- Sep 9, 2016
- 78
- 29
I am generally not a "post pictures" of stuff, but I took the pictures for someone else, so figured why not? I have read all the posts here about cheese, so I might as well just write something up.. As part of a way to say thanks for all the help I got lurking around here...
Because the weather here in Maine has been getting cooler, I was concerned about it being too cold to smoke cheese, but after a quick post here, I felt it shouldn't be a problem. But, I wanted ot give this a whirl before it got too deep into the winter season.
When I started these out last night, it was about 25 degrees, but with in no time, the MES30, with the Masterbuilt cold smoker attachment has the inside up to 65 degrees, so no problems..
Here are all the little ducks lined up in a row.. I have 2 blocks of muenster, a sharp cheddar, Colby Jack, Monetary Jack, and some Swiss and some maple chips to give them the flavor.. I figured I would try a whole bunch and see what I liked best. Sorry for the shadows.. It was about 6:30 when I started, and has been dark for 3 hours already..
I wasn't 100% sure on how long to smoke for. I have read anywhere between 2-4 hours, depending on cheese, temp, etc., so I went with about 3 hours (I think it was like 2:45 actually), only because that is when the smoke in the smoker started to die out..
Here is the finished products. I think the color turned out pretty good on most of them. And, because of how late I started, as soon as I pulled them, I just put them in the fridge to firm up and there was no temptation after a long day of other things (which was part of my plan on why I started them later in the day). I also snuck a couple of hard boiled eggs on there, just to give them a try as well.
And after a night in the fridge, all vac sealed up and back in for some time to get those flavors to mingle better.. Again, no temptation on these as I was running late for work, so, I just had enough time to vac seal and get in the fridge..
And now I play the waiting game.. Assuming things went well, and I have no reason to believe they didn't, I can see me doing this as a regular thing. The wife and I eat a LOT of cheese. The only disappointment I have, is I wish I would have done some mozzarella, some Gruyere, or maybe a chunk of provolone.. But, plenty of time to experiment and that is something for the next batch..
Because the weather here in Maine has been getting cooler, I was concerned about it being too cold to smoke cheese, but after a quick post here, I felt it shouldn't be a problem. But, I wanted ot give this a whirl before it got too deep into the winter season.
When I started these out last night, it was about 25 degrees, but with in no time, the MES30, with the Masterbuilt cold smoker attachment has the inside up to 65 degrees, so no problems..
Here are all the little ducks lined up in a row.. I have 2 blocks of muenster, a sharp cheddar, Colby Jack, Monetary Jack, and some Swiss and some maple chips to give them the flavor.. I figured I would try a whole bunch and see what I liked best. Sorry for the shadows.. It was about 6:30 when I started, and has been dark for 3 hours already..
I wasn't 100% sure on how long to smoke for. I have read anywhere between 2-4 hours, depending on cheese, temp, etc., so I went with about 3 hours (I think it was like 2:45 actually), only because that is when the smoke in the smoker started to die out..
Here is the finished products. I think the color turned out pretty good on most of them. And, because of how late I started, as soon as I pulled them, I just put them in the fridge to firm up and there was no temptation after a long day of other things (which was part of my plan on why I started them later in the day). I also snuck a couple of hard boiled eggs on there, just to give them a try as well.
And after a night in the fridge, all vac sealed up and back in for some time to get those flavors to mingle better.. Again, no temptation on these as I was running late for work, so, I just had enough time to vac seal and get in the fridge..
And now I play the waiting game.. Assuming things went well, and I have no reason to believe they didn't, I can see me doing this as a regular thing. The wife and I eat a LOT of cheese. The only disappointment I have, is I wish I would have done some mozzarella, some Gruyere, or maybe a chunk of provolone.. But, plenty of time to experiment and that is something for the next batch..
