First cheese smoke, block of cheddar/jack, pepper/jack

[fire it up]

After a long night of smoking a few days back I decided it was the perfect time to try smoking some cheese. I let the smoker cool down, cleaned out most of the ash from the bottom and got ready to go.
I used 2-3 charcoals the whole time some hickory.

Coals starting to burn.



Had picked up a block of cheddar/jack and a block of pepper/jack.




Once I had the coals burning I adjucted until I had it holding between 70-80, the highest it went was 83 at one point but for the most part I was holding in the 70s



Smoked them for 2 hours



Vacuum sealed for 3 days before I cut some off.




The verdict? Delicious.
The only thing I would do different next time was to clean the smoker first. The cheese picked up a little of the flavor from the fats and such that were lying in the bottom of the smoker. Didn't hurt the cheese any but it was noticeable.
Going to slice some of the pepper/jack up and put it on a sammie with some pastrami I recently did.
Now that I know it can be done and it is so simple I have to do it again.
Next time I'll throw on some provolone too.
Thanks for looking, if you haven't tried smoking your own cheese I would highly recommend it.

 

[jjrokkett]

Nice looking cheese

I did a bunch awhile back and found that the longer you store it the milder / smoother the smoke gets. I tried some right after a smoke and it was terrible but waited a week or so and it was good. Some of the cheeses I've tried just won't accept smoke well. I've still got a piece of cheddar in the fridge from 4 months ago...we'll see how that is one day!

 

[bostonbbq]

Awesome!! Gotta try this sometime, looks great.....

 

[cajunsmoke13]

nice job on the cheese fire. Need to try that...

 

[wutang]

Looks great. When I did some it made me laugh tending that little tiny fire. Definately worth doing though.

 

[sumosmoke]

Excellent job, that looks like a great snack to be had by all, or just you

 

[richoso1]

Congrats on a tasty smoke. Keeping the temps low is a main factor, and you've found the answer.

 

[desertlites]

glad u tried smoked cheese-tis a cool thing.

 

[dreamer]

First off, I know I need a smoke gun or some other pro-made cold smoke generator.

I am trying my "wood burner" cold (not enough cold) smoke generator for some cheese. I am riding right at 90 deg. Pepper jack melting a bit, but the chedder seems to be holding up. I am trying moving the generator to the top of the GOSM and the cheese lower.

Any suggestions.


Luckily I am only smoking a couple small pieces as not to ruin a whole brick.


Dreamer

 

[meatball]

Dreamer, I've read on here that when guys can't seem to get their smoker temps low enough, they crack the door on the smoker a little bit. Did you try that? I'm sure someone will chime in with a good answer for you.

 

[jerrykr]

watch this video:



It really works great with wood chips, and hardly raises the temps in your smoker any at all.

One can of chips is good for 2-3 hours, just shake the can every hour or so to get the unburned chips on the heat.

Jerry

 

[got14u]

how did the pepperjack take to the smoke. i haven't done it yet but was planning on smoking some next time i do some cheese. and did you let some sit for about 3 weeks ? it really melds with the cheese then.

 

[tasunkawitko]

beautiful stuff! smoked cheese of any kind is at the top of my list!

 

[rivet]

Jim, I am highly impressed that you did this on an SnP with only a firebasket mod! Major points to you for your skill and handling of the smoke....congratulations.

Really nice to know the cheese came out so well~ I'm sure lots more of us want to try this but are afraid to take the plunge. You've really opened the doors, bud. Thanks!

 

[beer-b-q]

Nice Job, Looks Great...

 

[fire it up]

The pepper jack was great, the smoke flavor went with the heat pretty well and it was one of those blocks of cheese that actually had a bite to it, not like most hot cheeses out there. I tried them after letting sit a few days and then again after sitting a month or 2 and they were definitely better after sitting for a while.

I have been waiting for it to cool down again so I can do some more cheese and a few other cold smokes.

Thanks John, it went a lot smoother than I figured it would have, was really easy to keep the temps even, I hope that others will give smoking cheese a try.