Smokin' Cheese
I'm having a girls night out type get together at my house on Friday,
and I've decided to have some sort of cheese plate. To make it special,
I've opted to smoke my cheese. It's ridiculously easy to do with the
cold-smoke baffle, and the flavor is great (I like that you can control
the smokiness/type of smoke you want).
I love cheese, in pretty much any variety. I'm not the biggest fan of the "smoked" cheeses that you can sometimes pick up at the grocery store, because I find that more often than not, they're not actually smoked but rather have had artificial smoke flavoring added to the cheese (I'm referring to your normal grocery, not your specialty cheese shop). I think that you can definitely taste the difference between real smoked cheese and liquid-smoke "smoked" cheese. You also pay for the difference, so why not do it yourself and just pay for normal cheese and control your output?
I decided to smoke some of my favorites. I have a Medium Cheddar (I would prefer Sharp, but I know not everyone likes their cheese that strong), a Mozzarella, and a Baby Muenster. I cannot resist buying anything that is mini-sized, and I thought it was just so adorable! You can really choose any cheese that you like, but these are my favorites.
I like to smoke my cheese on a seafood grill. It's not like it would fall through my normal racks, but that's just what I use. I think it has something to do with the pattern left on the cheese when it's done. What I actually am using (you can kind of see it in the picture) is a clear plastic jerky screen that is no longer offered (we found a few packages of these in the Tradeshow room, so we all got to take some home, yay!), but it has the same fine mesh of a Seafood Grill.
I only use one chunk of apple. It's my favorite wood, but if I had more time, I'd probably smoke the cheeses with different woods to have a diversity of smoky flavors, but I don't, so they're all going in with the apple wood. The first time I smoked cheese, I overdid it on the wood (I figured that since it would be in there for such a short period of time, and the wood probably wouldn't be smoldering to full capacity, it would need a couple of chunks). This was WRONG! I should know better, working here and telling people all the time to lay off on the wood, but I caved to my irrational thoughts, which was a mistake. It was really smoky, almost too much so, which I've noticed seems to bother women more than men. I thought it was a bit much, but all the guys that were there polished it off and thought it was great. Anyways, use one small chunk of apple.
I
follow the instructions that come with the cold smoke baffle. There has
been some discussion of this on the forum, but I've never had a problem
using the exact instructions, especially with the pan of ice on top of
the grill. Slide the Cold Smoke Baffle in where the bottom grill would
normally go and put a pan of ice on top. Go ahead and put the cheese
in, and set the smoker to 150ºF, for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, turn
it off and leave the cheese in there for 45 minutes
without opening the door.
I have my remote thermometer in there to tell me whether the smoker gets above 90ºF while the smoker is on. If it does, shut it off, or you'll have a goopy mess to clean up!
As you can see, it never got above 77ºF in the oven (and it was 65ºF before I turned it on, so that's pretty good).
The ice didn't even melt completely. In fact, it barely melted at all. The baffle is pretty well insulated. It must be, for the ice to stay this solid after sitting right on the baffle.
When the cheese is done, take it out, rinse it, pat dry, and wrap it in plastic wrap. It's always a good idea to smoke the cheese a day in advance, because the flavor really develops to the fullest the next day.
I did cut off a piece of each cheese to sample. Not because I wanted to, but because I had to report back, of course. Once again, the cheese is pretty smoky. I think next time I might use apple pellets. It's really good though, not as overwhelmingly smoky as before, and once you have it on a good buttery cracker, it is perfect. Delicious!
Like I said, I'm doing mine as a cheese plate, but with the leftovers (if there are any), I'm going to make some Mac and Cheese. There's a Rachel Ray recipe that both my boyfriend and I love when in the mood for comfort food (Mac and Cheese Dog Casserole - don't judge me before you try it), and I think that the smoked cheese would be great in there, especially if you smoked or grilled the hot dogs first. It would add some extra flavor to the dish. The mozzarella would also be great on a pizza. Or barbecue nachos would be yummy. There are a million things that you can do with the cheese once it's smoked, so be creative and have a good time with it!
I love cheese, in pretty much any variety. I'm not the biggest fan of the "smoked" cheeses that you can sometimes pick up at the grocery store, because I find that more often than not, they're not actually smoked but rather have had artificial smoke flavoring added to the cheese (I'm referring to your normal grocery, not your specialty cheese shop). I think that you can definitely taste the difference between real smoked cheese and liquid-smoke "smoked" cheese. You also pay for the difference, so why not do it yourself and just pay for normal cheese and control your output?
