cold smoking questions

[Seahawk]

Hi,everyone.I have a couple questions?
first im doing some smoked cheese and normaly i like to be around 70degrees when doing cheese, however today seems to be a cold windy day and i seem to only get my burner temp up to 60degrees with the vent almost shut, is it ok to keep the vent almost closed or will the cheese sweat?and is 60degrees a ok temp or does it need to be warmer for the smoke to penetrate?
Thank you and happy holidays.

[KyNola]

I think the smoke will probably penetrate OK at 60 degrees but I'll yield to the guys who smoke a lot of cheese.  Pens, you out there?  I'll yield to them when it comes to the vent as well but if it were me, the vent would be open.

[classicrockgriller]

It has been stated that the best temp for smoke penetration on cheese is around 80*.

60* might not be too cool but you may want to add a little more smoke time to it.

I would keep the vent open at least 1/4 +.

In the FAQ on the recipe site there is a section on vent position.

http://www.susanminor.org/forums/showthread.php?481-Bradley-Smoker-FAQ-s&p=748

[KyNola]

If you're concerned about the tower temp being too low, kick the heating element on and then shut it down again or I have run the heating element and cracked open the door on the tower.  Yes, you will lose some smoke but there will be plenty for the cheese.

[Seahawk]

Thank you i appreciate the responses,another reason why this forum is so great.
Happy Holidays.

[pensrock]

Are you using a cold smoke setup? if so put the smoke generator back into the tower and the heat from it will warm up the tower. I would not close the vent any more than 1/2 way. You can also do like Larry said, turn the heat one for a few minute then shut it back off. I like to do cheese 80-95 F.

[Up In Smoke]

Seahawk,
as you may have gathered there will be many different techniques and personal preferences for smoking cheese.
the good thing is you get to try them all and choose the one that works for you.
i like a light smoke on my cheeses, 20 to 40 minutes at the most.
as far as smoking temps i like to be in the 35 to 55 degree range, smoke generator hooked to the tower
vent wide open and the door cracked the width of a puck. (this will keep the cheese from releasing oils or sweating, creating more of and ash flavor than smoke)
the smoke just kisses the cheese on the way out,remove from the smoker, vac seal it and give it 21 days or more. open it and let it breathe in the fridge for
about an hour, remove to counter top and let it come up in temp for about 30 mins. slice thin and give it a taste.

[watchdog56]

I smoked ghouda,colby jack,pepper jack,string cheese and cheddar a few weeks ago and the cabinet temp only hit 50. I was worried the smoke did not penetrate enough but there is plenty of smoke flavoring in all the cheese. I smoked it for 2 hours using cherry wood.

[CentPaSmokin]

Hi,everyone.I have a couple questions?
first im doing some smoked cheese and normaly i like to be around 70degrees when doing cheese, however today seems to be a cold windy day and i seem to only get my burner temp up to 60degrees with the vent almost shut, is it ok to keep the vent almost closed or will the cheese sweat?and is 60degrees a ok temp or does it need to be warmer for the smoke to penetrate?
Thank you and happy holidays.

The one thing I have learned is that if you close the vent you are asking for trouble. Cheese sweats and hotdogs shrink thinking of just taking mine off to stop the temptation to play.

[NePaSmoKer]

The Bradley cold smoker setup

[CentPaSmokin]

I have have looking all over for just the right cart to mount mine on. ;D

[Brisket Lover]

I did my cheese at 50 half vent  and at 2,3, and 4 weeks it tasted too smokey and not good but better at 4 than 2. I'm waiting a few more weeks to see how it tastes.  When I try t again I will do it at a higher temp full vent.

[porterdriver]

Here's another beginner question.  It applies to cold-smoking as well as hot-smoking.  When does the group begin keeping time?  Do you all begin when you advance the first puck onto the burner?  Do you begin once you have a nice smoke popping out the top (sort of the SG version of preheating)?

I want to be able to duplicate some of the great recipes here but don't want to over/under smoke.

[pensrock]

I start once the first puck ends up on the preheated puck burner.

[porterdriver]

OK then, how long does one preheat the burner?