Minor point, but latex gloves are not sterile. While they do keep the bacteria on your hands from getting on the cheese, whatever was on the surface of the gloves is still going to be there. You also most likely touch the exterior of the gloves while putting them on, largely defeating your stated purpose. You'd do better bacteria-wise to wash your hands with warm water and soap, then maybe use hand sanitizer.I use a vaccum sealer, and never touch the cheese without latex gloves so as to not get any bacteria from my hands onto the cheese before I seal it.
I vary it by type of cheese, specifically the hardness. Softer cheeses, like goat cheese or fontina, get an hour. Other, harder cheeses, like cheddar, get 1.5-2 hours. And the sealing and resting afterwards makes a huge difference in the too smoky issue. That bitter ash taste is usually from eating it right awayI don't smoke mine for any longer than an hour. Cheese is one of those things where I like to taste mostly the cheese with just a subtle smoke flavor. I find that anything over that long makes the smoke taste too much and it overpowers the cheese. But that is just my personal preference.
I vacuum seal them after I smoke them and let them sit in the fridge for a month before I eat themI vary it by type of cheese, specifically the hardness. Softer cheeses, like goat cheese or fontina, get an hour. Other, harder cheeses, like cheddar, get 1.5-2 hours. And the sealing and resting afterwards makes a huge difference in the too smoky issue. That bitter ash taste is usually from eating it right away
I'm leaning in the same direction in regard to smoke time. I like a pronounced smoke flavor. Perhaps it depends on how you consume the cheese. If you eat it with crackers or something else that's strongly flavored the smoke flavor will be diluted, so a stronger smoke flavor won't be overpowering. I've noticed this with my Canadian bacon. I typically eat it on a bagel with cream cheese, so the smoke and salt are blended with the far less flavorful bagel and cream cheese. Today I had an end piece that was inedible on its own but tasted fine with a small piece on the bagel.Going against the grain here, I smoke for a minimum of 6 hours and lately, I did a couple batches at 9 hours. I age them for sometimes months, which mellows the smoke. We love the outer dark rhind. It makes a decadent grilled cheese sandwich.
On occasion, I'll put some of my smoked cheddar out on a charcuturie platter during our neighborhood evening happy hour/doggie play times. It goes fast with adults and 10 year olds. Almost always served with crackers, but I see some just eating my smoked cheddar alone. 9 hours with a smoke tube alone has been producing what I like and what others seem to like.I'm leaning in the same direction in regard to smoke time. I like a pronounced smoke flavor. Perhaps it depends on how you consume the cheese. If you eat it with crackers or something else that's strongly flavored the smoke flavor will be diluted, so a stronger smoke flavor won't be overpowering. I've noticed this with my Canadian bacon. I typically eat it on a bagel with cream cheese, so the smoke and salt are blended with the far less flavorful bagel and cream cheese. Today I had an end piece that was inedible on its own but tasted fine with a small piece on the bagel.
Now i kinda want to try smoking some for this long just to see what happens after a few months.I've been doing smoke cheeses on my RT700 pellet grill. I was running it on lo, but I've taken to just burning a smoke tube like the OP. I have a side smoke box, so I put the smoke tube in the opposite side of the main chamber and the cheese goes in the smoke box. I have to either wait until night or put something over the smoker to shade it from the sun. The sun will heat the chamber and the cheese will melt.
Also, I use those grill mats that keep the cheese from sagging between the grate bars, yet let smoke circulate under.
I've tried different woods, but have settled on cherry wood pellets from Lumberjack. I like my Tillamook Medium Cheddar (Costco) cut into about 1 3/8" blocks. That makes 5 blocks from the big Costco Tillamook block.
Going against the grain here, I smoke for a minimum of 6 hours and lately, I did a couple batches at 9 hours. I age them for sometimes months, which mellows the smoke. We love the outer dark rhind. It makes a decadent grilled cheese sandwich.
View attachment 37715View attachment 37716View attachment 37717
good things happen. I served some tonight at our neighborhood happy hour. It's all gone. It was smoked in June.Now i kinda want to try smoking some for this long just to see what happens after a few months.