First smoked cheese question !

[roller]

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 !

 

[scarbelly]

I just let mine sit for a bit to cool down and I wipe down any condensation and seal it. 

 

[roller]

Thanks Gary ! I will post a qview when done..

 

[venture]

Now for the wait!

Good luck and good smoking.

 

[oldschoolbbq]

Same here , Roller. Cool and Seal. However,I can't get mine to the aging stage , the wife keeps ripping them open and snacking on the goodies. I agree it taste good fresh, but a week or so makes it soooo much better (hid one from her and opened it after two weeks - here, more is better).

A darn good Cheese to smoke is Jarlsberg , nice smooth Swiss flavor. Tried Cheddar , but the weather hot like it's been here , soft Cheeses drip through the grates.LOL

Good luck and ...

 

[venture]

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.

 

[roller]

I 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...

 

[tjohnson]

All them years of smoking and you're just smoking cheese now?

Late Bloomer?

TJ

 

[jarhead]

I 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...

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.

 

[roller]

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.

AMEN to that !

 

[roller]

All them years of smoking and you're just smoking cheese now?

Late Bloomer?

TJ

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..

 

[roller]

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.

Thanks Jarhead I will have to give these a try !!!!

 

[savupoika]

Is the vacuum the only way to go or can i just wrap the cheese to a clingfilm if im letting it rest about 2 weeks ?

 

[mike johnson]

Vacume sealing will make it last for months. If it lasts that long.not sure about wraping. If youre going to wrap Id suggest not a huge batch so it wont go bad.

Oh Yeah!  What happened to that Q-View Roller?

 

[savupoika]

I would offcourse prefer vacuum, but the quality vacuum machines cost like 600-700$ here in Finland. You can buy cheap vacuum machine for a 30$, but i think

that those are not good enough...? Really would like to hear about the use of clingfilm, i think 5-10 layers it should be pretty airtight.

 

[mike johnson]

i have a hundred dollar macine that I bought about 10 years ago. It still works great but im going to upgrade to a nicer one soon. As long as you get the air out it should be fine.

 

[savupoika]

Do you have any experience of using alder to gouda cheese ? Here in Finland they use alder on a cheese, fish and allso for bacon.

 

[rabbithutch]

Howdy, Savupoika!

:welcome1: to SMF !

The first time I smoked cheese I wrapped it in clear plastic cling wrap then put it inside of a ziplock bag then inside another one. I wasn't planning for it to do much more than age a couple of weeks and it worked very well. If you are planning to keep it longer, you might run into problems with mold and bacteria forming on the outer portion. We don't have to pay as much for a serviceable vacuum sealer as you do. I have one that does a great job that cost about $100.

 

[venture]

Before I vacu sealed, I did the cling wrap and it worked well.  Use a quality plastic wrap like StretchTite 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.

 

[toby bryant]

Before 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.

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 $1.79