cheese question

[Up In Smoke]

just out of curiosity what brands of cheese are used for smoking?
the results i get from boars head products is amazing!
i only smoke my sharp cheddar for 15 minutes before vac sealing.
i have noticed that a lot of members smoke longer.
is this because of the type/brand of cheese or is it more personal taste?

[KyNola]

I use Cabot's but only because I can purchase it in 2 pound bricks at the local Sam's Club.  Much cheaper than buying the 4-6 ounce blocks at the grocery store.

As for smoke time, I run about 3 hours of smoke.  Just personal taste preference.

KyNola

[manxman]

or is it more personal taste?

More out of personnal taste for me, I have experimented between about 1 and 6 hours and have settled on around 4.5 hours for cheese.

I have also tried many types of cheeses but tend to do mainly sharp / mature cheddar now but whatever cheese I plan on smoking I always taste it first, smoking won't make a poor cheese any better IMHO!

[pensrock]

I smoke till I get the color I'm looking for. I seem to get better results when I use a hot plate with wood chips than when I use the smoke generator. Not sure why but I like it better. It seems swiss takes the smoke much quicker than any other cheese I smoke, 2-3 hours. Xsharp cheddars and american style cheeses smoke for 4-6 hours. Typically 4 hours is good.

[canadiansmoker]

I have only smoked the medium and old cheddar cheese so far. The amount of smoke would definitely be an individual thing. I did some at 2 hours and some at 3 since it was the first time. They both turned out great. Fairly strong smoke flavor in both batches. next time I will probably do some for only 1.5 hours as my better half would like the smoke to be a little more subtle.

I know of a few people on here that have done them for 4-5 hours. I couldn't imagine how smoky that would be, but to each his/her own :)

[canadiansmoker]

canadiansmoker,
try a sharp cheddar at 15 to 20 mintes, vac seal it for 7 days and give it a shot.
to me it gives you a lite smoke flavor and lets you enjoy the flavor of the cheese.

Thanks, I'll have to give it a try. I don't mind the stronger smoke flavor myself, but I still want to be able to taste the cheese.

I think I have gotten a handle on some 6 year old cheddar I'll try as well.

[La Quinta]

Although...I am absolutely no expert on smoking cheeses...I really prefer any "soft" cheese smoked...I've done Monterey Jack, pepper Cheese, chedder, colby, colby jack....I usually go 2 hours and find that just nice...

[Mr Walleye]

LQ... are you talking soft cheese... or soup???





























Sorry... I know, I know you have the new cold smokin' box... but I couldn't resist.  :D

Mike

[La Quinta]

Ok Fishman...I can rev up the teabags at any moment.....I can put you into a trance and you'd do whatever I say...don't make me do it...you're a nice man....  ;D

[Mr Walleye]

 :o  :o  :o  :o  :o  :o  :o  :o  :o  :o  :o  :o  :o  :o  :o  :o
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Not the tea bags!!!  I promise... I'll be good!  ;)  :D


Mike

[La Quinta]

I thought as much....  :D  :D  :D

[Mr Walleye]

I was just..... Fishin' LQ!

:D  :D  ;D

Mike

[pensrock]

now its my turn to join sparky drinking at a distance.  ;D

[La Quinta]

Yup...and I bit...my bad!!! But...none the less...I control the power of the teabag....cheese is a sacred thing here....  ;D

[seemore]

Sorry to be a latecomer to the discussion, and I still don't know what the HECK you mean by the whole teabag reference - this is Mrs.  I'm a little slow, so bear with me - but we have smoked a variety of cheeses:  the usual Swiss, gouda, cheddar, pepperjack, etc.  We have also picked up some processed cheeses and given them a light smoke:  garlic cheese, horseradish cheese, herb cheese...they've have all been wonderful.
When it has been REALLY cold outside, we have smoked Velveeta.  Smoked Velveeta is really good in macaroni and cheese.  We have also smoked the Mexican Velveeta and used that with Rotel tomatoes to make a good cheese dip.