First time doing cheese

[lovethemeats]

Love winter time. Lets me do some cold smoking.
Did some Sharp Cheddar and some Swiss last night. Ran my MES temp between 50 - 60 degrees using maple and hickory. After reading a lot of the articles in here. I won't be trying them until 30 days from now. Used my AMNPS and had to cycle the unit on myself during the smoke. Stayed in the smoker for about 4 hrs. When removed. I let it sit in the fridge the rest of the night. Then today I vac sealed them.

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• lovethemeats
• Dec 30, 2016

 

[SmokinAl]

Great job on your first try!

Al

 

[crankybuzzard]

You're going to love what you've created! Chances are, so will everyone that tries it. Be prepared to make more, soon!

Points for your first!

 

[mr t 59874]

lovethemeats,

Congratulations on your first cheese smoke. In order to eliminate the long rest period after smoking your cheese, try cutting up one of your blocks into bite size pieces, start your smoke and sample a piece at half hour intervals. When it begins to get too strong for your taste, pull the cheese, it is done.

Keep good notes on the type of wood used, the color, and density of the smoke, and the color of your cheese when done. You will soon be producing an exceptional product.

Those who have to let their cheese rest are compensating for over smoking it to begin with, but if they are enjoying what they are producing, that is fine also. After all, you want to smoke to your taste not mine.

Tom

 

[lovethemeats]

Tom thanks for the info. Good to know about doing chunks and tasting as it goes.
Question for you. I'm interested in learning more about aging the cheese after smoking. Searching thru the site and it seems you can go years keeping the cheese and letting it continue on aging. I read how cheddar gets even more sharper as it goes. I vac pack it but would it be better to wax it. For storage I was thinking of using a small fridge to keep it in than my fridge in my kitchen.
Can't wait to see how it all turns out. I went and got 2 more big blocks. Another sharp and 1 Colby/Jack. Any suggestions. Thanks again.

Rob

 

[smokin jay]

Looks good! Nice smoke!

 

[mr t 59874]

Rob,

It’s good that you are taking such an interest in aging and smoking cheese. What you learn now you will keep for your smoking career, so let’s do it right.

You are correct that hard cheeses including cheddar can be aged for years, unlike the softer cheeses. I may age cheddar in it’s original packaging for a number of years before smoking. After smoking it is vac sealed unless it is to be kept for a length of time or given as special gifts, then it is waxed. Waxed cheese will age better than vac sealed.

A designated fridge is a good idea especially if you can hold the temp around 50°- 55°.

For your new cheeses, cut samples of each and test along the way as mentioned above.

Once you are getting good results, let’s see if we can improve your smoking technique. We might be able to help you there also, at minimal cost.

Enjoy your cheese.

Tom

 

[BGKYSmoker]

You did good.