Major Screw Up on Cheese!

[pi guy]

I've smoked cheese a few times before and had nothing but great results. Saturday however I messed up big time! I had 3 trays of assorted cheeses in the smoker (got a little too comfortable and greedy perhaps), using my AMNPS only. Temp outside was around 50 degrees and I had cherry wood rolling great. I left it alone for about an hour and a half.

Like an idiot, I put one tray of cheese directly above the AMNPS and two chunks of havarti melted onto it. It must have caused a major flame up inside because when I went to pull it out (and noticed my huge mistake) there was creosote flakes on the cheese at the top of the racks and a horrible mess of burned/smoldered cheese below.

I panicked and tried getting the creosote off the affected pieces and then vac sealed everything that was salvageable.

My question now is, did I ruin this whole batch? Can I let the cheese mellow/age and then cut away the outer layers? The smoke smell (and burnt smell) was so strong, I'm concerned. Anyone every have something like this happen? Any advice or caution to share?

Thanks!!

 

[Lonzinomaker]

Pack what you can salvage and give it a couple of months in fridge, it may be okay. Try grating a small amount onto scrambled eggs/omlets or into soups. for a smoke flavor boost.

I use a Big Chief smoker for my cheese now and learned the hard way that the smoke needs to be diffused with the drip tray. It turns out the smoke from my mailbox mod with bottom entry rises in a very tight column and with no tray, it over smokes cheese in center of smoker. Put the tray in and cheese gets evenly smoked.

 

[pi guy]

Pack what you can salvage and give it a couple of months in fridge, it may be okay.
I use a Big Chief smoker for my cheese now and learned the hard way that the smoke needs to be diffused with the drip tray. It turns out the smoke from my mailbox mod with bottom entry rises in a very tight column and with no tray, it over smokes cheese in center of smoker. Put the tray in and cheese gets evenly smoked.

Thanks, that makes sense. Any concern over the creosote I had to "wash" off some of the cheese?

 

[tx smoker]

You can actually chill the cheese then wash it with cold water and a sponge. I do this if the color gets too dark and is unappealing. That will get the creosote off the outside of the blocks and make everything perfect again...I'm guessing.

Robert

 

[Brokenhandle]

I bet if you got most of the nasties off before vac sealing let it age and you'll be golden! If not, and I'm wrong... do ya know anybody that's treated ya poorly lately? They need gifts!

Ryan

 

[thirdeye]

I'm thinking the same at Brokenhandle as far as removing the outer layers of your cheeses, then sealing.

 

[bauchjw]

Just want to clear up that I put a “like” because you shared instead of hiding it! I had to chuckle because I’ve had a few bad mess ups smoking cheese, but there was nothing left to salvage! I can’t add much beyond what has already been suggested, but will add that creosote won’t hurt you in small amounts, only taste bad. Cutting out or washing off doesn’t pose a health risk.

 

[thirdeye]

Now for a 'It could have been worse' story....

A guy I know smoked a bunch of cheese for a platter at a Football Sunday pot luck his sister hosted. People liked it so much he volunteered to smoke more for people in the coming weeks, he asked them to drop off their favorite cheese and he would smoke it all in one batch.

Well the big day comes and he's got various cheeses from about 20 people. He puts it on the smoker and comes down to the neighborhood watering hole for a beer. One beer turned into two, then someone one wins the bar dice pot and bought a round of shots for the bar..... you see where this is headed. When he went home all of the cheese had melted. Not just got soft and deformed, melted and dripped down the racks below and wound up in a big mess. He did think ahead and had saved the wrappers with peoples names on them, but now he had to replace all the cheeses and smoke it again.

 

[pi guy]

Now for a 'It could have been worse' story....

A guy I know smoked a bunch of cheese for a platter at a Football Sunday pot luck his sister hosted. People liked it so much he volunteered to smoke more for people in the coming weeks, he asked them to drop off their favorite cheese and he would smoke it all in one batch.

Well the big day comes and he's got various cheeses from about 20 people. He puts it on the smoker and comes down to the neighborhood watering hole for a beer. One beer turned into two, then someone one wins the bar dice pot and bought a round of shots for the bar..... you see where this is headed. When he went home all of the cheese had melted. Not just got soft and deformed, melted and dripped down the racks below and wound up in a big mess. He did think ahead and had saved the wrappers with peoples names on them, but now he had to replace all the cheeses and smoke it again.

OH NO! It's one thing to ruin your cheese, but another man's cheese? That's bad!! I guess that makes me feel a little bit better, thank you.

 

[pi guy]

Just want to clear up that I put a “like” because you shared instead of hiding it! I had to chuckle because I’ve had a few bad mess ups smoking cheese, but there was nothing left to salvage! I can’t add much beyond what has already been suggested, but will add that creosote won’t hurt you in small amounts, only taste bad. Cutting out or washing off doesn’t pose a health risk.

Thank you, that was a huge concern for me!