Cheese is on

[Norcoredneck]

Put 5# of Colby, 5# of Sharp Chedder, 5# of Pepper jack and 2# of Gouda on. Gonna make gift packs for wifes work. Plan on boiling water and heating my branding iron my wife bought me last year and give it the personal touch.

 

[ipls3355]

If you do a lot of this, you will have to start sealing them in wax.

 

[Norcoredneck]

Plan on wrapping in saran wrap and rest in fridge overnite and then vacuum seal. Think this is good enough?

 

[bbqbull]

Norco, never thought of branding your smoked blocks of cheese. Great idea.

Let us know how this batch turns out.

Did 16 pounds of cheddar, mozzarella and pepper jack cheese yesterday. My bbq partner said he sampled it late this afternoon and the end product rocked.

Last batch I did and posted photos here seemed to turn out ok as well. My deer hunting buddy who was a former chef said the cheese was perfectly smoked.

I just got lucky through trial and error.

 

[Norcoredneck]

Funny how after smoking/bbq our own food we become so critical of our own goods. Lots of times I think it is ok but when i share it always hear "Man this is even better than last time". My judge (Mista) is in wrong direction to sample the last stuff. Usually I would stop on way to work and have him try it but 2 months of Jury duty squashed that.
Bull were you coming out this way?

 

[thirdeye]

Plan on wrapping in saran wrap and rest in fridge overnite and then vacuum seal. Think this is good enough?

Not sure if the saran wrap is needed. I cool mine out on a rack in the fridge, if it's vac sealed too soon you will get condensation. Depending on the type of cheese, some need the surface oils blotted off too.

 

[Norcoredneck]

With the smoke generator the cheese doesn't get warm. It is reading 6 degrees C. (43 F.) Is this good or bad?.

Reading temp on digital probe in UDS.

 

[thirdeye]

With the smoke generator the cheese doesn't get warm. It is reading 6 degrees C. (43 F.) Is this good or bad?.

Reading temp on digital probe in UDS.

Aw man, I forgot all about the smoke generator. Under perfect conditions, about the lowest I can go in my smoke box is around 70°, so I cool it down when it comes off.

 

[Norcoredneck]

Here is one load

 

[thirdeye]

Cool idea with the branding iron Norco. I may have to try making a small one..... My regular one is a little large. :mrgreen:

 

[Norcoredneck]

I hear everything is bigger in Wyoming, oh wait that's Texas. Hey Wayne put up pick of Bobblhead in woodpile. Thanks again.

 

[thirdeye]

I hear everything is bigger in Wyoming, oh wait that's Texas. Hey Wayne put up pick of Bobblhead in woodpile. Thanks again.

No, no you are right. That one came from Texas. The family ranched there for a number of years.

 

[swamprb]

Do you think the Little Chief would be the ideal for smoking cheese? Since the smoke generator hasn't arrived from Norco yet! The only other thing I can think of is doing the dryer vent from the Kamado to the Egg and using one for smoke. Whats an ideal temp to keep the cheese from melting? Anyone wrap them in cheesecloth?
Found this on the CS forum, answered my own question.
http://forum.cookshack.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/2991028883/m/7361022983

Trays of ice on the platesetter?

 

[Rick's Tropical Delight]

i thought that said 'PMS' reading it upsidedown :biggrin:

man, i really want to smoke some cheese this year! that's a good tip on the condensation and surface oils... haven't read that before

 

[bbqbull]

Wayne, my cheese doesnt get warm enough during the smoking process to leak or release any oil from it.
I assume thats due to the pan of ice i load just above the heating element in my Cookshack. But still gets the smoke to flavor the cheese.

 

[swamprb]

Mike- Do you have the cold smoke baffle? I'm thinking of using a rectangular Pizza stone with ice above the Smokebox.

 

[bbqbull]

No Cold baffle plate. I wrap a shelf with aluminum foil. Cheap mod.

 

[thirdeye]

Do you think the Little Chief would be the ideal for smoking cheese? Since the smoke generator hasn't arrived from Norco yet! The only other thing I can think of is doing the dryer vent from the Kamado to the Egg and using one for smoke. Whats an ideal temp to keep the cheese from melting? Anyone wrap them in cheesecloth?
Found this on the CS forum, answered my own question.
http://forum.cookshack.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/2991028883/m/7361022983

Trays of ice on the platesetter?

I have Big Chiefs specifically for cheese (all year round) and salmon (during the summer, spring and fall). The quantity alone you can do in there is reason enough to own one. If you have a little chief, that would be fine too. They also make a Mini-Chief which would be a good space saving flavor smoker.

A couple of things I do are:

• Use the lid to control temp and amount of smoke. By cracking it or even turning it sideways allows heat to escape and the smoke just flows through adding only flavor.
• Unplug the smoker for 10 minutes here or there if the temp is climbing too high. Always wanted to set it up on one of those plug in timers...ON for 5 minutes, OFF for 5 minutes for the entire cooking cycle.
• Water pan with ice water (usually when I'm doing really soft cheeses)
• I don't always rely on only the hot plate to keep the chips lit. A blast with a Mapp plumbing torch can get the amount of smoke you need back in about 15 seconds.

If you have your Little Chief manual, there should be a picture of how they use the smoker for just a smoke generator. The lid is removed and a cardboard box is set atop the smoker. They have run dowels through the box to support the trays. The smoke is a lot cooler by the time it rises to the cardboard box. If it's not windy, you can balance the box on top with no problem. I make cuts about 2" inches long in the cardboard to fit over the edges of the smoker.

 

[swamprb]

I got ya with the Little Chief now, the "Cool Box" technique! I forgot about this, and it makes sense too. Its amazing how much the LC can hold with all three racks. Thanks for joggin' my noggin'!

 

[Arlin_MacRae]

I kinda figured there would be evidence of smoke on those bricks...?