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Just started a cold smoke in my MES40 with the AMNPS lit at one end. The MES isn't even plugged in. Ambient temperature is about 88 on its way to above 90 by the time the smoking is done.
I'm not seeing any TBS out the stack yet but the pellets were definitely smoking when I put them in. My question for you who have done this more than I have is, "Should I light both ends of the AMNPS?" All three rows are loaded.
Yes, it will quicken the production, move the thing in the Garage, or better yet get a Cardboard box and set over the Cheese and AMNPS. Poke a few holes for the excess smoke and ,there you go.
Bad thing about Cheese though, you have 2weeks to wait,but worth it....
I lit the other end about 2 hours in and will let it smoke for about 5. Ambient temp is 96 at the moment.
I had to shift the cheese to the side of the MES opposite the AMNPS. Some of the Colby Jack had started to melt.
We'll see how this batch turns out. I've got a decent vacuum sealer now and I just couldn't wait for cooler temps to have another go at cold smoking cheese.
Who has the idiot trophy? They can pass it on to me now.
My smoke was an EPIC FAIL!!
Oh, I did the prep work OK, keeping the cheese cold before placing it in the smoker. I even used some sheets that closed the gaps between the grate rods to prevent sagging. My Maverick batteries were run down and I forgot to change them; so I never got around to putting a thermometer in to monitor temps. I checked about an hour and a half into the smoke and things seemed to be OK; so I lit the other end of the AMNPS. I keep about a dozen soda bottles of ice in the extra freezer and I planned to put them in to.
But . . . the neighbor kid had a flat bicycle tire and by the time I fixed that I remembered I had to go to the hospital lab for blood draws and I completely forgot the smoker until about 8:30 last night.
When I opened the door, I had pools of greasy cheesy-looking stuff and strings running from the underside of the top grill all the way to the water tray and even some on the tile over the smoker box and a little in the AMNPS. I have pics and will post them when I can find the mini B 8 pin flat USB cable that my Pentax requires.
All of the high fat cheese was lost as anything but grated cheese. This includes the Monterey Jack, Colby, and Colby Jack. The sharp cheddar did just fine, as did the Jarlsberg and Swiss. They have been vacuum bagged, sealed and put into the refrigerator for a few weeks.
NOW . . . can someone please tell me how best to deal with shredding the blobs and strings? I've bagged it and put in the refrigerator. I'm thinking that I might put it in the freezer overnight.
Has anyone here ever used there standing mixer with a grinder attachment to shred cheese? If so, can you share some hints.
Age leads to CRS and CRS leads to Senility and Senility leads to OldTImersDisease and all of that leads to a damned mess when it tries to cold smoke cheese in 90* heat.
Ouch. Hey, we've all done some boneheaded maneuver at one time or another. I once smoked 2 pork butts right after I added some mods to my offset, forgetting to re-season it first. Meat had a definate metallic taste & went straight into the trash.
sorry to hear of your loss, I thought about it and here to is 90+ so I did not want to take the trophy from you quite that fast LOL I know I am it line for it pretty soon
Well it happens and hey look on the bright side - you helped the kid out! Anyway, I had some that got partially melted on me a while back and I wrapped it up, into the fridge for a few days and ran it through the food processor with the shred attachment and had some darn good shredded cheese.
I am still polishing the d*mb@$$ trophy. It will be nice and shiny if someone else claims it (which I doubt).
Yes, I salvaged all the pool of cheese and put it in the freezer. I'm going to shred it and save it for tacos and salads. A mixture of smoked Monterey Jack, Colby, and Colby Jack might even be tasty in a few weeks.
I'm still debating how to shred it. I have a food processor, a hand grater, and a KitchenAid mixer with a grinder. Which one will produce the finest strings?
Hutch, I did mine in the garage with a fan going , the metal didn't get hot. I did find out the best way (for me), is to use a cardboard box and make the neighbors wonder what the heck you're doing???
You might want to do the next batch in the morning, while it's almost cool...sorry you lost the Cheese, hope it goes better next time....
And life in the Desert Country just keep getting hotter...but I wish I were there ,than here
Hutch, I did mine in the garage with a fan going , the metal didn't get hot. I did find out the best way (for me), is to use a cardboard box and make the neighbors wonder what the heck you're doing???
You might want to do the next batch in the morning, while it's almost cool...sorry you lost the Cheese, hope it goes better next time....
And life in the Desert Country just keep getting hotter...but I wish I were there ,than here:cool: .
Only about 50 days to Labor Day then another 15-20 days after that and it will be cool enough to try again! If . . . I don't forget the ice AGAIN!
I've salvaged most of the cheese for tacos, pizzas and salads. I actually put all of the cheddar, Jarlsberg and Swill in vacuum bags. They are probably going to be smoked to death, but we'll see.
Wait until the hot weather in New Jersey breaks, Sam.
I'm sure you will do a much better job than I did. What makes me feel so bad is that I let senility set in . . . again!
I have a Maverick and fully intended to monitor temps, but forgot about it when I found drained batteries. I keep ice stored in soda bottles in the extra freezer for just such occasions - and even thought about getting some out - but forgot to get it.
I knew I should have monitored the smoke more closely, but when the 7 year-old came over with a flat tire on his bike asking me to "air it up", I forgot about the smoke completely.
I should have taken the cheese out before going to the lab for blood draws, but forgot I had the smoke going. When I remembered it, hours and hours had passed.
I repeat my mistakes and self-flagellation as penance and as warning to others.
Don't get old. Don't get old and forgetful. (Unless you have to. . . )
