Doing my first smoked cheese tonight and my question is ...How long do I let it rest after the smoke before I vacum seal it...Thanks !
Homemade CrackersI will have to find me some Jarlsberg and give it a try...I guess that I am going to have to learn how to make crackers because I am making everything else wine, beer, smoke cheese and sausage...
AMEN to that !The beauty of Fall! It reaches some of us sooner that others.
Smoked cheese? Winter squash?
It seems that every season gives us some bounty from our Father to enjoy!
Good luck and good smoking.
Never and I do not know why as much cheese as I eat..But what I eat is mostly Cheddar and Coby. I am on a roll now just bought 5 new types today to smoke very soon..All them years of smoking and you're just smoking cheese now?
Late Bloomer?
TJ
Thanks Jarhead I will have to give these a try !!!!Homemade Crackers
I've made these and they are great.
Homemade Wheat Thins
from King Arthur Flour
1 1/4 cups (5 oz) whole wheat flour (I used white whole wheat)
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt, plus extra for topping
1/4 teaspoon paprika
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
1/4 cup water
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
Preheat oven to 400 F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
Add the flour, sugar, salt and paprika to a medium bowl and whisk to combine. Cut the butter into small pieces and add it to the bowl. Then, using a pastry blender, mix the butter into the dry ingredients thoroughly. Combine the water and vanilla in a small measuring cup. Add to the butter/flour mixture and mix until a smooth dough forms. (My dough was still pretty dry so I added slightly more water before it came together.)
Divide the dough into 4 pieces. Work with one piece at a time, keeping the others covered with a towel so they don't dry out. Lightly flour your work surface and rolling pin and roll the dough into a large rectangle. Lift the dough and turn it as you roll to ensure it's not sticking. You want to roll the dough as thin as possible, try to make sure it's 1/16-inch thick at most. If you want all of your crackers to be perfect, trim the edges of the dough so you have a rectangle with even sides. Use a pizza cutter to cut the rectangle into squares about 1 to 1 1/2 inches wide.
Transfer the dough squares to the prepared baking sheets. You don't need to leave much space in between the crackers - they don't spread at all in the oven. Sprinkle the squares lightly with salt. Repeat the rolling and cutting process with the remaining 3 pieces of dough. Save all of your scraps under the towel; reroll them all at once to create a final batch of crackers. (I covered the baking sheets with towels while I rolled the rest of the dough so the cut crackers wouldn't dry out.)
Bake the crackers, one sheet at a time, until crisp and browned, about 5-10 minutes. Check the crackers at 5 minutes, and if some of the thinner ones are browning too quickly, remove them to a plate and return the remaining crackers to the oven to finish baking. The crackers can burn quickly so you want to keep a close eye on them. Once brown and crisp, transfer to a plate to cool. Store the crackers in an airtight container.
If you have an Aldi grocery store in you area they have 8oz blocks of cheddar, mozzarellea, colby jack, provolone, and pepper jack for $1.49 and swiss for $1.79Before I vacu sealed, I did the cling wrap and it worked well. Use a quality plastic wrap like Stretch. te which is available at Costco here in the U.S. Wrap as tightly as you can. Then place in a ziploc bag and remove all the air you can. It will last well in the fridge.
My cheapie FoodSaver was less than $100 USD.
Last week, I pulled some vacu sealed cheese out of the fridge that was about 9 months old. After that long rest in the back of the fridge? The best smoked cheese I have had yet!
Now, temps are down here and time to smoke cheese. Unfortunately, the price of cheese is up 10 to 15% over last year. No inflation going on in the U.S. according to our government?
Time to bite the bullet and smoke some cheese!
Good luck and good smoking.