Smoked Cheese

[Donny Anderson]

I tried smoking cheese for the first time on Super Tuesday. I used the method described in the "cooking topics" section. I tried a block of sharp cheddar and mozzarella and I used a piece of wet cherry on four briquettes. I smoked for 45 minutes at 90 degrees.
The cook ran a little warm. I had to leave the lid cracked about an inch most of the time. I'll probably cut back on the amount of lit charcoal next time.
Wow! This is really good! It's not like the store bought cheese (the cheap stuff, anyway). This is the first thing off of the WSM that my family hasn't liked, however. I am hoping that this is due to the difference in their comparison of store bought cheese. Is there a difference between the two or did I mess up somewhere? Maybe I need to invest in some quality smoked cheddar so I can have something to compare to?

 

[Shawn W]

You could try going with less smoke time or changing smoke wood, I go 60 or 90 minutes but that's me. For cheddar I use a white firm two year old cheddar.

One thing I've really noticed is the smoke flavor mellows with some time. If you have a vacuum sealer seal some up and let it sit a month or two after smoking. I had some sit in the fridge for a year and it was really good.

 

[Bryan S]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Shawn W:
You could try going with less smoke time or changing smoke wood, I go 60 or 90 minutes but that's me. For cheddar I use a white firm two year old cheddar.

One thing I've really noticed is the smoke flavor mellows with some time. If you have a vacuum sealer seal some up and let it sit a month or two after smoking. I had some sit in the fridge for a year and it was really good. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
What Shawn said and I'll add to use dry wood the next time. You used cherry which is a mild wood so it shouldn't be overwhelming IMO. Wet wood can cause smoldering of the wood which can cause a bitter taste. Even if the wood was dry before soaking it in water, you don't get a good burn with wet wood unless you have a very hot fire.

I love using green apple wood, fresh cut, just minutes before putting it on top of the fully lit charcoal, but that's for the grill, for my Roadside chicken.

 

[Jeff T Miller]

Cheese is about the only thing my family doesn't like also. When I can keep my hands off of it for about a month it really makes a difference.

I usually use 4 pieces of K with a piece of cherry across 2 and a piece of apple across the other 2. I let that go about 50 minutes. If you use Rancher, unless it is as cold as it is here today, about 14°, I would probably only use 2 briquettes. I smoked some before Christmas temps in the '30s and had rack marks in the cheese. I didn't have that kind of a problem using K.

I buy the kraft blocks when they are on sale at the store. That way you can try out different types. White Cheddar is the only cheddar that I like. I will buy CoJack, Colby, Jack, Swiss, Motzarella, Pepper Jack, and fill up the top shelf. I take a tooth pick and piece of tape to mark them. The Motzarella is one of the best to try out first. The smoke mellows quicker than the rest. Swiss isn't too bad early on either. The rest I like to let set for several weeks.

 

[Donny Anderson]

Take 2.
I am going to try a medium cheddar along with mozzarella. I will change up and use dry wood instead of soaking it this time. I have two blocks of cheddar. I'll seal one up and leave it alone for a month or so and see if I get a difference. I appreciate everyone's help.