Join me in smoking cheese!

[EnglishGuy]

OP

Are you using the smoke generator attached directly to the Bradley?

Although I live WAY up north, and its only about freezing here in England at 35F, I still only smoke cheese with the smoke generator sitting inside a cardboard box with a 4" pipe connecting the box to the Bradley.

[Smoking Duck]

I generally smoke cheese with the smoke generator directly attached to the tower.  Last time I did cheese it was about 40F.  It would be easier to do with the cold-smoke setup, but if you crack the door open and use ice inside the box, you can keep the temp down enough so that the box doesn't reach over 80F.  Even with the door cracked open, there is still plenty of smoke that rolls over the cheese.

I plan on a cold smoke tomorrow with the box directly attached but it's not supposed to get more than 20F or so here tomorrow.

SD

[tsquared]

I say nuts to cheese! :)  I finally did 6 blocks of cheddar last weekend along with over 3 lbs of almonds. Gave them 2 hours of apple smoke. I found out that I need to go shopping to get some racks that have a small enough grid for nuts. I improvised with holes poked in foil but I think it affected the smokiness of the nuts--not enough. Next time I will go longer and use a stronger smoke, maybe hickory. The nuts are fabulous, nevertheless. I used the spice mix from the recipe site for smoking nuts and it turned out fine. The cheese I haven't tasted yet.
Hee's a picture of the nuts and cheese going in.
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y44/tsquared1/IMG_0350.jpg


and the nuts after spicing and baking...
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y44/tsquared1/IMG_0351.jpg


and the cheese after foodsaving--patience, patience...
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y44/tsquared1/IMG_0352.jpg


Thanks for all the advice guys.
T2

[Smoking Duck]

Wow, T2......it looks like you're nuts about cheese  :P ;D ;D

Looks good....be sure to let us know about the cheese!

SD

[tsquared]

Tried some of the cheddar after a week in the fridge--very nice. I think a few more days for the other blocks will help too. My live in food critic loves it so I'll have smoked cheddar, smoked almonds and smoked salmon for xmas appies.
T2

[wp72]

Is it really necessary to let the cheese sit for 10 days or so in the fridge after smoking?  When is the earliest time to consume?

WP.

[Smoking Duck]

All of my cheese gets a minimum of 10 days.  A lot depends on your taste preferences.  I've found through trial and experimentation, that less than ten days and the cheese can taste very ashy.  I often go longer than the ten days as the flavors mellows more with age.  It's your cheese, however, and can be pulled whenever you want to.  For me, 10 is the absolute minimum for me. (now, sometimes the family gets into them prior to the 10 day mark) but for my personal tastes, I go as long as I can.  Have some in there now that's been going on a month and they taste much better than at ten days.

SD

[wp72]

Sonuds good....I'll try and let my batch age and then open one of the bricks for a sampling.  After a few more weeks I'll open another and see what happens!

WP.

[Smoking Duck]

Cool, be sure to let us know what you think.  Always interested in hearing the outcomes of others.

SD

[tsquared]

Just a followup on a batch of cheese i did back in December. It's been about 3 weeks now since the smoke and I opened another package the other day--wow--patience is it's own reward! Any feedback on somebody who kept the smoked cheese for a couple of months?
T2

[Smoking Duck]

The longest I've been able to hold onto it without it being devoured is two months.  A thing of beauty if you ask me!

SD

[FLBentRider]

I still have 2 blocks left from the smoke in early December.

[westexasmoker]

Its hard to let it go that long, I'm with FL have two blocks from early Dec. but I think its going to be opened tonight.......Maybe if I hide it in the back of the fridge and forget about it I could age it a bit longer!  ;D

C

[FLBentRider]

I'm not sure I'll have another opportunity to smoke any more this winter!

[Tenpoint5]

I'm not sure I'll have another opportunity to smoke any more this winter!

Send it up to me FLB Friday's high is supposed to be -1. I can smoke it for you.