Mmmmmm cheese…
You either love it or you’re wrong (my apologies to the lactose intolerant community). ‘Round here, we love our cheese and we love cooking over fire. Today we’re going to cold smoke some sharp cheddar and monterrey jack cheese and it’s going to be delicious. Don’t pay a premium for smoked cheese at the store, do it at home. It will be cheaper, and will be just how you like it. Smoked cheese makes a great gift, especially paired with some tasty crackers and maybe some smoked almonds (see my recipe).
Damn.. that’s cold
So what is “cold smoking?”
Cold smoking is exactly what it sounds like, applying smoke from a fire source while keeping your cooking area cool < 90 degrees. Cold smoking is not “cooking” it is layering flavor and is primarily used on cured meats and other foods that are already “cooked” or ready to eat.
Large operations have a firebox piping luscious smoke into a a smokehouse with AC units or other cooling devices keeping the temps where they need to be. To avoid construction and expense we’re just gonna keep things simple.
To satisfy our cooling needs we will employ a foil pan filled with ice topped with a rack.
Where there’s smoke..
For the smoke, we’ll be using a smoke tube or Amaze-N smoke tray with some pellets. Smoke tubes are basically a cylindrical tube who’s sides are like a strainer.
I have an old Amaze-N smoke maze which employs a similar concept. Fill with pellets or sawdust, light one end and go. Either can be used in any enclosed outdoor cooking environment where you want to add more smoke flavor. In our case, they are perfect because they generate very little heat so our cheese blocks don’t melt while smoking.
Choose your cheese
I like sharp cheddars and gouda but I plan on experimenting with others. Oak and pecan are my favorite smoke woods, but experiment and see what you like the best!
Smoking times will vary for your gill, the type of cheese and your smoke wood. Like I always say, play around and put your own twist on it.
Get creative and get cooking!
Smoked Cheese
Equipment
- Smoke Tube or Amaze-N Smoke Tray
- Hardwood smoking pellets or sawdust
- Foil Pan
- Cooling Rack
- Wax Paper Sheets
- Vacuum Sealer/Ziplock Bags
Ingredients
- Cheese As much as you want.
Instructions
- Add pellets to your smoke tube or tray, place in your smoker or grill and light on one end. I use a small propane torch. Get a good flame going on one end and you’ll be good.
- Cut your cheese into 3 inch blocks. The more surface area the more smoke flavor.
- Fill a foil pan with ice, place a cooling rack on top and lay the cheese blocks on the rack.
- Add to your grill and smoke for 2-3 hours, rotating and flipping the cheese for even smoke flavor. If you notice your ice level becoming primarily a water level, dump the water and add ice. You want to make sure that cheese doesn’t get too soft or melt.
- Once the cheese is smoked to your liking, remove from the grill and wrap in wax paper to rest in your refrigerator for 2-3 days. This will allow the smoke flavor to mellow a bit.
- After a few days, cut the blocks into your desired size and vacuum seal.
