Has Anyone Tried Cold Smoking Cheese in a Mini?


 

R. Hutchins

TVWBB Fan
I was wondering if anyone has tried to smoke cheese on their mini-WSM. Of course, one would not use any heat source of any size; so using chunks of wood for smoke would probably be out of the question. I have the SJS with only the one set of lower air vents to use for control, but I could use a 10" or 12" tc saucer or a 9" pie pan with water for a heat sink. I have an AMNPS pellets smoke generator that I would use for the smoke source. It would add a bit of heat, but I don't know how much.

If anyone has tried it, I would really appreciate hearing about your results and lessons learned.
 
I have an AMNPS pellets smoke generator on the way that I can't wait to try out.
For cheese, I think I better wait for a cloudy day or maybe a winter day. The shank of summer is not the time for cold-smoking in South Texas.
But grape tomatoes, artichoke hearts and other pizza toppings are on my immediate to-do list.
 
I've used my mini extensively to cold smoke cheese using the AMPS with dust. I have a 12" cast iron pan (with the handle removed) and it works great. You should have no problem, easy smoke.
 
smoke1.jpg

Here's the start my pizza prep: cold-smoking roma tomatoes on the WSM.
There's not much of a smoke ring showing.
smoke3.jpg

Using pellets and they've burned for approximately 1 1/2 hours.
http://i1072.photobucket.com/albums
/w361/rwhinton44/smoke2.jpg
And here is the finished product. My wife and I agreed that the smokiness of the tomatoes contributed to the full flavor of the pizza. The artichoke hearts weren't as pronounced.

Here are the artichoke hearts after a 2 1/2-hour smoke:
smoke4.jpg

Here is the final product. My wife and I agreed that the smokiness of the tomatoes contributed to the wonderful flavors of the pizza. The artichoke hearts weren't as pronounced, but still better than plain ones.
done.jpg

Six months, or so, from now when I have a crisp, 30-degree morning, I will have a cache of cheese ready for the mini-WSM and cold-smoke the batch.
Edited to add photos and commentary
 

 

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