Who Cut the Cheese?

Spoke with MAK DADDY and got the scoop on the temps in the Warmer/Smoking box and decided to smoke some cheese before the ambient temperature started getting too hot here in Central California. Picked up some Cheddar and Gouda at Costco.



Cut the cheese down to size and loaded the Smoker box.



Setpoint to SMOKE using American Broadleaf Pure 100 Hickory.



Chose to smoke for 2 hours but an hour and 45 minutes into the smoke I decided to pull the cheese since a few chunks closest to the chamber were showing signs of melting a little.



In this closeup you can see a nice coloring of the cheese from the smoke and signs of a little bit of melting. I have used Apple when smoking cheese in the past but wanted to see the results of a bit of Hickory smoke. Let the cheese cool for about an hour or so before vacuum sealing.



Tasted a little of the Gouda before vacuum sealing and slapping the cheese into the back of the fridge for 2 weeks. The flavor of the Gouda was pleasant enough but I want to allow the smoke to penetrate deeper into the cheese. Have found that allowing the cheese to rest for at least 2 weeks makes a big difference.



Who cut the Cheese? Not me I will cut no cheese before it's time ...

Never have had any smoked cheese but that sure looks like it would be good on anything.

I love smoked cheese!
It adds another dimension of flavor to whatever you add it to. You'll love that cheese in another 8 weeks.


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Looks good Pete! I had to smoke some cheddar and Jalapeño pepper jack today, my last batch of smoked cheese is running out!

looks good partner.

Rip said:

Looks good Pete! I had to smoke some cheddar and Jalapeño pepper jack today, my last batch of smoked cheese is running out!

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Problem with smoked cheese Rip is that it disappears too quick !!

smoker pete said:

In this closeup you can see a nice coloring of the cheese from the smoke and signs of a little bit of melting.

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Pete, that cheese does have a beautiful color! You may already know this, but here's a couple suggestions for those who are new to cheese smoking (if I may be so bold - hope you don't mind):

Try keeping the smoking chamber below 90°. Above 90° is when cheese starts to sweat oil which can then pick up up a bitter, almost kerosene-like taste. Plus some cheeses can later develop a grainy texture if this happens. I've seen NePas add a tray of ice to keep the MAK smoking chamber cooler. Maybe he can post a pic of it here.

It's good to let the cheese dry a little before smoking. Let it sit uncovered in a cool place (or even in the fridge) on wire racks for an hour or so. This forms a very thin skin or crust that acts as a barrier but allows the smoke to penetrate just fine.


Hope this is helpful to someone.

Cliff

smoker pete said:

Problem with smoked cheese Rip is that it disappears too quick !!

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You got that right; its soooooo gooood!

I concur with Cliff. Adding a tray of ice may also be required when you are cold smoking other things, like fish. Another thing that I do is to rotate the cheese away from the heat source periodically to minimize any sweating.

Art

Great tips guys, thanks!

Rip said:

Great tips guys, thanks!

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Ditto ... x2. Thanks for the advise guys.

Wow! Great tips! Wish I had seen or paid attention to this thread before we tried smoking a small block of cheddar.