Last cheese smoke of the summer...

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baja traveler

Meat Mopper
Original poster
Apr 28, 2012
153
19
San Diego, Ca
Taking advantage of some really cool marine layer that has rolled in on us here in San Diego. It will be too warm for cheese here on out until the end of September or into October (not that you can really call it hot here in coastal San Diego, but its warm enough the cheese sweats too much). Went to Smart & Final last night and picked up 10 pounds of Cheddar and 10 pounds of Pepper Jack - when you buy 4, 5 pound blocks or more they are $12.49 each...

Pulled the grates yesterday and gave them a good cleaning, so the cheese will have a nice clean pattern on them. Here is the load ready for 4 hours of smoke using Cherry/Alder pellets in the AMNPS.

 
Perfect timing, for a couple of reasons.  I got an AMNPS for Father's Day, and after thinking about it (and reading here) and I began to think our "cheese season" was over until October.  Your post confirmed what I was thinking, in fact I was getting ready to do a search and this was at the top. 

Uggg, I was looking forward to some cheese, but I haven't come up with an idea to get my smoker cooler than 80 when it's 90 out. 
 
One word - Ice

And lots of it. If your smoker has room, fill up some aluminum foil trays with as much ice as your smoker can fit. Then run the cheese on a grate right on top of it. 

I hate running out and spending money on ice, so I time a big smoke just before the heat arrives, and it will last me right up to when it starts to cool off again.

As you can see - I have room for another 5 pounds in my smoker as it is, and if I went out and got the material for another shelf I could run 35+ pounds of cheese at one time. But my refrigerator is only so big...
 
Last edited:
After posting I was thinking the same thing: Ice.  Dry ice actually.  Once I did a "two card board box" cold smoker, I was thinking about the same concept except I'd somehow incorporate a cooler in place of the second box and filling it with ice and cheese.  It would require a bit of manpower and engineering, but it could be another option.  I'd have to think about this one for a bit.  Thanks for the ideas...
 
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