like just before vac packing.

Added to the 4 lbs remaining form 4 weeks ago, we now have 10.5 lbs in inventory.

SoCalBuilder · October 30, 2010, 09:21:45 AM

Man that looks nice! You better start baking crackers now ;D

squirtthecat · October 30, 2010, 09:23:30 AM

What does the Mozzarella look like vacuum sealed?? (I'm thinking very very 'flat'..)

BuyLowSellHigh · October 30, 2010, 09:28:36 AM

Surprisingly, it held it's shape. It's just a very soft, gooey surface that wants to shed on anything it touches. Different brands of fresh Mozz have varying degrees of firmness. This was Safeway's Primotaglio, which I really like for taste and pizza. Next time I will go with the Fresh Mozzarella brand, which is a good bit firmer.

classicrockgriller · October 30, 2010, 10:28:00 AM

Very Nice !

My Cheese is "almost" ready.

It was quite chrisp this morning.

I felt like a Buck in Rut! ;D

BuyLowSellHigh · October 30, 2010, 11:20:31 AM

Quote from: classicrockgriller on October 30, 2010, 10:28:00 AM

I felt like a Buck in Rut! ;D

Uh ... nope, not going there -- too many bad possibilites. ;D

Quarlow · October 30, 2010, 11:59:47 AM

(we now have 10.5 lbs in inventory) Ah you might want to let him out daily so he can feed his kids. I am sure if you ask him nicely he will come back after dinner.
You guys have Safeway down there? I knew they were in the states to but I figured they were just a few of the upper states. We have the same brand of cheese here. But I have one better and now that you mentioned smoke fresh mozza I will be going there. We have our largest dairy provider here named ..well originally they were "Dairyland" then they changed to "Dairyworld" and I think they have been bought by a company called "Saputo" now or they bought it and changed the name to "dairyworld". But just up behind our office was there cheese factory which provided a deli to it's employee's for lunches. I guess the don't get enough employes there so they threw out a sign to try and entice some of the local workers in the area to buy there lunches from them. Well every monday they make fresh mozza and it is awesome stuff and cheap to. I had kind of forgot about it till now. I think I will stop in there next week.
Why did you brine your Mozza? Was it to firm it up some or for added taste?

BuyLowSellHigh · October 30, 2010, 01:12:44 PM

Quote from: Quarlow on October 30, 2010, 11:59:47 AM
(we now have 10.5 lbs in inventory) Ah you might want to let him out daily so he can feed his kids. I am sure if you ask him nicely he will come back after dinner.
You guys have Safeway down there? I knew they were in the states to but I figured they were just a few of the upper states. We have the same brand of cheese here. But I have one better and now that you mentioned smoke fresh mozza I will be going there. We have our largest dairy provider here named ..well originally they were "Dairyland" then they changed to "Dairyworld" and I think they have been bought by a company called "Saputo" now or they bought it and changed the name to "dairyworld". But just up behind our office was there cheese factory which provided a deli to it's employee's for lunches. I guess the don't get enough employes there so they threw out a sign to try and entice some of the local workers in the area to buy there lunches from them. Well every monday they make fresh mozza and it is awesome stuff and cheap to. I had kind of forgot about it till now. I think I will stop in there next week.
Why did you brine your Mozza? Was it to firm it up some or for added taste?

Q, the brining actually helps extend the shelf life (it's pretty low salt and very fresh), and to help with the flavor as well. Simple brine -- 2 oz. salt (by weight) in 1 qt water, in refrigerator for 8 hours, remove (slotted spoon helps), quick rinse, then drain in a rack for 1.5 - 2 hrs (inverted Bradley rack with a Frogmat works great). A lot of fresh Mozz is sold in a a brine solution to give it some decent shelf life in the market place. As cheese goes the stuff is very perishable because of it's high moisture and low salt. Don't overdo it though -- storing in salt water can lead to a greasy effect (due to the removal of calcium form the fresh cheese).

Quarlow · October 30, 2010, 01:23:30 PM

Ah good info. The stuff they have at the deli I mentioned, they give it to you in a bag with some of the brine they use. Kind of like buy fish for the fish tank. ;D

SouthernSmoked · October 30, 2010, 06:35:25 PM

Nice selection of cheese...

ArnieM · October 30, 2010, 06:45:25 PM

Looks good BLSH. Q, we don't have a Safeway down here.

I'll be smoking cheese tomorrow. Forecast high is 53 and windy. I'm not sure what I have left in stock. I've had the cheese in the fridge for a while and have been nibbling at it. ;)

RAF128 · October 31, 2010, 04:49:30 AM

I read this and decided to get off my back side and get some cheese for smoking. Made a quick trip to the bulk cheese warehouse and looked over their selection. The outlet close to home is a satelite of the main store across town so they don't have quite as big a selection. One of the fellows was quite helpfull and made several suggestions for cheese to smoke. He showed me one they had done. It was a 3yr old white cheddar. It had great colour. He gave me a few samples to try and my wife and I both like it. Didn't have any 3yr old in stock by got some 5 yr old. Another cheese that caught my eye was a horseradish cheddar. Had to give that a try. I actually had to take a little slice to taste when I got home. The horseradish kind of sneaks up on you ;).
Planning to do the smoke on about tuesday. Today is a hunting day and tomorrow will be a prep and recovery day. Prep the smoker and recover from hunting. Plan to use hickory.
Will let you know.

BuyLowSellHigh · October 31, 2010, 06:56:13 AM

Q, on Safeway, the "Safeway" stores down here are Randall's. There are others within the Safeway group - Vons, Pavilions, Dominick's, Carrs/Safeway, Randalls, Tom Thumb and Genuardi's. From my experience they all carry the same brand lines. The Safeway stores in northern CA looked inside just like the local Randalls - same stuff, similar department offerings, etc.

Quarlow · October 31, 2010, 11:59:27 AM

Ahh I see. I have been in a randalls before. So they are likely not associated with our Safeway's? The sign for the one in Washington state is the same as ours so maybe it is different from the ones you have down there also.

wetzel1977 · October 31, 2010, 05:03:34 PM

Break out the Beer and mustard im coming over !!

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squirtthecat