I was going to do a smoked cheese grilled cheese sammy for the cheese throwdown, but due to the number of nice looking grilled cheese sandwiches already entered, not to mention a farking killer looking queasadilla, I decided that a change in strategy was in order.
So, I took parts one and two of my original plan, and altered part three, going for a simple English cheese course -- something that I have enjoyed several times in my past visits to Great Britain. It is one of England's few contributions to good eating. :becky:
Stage one, the hardware. I "borrowed" a cold smoker design from a brethren, which involved buying a cheap soldering iron at Home Depot and drilling a hole in a tin can.
I filled the DIY smoke machine with pecan chips, and put it in my WSM on a rather cold day, and added hunks of Cheddar, Gouda and Swiss cheeses, which smoked for 90 minutes.
I let it mellow in the fridge for 24 hours in zip lock bags. My whole fridge and freezer still smell like smoke, even with the cheese in plastic bags. I'm sure my ice is going to taste like smoke, too. :tsk:
I served my cheese with a glass of my favorite Vintage porto.
It was all very good. My favorite was the Gouda, closely followed by the Swiss. The Cheddar was very good, too, but not as good as the other two.
From the smell when I took them out of the smoker, I was really worried that they were over-smoked. But, after a day in the fridge, the smoke flavor was actually just right.
Now, if you will excuse me, I feel an urge to read some Dickens.
CD
So, I took parts one and two of my original plan, and altered part three, going for a simple English cheese course -- something that I have enjoyed several times in my past visits to Great Britain. It is one of England's few contributions to good eating. :becky:
Stage one, the hardware. I "borrowed" a cold smoker design from a brethren, which involved buying a cheap soldering iron at Home Depot and drilling a hole in a tin can.
I filled the DIY smoke machine with pecan chips, and put it in my WSM on a rather cold day, and added hunks of Cheddar, Gouda and Swiss cheeses, which smoked for 90 minutes.
I let it mellow in the fridge for 24 hours in zip lock bags. My whole fridge and freezer still smell like smoke, even with the cheese in plastic bags. I'm sure my ice is going to taste like smoke, too. :tsk:
I served my cheese with a glass of my favorite Vintage porto.
It was all very good. My favorite was the Gouda, closely followed by the Swiss. The Cheddar was very good, too, but not as good as the other two.
From the smell when I took them out of the smoker, I was really worried that they were over-smoked. But, after a day in the fridge, the smoke flavor was actually just right.
Now, if you will excuse me, I feel an urge to read some Dickens.
CD
