My first cheese

[bombdawgity]

I see that you are officially hooked. Looks great! My personal favorite is pepper jack/Gouda, but I love them all. I did my first batch in a cardboard box and was immediately hooked. Now that I live in Colorado I have much more cheese time than I did in Florida. I take a block in to work every few weeks and the guys destroy it.
Keep making it, you'll kick yourself if you run out.
Kyle

 

[mr t 59874]

 
 Long as oxygen is sucked out, no problem. Thinking of wax myself. Not a need for fridge.

dave17a,  Not exactly true, please review cheese storage.   Mr T's "Smoked Cheese From Go To Show" w/ Q- View

Thanks, 

Tom

 

[bigboy]

T,

In your guide I read that you leaft cheese out of The refrigerator for quite some time. Why was that? Are there benefits or disadvantages to putting your cheese right in the fridge after vacuum sealing it?

 

[mr t 59874]

T,

In your guide I read that you leaft cheese out of The refrigerator for quite some time. Why was that? Are there benefits or disadvantages to putting your cheese right in the fridge after vacuum sealing it?

Good questions Bigboy,  Not knowing what time frame you are referring to, I will discuss all. 

Freshly smoked cheese is left out to allow any moisture which may have developed to evaporate. If no moisture is present, it may be sealed. If an oil is present on the surface, it indicates too much heat during smoking.  

Hard cheeses may be vac sealed or waxed and left at 70° or less.  The warmer the cheese the sooner smoke osmosis will occur.

Hopefully, this answered your questions.

Tom

 

[bigboy]

You mentioned having cheese on the counter for a couple of months I thought. That was the time I was referencing.

So if I see some moisture on the cheese can I pat it dry with a paper towel or should I let it dry? If the latter, how long should I leave if it out?

 

[mr t 59874]

You mentioned having cheese on the counter for a couple of months I thought. That was the time I was referencing.

So if I see some moisture on the cheese can I pat it dry with a paper towel or should I let it dry? If the latter, how long should I leave if it out?

Yes, you can leave hard cheese out at 70° or less.  Keep an eye on it by looking for mold.  If a mold appears it indicates air was introduced.  Don't throw it out, we can fix that.

Do not pat dry, you will be removing what you just spent time putting on, patience will become your best friend.  I take it you are placing it on a rack inside a open-ended plastic bag of sorts to dry.

 

[mr t 59874]

Forgot to answer your last question.  When it's dry you can seal.  I normally let mine set out overnight simply because of the convenience of it.

Tom

 

[bigboy]

Forgot to answer your last question.  When it's dry you can seal.  I normally let mine set out overnight simply because of the convenience of it.

Tom

Thanks. I have yet to have to pay any dry but I was just curios if I had to or not. A couple of youtube videos I've seen said to pat dry any oil that surfaces but I wasn't 100% sure.

I grabbed a little wedge if blue cheese to smoke tonight along with some others I'll post later. I know I just did some yestersay but my wife sent me to the store alone so it's her fault I ended up with 6 more blocks lol. Anyway, the smokes blue cheese really sounds good to me. Any idea of how long to smoke it? And what to eat it with? Just some wine?

 

[mr t 59874]

Thanks. I have yet to have to pay any dry but I was just curios if I had to or not. A couple of youtube videos I've seen said to pat dry any oil that surfaces but I wasn't 100% sure.

I grabbed a little wedge if blue cheese to smoke tonight along with some others I'll post later. I know I just did some yestersay but my wife sent me to the store alone so it's her fault I ended up with 6 more blocks lol. Anyway, the smokes blue cheese really sounds good to me. Any idea of how long to smoke it? And what to eat it with? Just some wine?

If it's oily, let it set overnight then vac seal, no need to wipe.

Strange how stuff just jumps in your cart when the wife isn't along.  Blue cheese will take on smoke quickly.  Not knowing the color or density of your smoke I can't even guess the time, again go by color, not time.  Start out with a very light smoke as you can always add more.  Eat it with whatever you normally use blue on, crackers, salads, etc.   It's a wonderful addition to pizza.

Enjoy and have fun,

Tom

 

[bigboy]

I just use the amazing tube smoker with some apple pellets. The blue cheese wedge I have seemed hard so I wasn't sure if that should take longer or what.

Thanks again for the help. I'll be back on later to post pics.

 

[bigboy]

image.jpg

• bigboy
• Feb 28, 2015

image.jpg

• bigboy
• Feb 28, 2015

Starting at the top we have a horseradish cheddar. Second row left to right we have a sharp cheddar (one of out favs so far) Swiss, habanero cheddar and pepper jack. The last row is the blue cheese wedge I mentioned before and a tomato basil cheddar.

I did all of these for 4 hours with the apple pallets I have. I love the color of them and I can't wait to give them a try.

 

[gary s]

Nice assortment

Gary

 

[chewmeister]

Looks good. Now comes the wait.

 

[bombdawgity]

The habenero cheddar has my stomach clapping, I'll have to look for some of that around here. They all look good. I haven't done 4 hours yet, usually 2.5-3, I wonder if they will take longer to mellow out.

 

[bigboy]

I was wondering about the mellowing process as well. I was going to go with 2.5 or 3 again but I wanted these a little darker. I'm curious so see how they taste after about a month.

 

[mr t 59874]

Good job Bigboy,  Are you keeping good notes?

T

 

[bigboy]

Good job Bigboy,  Are you keeping good notes?

T

I believe I am. I've been keeping track of what cheese I'm smoking, the date as well as the length of time and what flavor of wood I'm using.

As I'm trying them im keeping track of how many days that particular cheese has mellowed and how good it was. The only one we haven't been a big fan of was the Munster that mellowed for 21 days.

 

[mr t 59874]

I believe I am. I've been keeping track of what cheese I'm smoking, the date as well as the length of time and what flavor of wood I'm using.

As I'm trying them im keeping track of how many days that particular cheese has mellowed and how good it was. The only one we haven't been a big fan of was the Munster that mellowed for 21 days.

Okay,  Don't forget while it's fresh in your mind, the color of the cheese, cut of the wood (chips, chunks, pellets etc.) ambient, and internal smoker temps along with the color and density of the smoke.

The following chart should help you identify the smoke.   Smoke Color Chart

Tom

 

[bigboy]

I've been keeping pics of the cheese and right now I only use pellets so I should be good there. As far as the smoke color that could be challenging. I've been smoking these at night so I can't really get a good look at the smoke. It seems pretty consistent though.

As far as the ambient temp goes, why would that matter?

 

[bigboy]

When I was rearranging some of the cheese I recently smoked I noticed in a couple that I could see oil on the sealed pack. Is that normal?