Temp question

[hillbilly jim]

I'm getting interested at trying my hand at smoking cheese. I'm not one to start asking questions without doing some research and reading first, so I've spent quite a bit of time in this section. The amount of information is staggering.

I have one question I can't seem to find an answer to. Where can I find a chart that gives me the ballpark melt temps of various cheeses?

Daytime average highs in the summer in my area (Floyd County, Va.) are in the upper 80s. My 44 inch Masterbuilt propane unit is under a cover on the deck, but not always in the shade. As the cabinet is black, I'm afraid the cabinet temp might be too warm for the softer cheeses, especially in the morning when the sun is hitting it.

If I can find some data on the melt points of various cheeses, I might can find something that will withstand the temps I'm dealing with right now. Come late September, early October, it'll be cool enough to smoke just about anything I wanna try.

Thank ya', fellas. I appreciate your patience and willingness to help me out. I'm doing my best to research this, but sometimes I run into something that requires my asking questions.

Jim

 

[biteme7951]

I found this article helpful regarding the melting process of cheese. The process starts around 90 degrees with the higher moisture cheeses melting first. 

http://www.finecooking.com/item/64019/the-science-of-melting-cheese

You can still be successful by smoking your cheese in the early morning or late evening, and by loading your water pan with Ice, or placing frozen bottles of water in the smoker. 

Also the use of an amazn smoker tube or tray will not require your MES40 element to run at all. A mailbox mod would be even better for temp control.

Hope this helps.

Barry.

 

[akdutchguy]

I haven't smoked a lot of cheese but I try to stay below 70. What are your night time temps? Are you going to use a mailbox mod (highly recommended) you can also freeze water bottles to help keep the temp down. If you can do it in the late evening you should be ok. Now I'm hungry for some smoked cheese. Let us know how it goes.
Jason

 

[chef jimmyj]

I don't know of a Chart and could not find one in Goggle Images. Basically firm slice-able cheese, Cheddar, Swiss, Jack, Mozzarella will begin to melt at 90°F. Brie, Camembert and better aged Bleu Cheese, about 74°F. You are going to need a smoke generator separate from your smoker or if using a Maze style in the smoker, use Dust as pellets raise the internal temp 25+ degrees. You may get away with smoking late at night with a layer of Frozen 1L water bottles, just below your cheese. As you probably read, spring and fall are the heavy cheese smoking times for most of us in the States...JJ

You DEFINITELY don't want This!   Thanks for the pics Bauchjw,,, 

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/241102/epic-fail-of-extraordinary-magnitude

image.jpeg

• bauchjw
• Jan 18, 2016

 

 

[hillbilly jim]

Any/every time I set out to test, establish or use a new procedure, I ALWAYS do a test run minus the food. My wife says I missed my calling and should have been a scientist instead of a pipefitter.

You may rest assured, nothing goes in the smoker until I am absolutely sure I've got a firm grip on the procedure. Throwing darts at a 'let's try this' board is not my idea of how to produce a successful smoke.

Am I much too anal? Probably. But everything I've smoked so far has come out perfect. And I have the guys on this board to thank for most of the information that lead up to it.