Smoked Cheese Time

[smokin stang]

The other day I smoked some cheddar and pepper cheese chunks with hickory for 1 hour at 90-100* It was pretty stout with smoke. How long would you have to smoke these cheeses with a fruit wood such as cherry or apple to get some medium smoke flavor on the cheese?

 

[salmonclubber]

hey smokin stang

i would try it at a half hour and if it is not smoky enough for ya try again at 45 min each of us like our stuff to be just right but there is only one way to tell for your self what is the right amount of smoke to use after you take cheese out of the smoker and let it cool in the fridge it will take on a stronger smoke taste i did a batch at 120 for an hour using hickory at christmas and everyone really enjoyed it
salmonclubber

 

[cheech]

When you place cheese in the smoker is it straight out of the refrigerator or do you place it in the freezer to cool it down further?

 

[smokin stang]

Cheech,
I have only smoked cheese one time for about 1 hour with hickory. I must admit the smoke was rollin. I did not freeze the cheese before I put it on and I smoked it 90-100*

 

[salmonclubber]

cheech

when i smoked cheese i took it out of the reefer and put in the smoker i did not freeze it first sounds kinda funny reefer in smoker
salmonclubber

 

[samiam]

I smoked some mild cheddar a few weeks back with cherry wood and honestly didn't care much for the flavor. Probably left in in the smoker a couple of hours at around 100 degrees. I use an electric hot plate and aluminum pan with shavings. (I have a thickness planer in my workshop and I just run a cherry board thru the planer and catch the shavings and then soak them of course.) You have to be careful because the shavings can "catch fire" and then the temp soars in the smoker. My best success has been with mild cheddar and hickory chips. A couple of hours is plenty and I used cheese cloth to keep it from spreading out too much as it got soft. If it spreads out a little, that's fine, a little more surface area to absorb the smoke. One hint. It's much better after it cools in the refrigerator. And when it's "hot out of the smoker" I've noticed than some people don't like the flavor, so if you're wanting to impress them, cool it before you offer it to them.....with a good cracker and some vino! Friends for life.