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Smoking cheese

I

Iron Mike

Guest
The wife and I make frequent trips to New Glarus WI to get some of their awsome beer then on to Monroe WI to get cheese. We have found some smoked cheeses that we really like. I have seen some websites and thinking this is not to difficult and can do on the smoker right here at home.

Looking for some hints so I can impress the wife, family and friends.
 
The key to good smoked cheese is low temps. I prefer to do my cheese in the winter when it is below freezing. I just light 2 to 6 briquettes (depending on the temp), arrange them in a grid pattern and put some small pieces of wood on top of the briquettes. My preferred target cooker temp for cheese is 40 degrees so it is basically no different than storing it in the fridge. I usually smoke the cheese about 2 to 3 hours.

You do not have to run your cooker at such low temps if you do not like, but be careful once you start going over 70 degrees, especially approaching 80 degrees as this is the temp at which the cheese will start to "sweat". Oncet his happens, it is ruined.
 
The timing of this thread is great. My wife catered a luncheon yesterday and purchased a tiny $6.00 cube of cheese. I told her we could probably smoke our own but she didn't want to experiment on her client. I'm definetly going to try this.
 
Rookie48: Nice thread. Did you ever post how you made the cold smoker?
 
I am going to try it when it's cold out, I read somewhere (another forum) to stick a hotel pan full of ice under the cheese, I saw Dave's smoker at the bash this year, it's interesting
 
Not to hyjack but just wondering do you leave the block or cheese whole or would it depend on the size. Like if you where going to do 5 lbs would you cut it into 1 lbs blocks?
 
I've smoked cheese a number of times using the "pellet pooper" on my Weber. Added the rotiserie ring, set five frozen soda(beer would work too!) cans of water on the main grate then put the cheese on top of the cans on another grate. Then let it smoke for about an hour to an hour and a half.
Also like to do olives this way too.
Frozen cans of water keep everything nice and cool.
 

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sfbbqguy said:
I've smoked cheese a number of times using the "pellet pooper" on my Weber. Added the rotiserie ring, set five frozen soda(beer would work too!) cans of water on the main grate then put the cheese on top of the cans on another grate. Then let it smoke for about an hour to an hour and a half.
Also like to do olives this way too.
Frozen cans of water keep everything nice and cool.
Click to expand...

Excellent idea!
 
Easy peasy on the WSM...3 lumps of charcoal and a hunk of smokewood...:p
 
I cut down large blocks of cheese into smaller chunks. Don't actually know if it makes a difference, just what I always do.
 
I saw a cheese smoker by Mike Tucker on another bbq site (his own), made from an igloo water cooler, a "pellet pooper" as described above, and some hardware. the cheese off of this rig looks mighty tasty! his photos show ice in the bottom of his cooler to help with temps... I've been planning on building one myself.
 
As you can see by the pictures I had no idea what I was doing. Only advice I will offer, use a cheese form (if there is such a thing) or decrease time. This was 90-95* for about 3 hours.

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They both tasted pretty good!


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This was done on a Traeger 075 with the cold smoke attachment.
 
What'd it taste like?

Like "Bigabyte" said...can't go over 70 degrees or you get meltdown.
 
SFBBQGUY: What is a "pellet pooper" and did you make it yourself? If so, how did you make it? Thanks!
 
The "pellet pooper" is actually really called a Smoke Daddy. I bought itoff Ebay a year or so ago from this guy http://porkypas.spaces.live.com/default.aspx?&_c02_owner=1

Works good with pellets. I've tried other stuff...chips and shreds but pellets work best. You don't have to buy cartriges for it so it may be more versitile than the bullet model.
It get a little dirty from the smoke but cleans up pretty easy.
I suppose you could make one?
It's aluminum pipe with a metal screen in the bottom, fence post covers with bottom one cut so it can be tightened. Bottom has a nipple for pump hose and it's attached to an aqarium pump with a valve on it.
You light the bottom with a tourch and then can adjst the air with the valve.
 

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SFBBQGUY: Thats pretty awesome. I guess the old saying is true: "Necessity is the mother of invention". What a great device and such a simple idea. Thanks.
 
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