I decided to smoke some of my favorites. I have a Medium Cheddar (I would prefer Sharp, but I know not everyone likes their cheese that strong), a Mozzarella, and a Baby Muenster. I cannot resist buying anything that is mini-sized, and I thought it was just so adorable! You can really choose any cheese that you like, but these are my favorites.
I like to smoke my cheese on a seafood grill. It's not like it would fall through my normal racks, but that's just what I use. I think it has something to do with the pattern left on the cheese when it's done. What I actually am using (you can kind of see it in the picture) is a clear plastic jerky screen that is no longer offered (we found a few packages of these in the Tradeshow room, so we all got to take some home, yay!), but it has the same fine mesh of a Seafood Grill.
I only use one chunk of apple. It's my favorite wood, but if I had more time, I'd probably smoke the cheeses with different woods to have a diversity of smoky flavors, but I don't, so they're all going in with the apple wood. The first time I smoked cheese, I overdid it on the wood (I figured that since it would be in there for such a short period of time, and the wood probably wouldn't be smoldering to full capacity, it would need a couple of chunks). This was WRONG! I should know better, working here and telling people all the time to lay off on the wood, but I caved to my irrational thoughts, which was a mistake. It was really smoky, almost too much so, which I've noticed seems to bother women more than men. I thought it was a bit much, but all the guys that were there polished it off and thought it was great. Anyways, use one small chunk of apple.
I
follow the instructions that come with the cold smoke baffle. There has
been some discussion of this on the forum, but I've never had a problem
using the exact instructions, especially with the pan of ice on top of
the grill. Slide the Cold Smoke Baffle in where the bottom grill would
normally go and put a pan of ice on top. Go ahead and put the cheese
in, and set the smoker to 150ºF, for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, turn
it off and leave the cheese in there for 45 minutes
without opening the door. I have my remote thermometer in there to tell me whether the smoker gets above 90ºF while the smoker is on. If it does, shut it off, or you'll have a goopy mess to clean up!
As you can see, it never got above 77ºF in the oven (and it was 65ºF before I turned it on, so that's pretty good).
The ice didn't even melt completely. In fact, it barely melted at all. The baffle is pretty well insulated. It must be, for the ice to stay this solid after sitting right on the baffle.
When the cheese is done, take it out, rinse it, pat dry, and wrap it in plastic wrap. It's always a good idea to smoke the cheese a day in advance, because the flavor really develops to the fullest the next day.
I did cut off a piece of each cheese to sample. Not because I wanted to, but because I had to report back, of course. Once again, the cheese is pretty smoky. I think next time I might use apple pellets. It's really good though, not as overwhelmingly smoky as before, and once you have it on a good buttery cracker, it is perfect. Delicious!
Like I said, I'm doing mine as a cheese plate, but with the leftovers (if there are any), I'm going to make some Mac and Cheese. There's a Rachel Ray recipe that both my boyfriend and I love when in the mood for comfort food (Mac and Cheese Dog Casserole - don't judge me before you try it), and I think that the smoked cheese would be great in there, especially if you smoked or grilled the hot dogs first. It would add some extra flavor to the dish. The mozzarella would also be great on a pizza. Or barbecue nachos would be yummy. There are a million things that you can do with the cheese once it's smoked, so be creative and have a good time with it!
Awesome idea for smoking cheese. Have you ever heard of a recipe using a can of peach juice for smoked cheese?
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Thanks! No, I've never heard of a recipe like that, but that's interesting, I'll have to try that and report back. I bet peach juice would be great, and I wonder about apple and grape, too (I'm thinking of fruits normally found on a cheese plate). I think if you did it, you'd have to put the peach juice at least in the bottom of the smoker, below the cold smoke baffle, rather than in the top, to give it a chance to heat up enough to steam.
I'm wondering if you could get it in a small enough cast iron type dish in the wood box (for the record, I am not a safety expert, but a little dish might fit in there, you would just want something heatproof and small - I found these cast iron Staub ramekins online that are 4"L x 2"D, so they should fit [depending on your smoker and woodbox, it won't fit in a SM50's - be sure to measure before ordering anything!], but they're kind of pricey, if that's they're only use ) and fill it with juice, so that it would steam and the steam would fill the smoker. I think that if you had the can of juice elsewhere in then it just wouldn't steam, since the smoker is on for so short of a period and isn't getting very hot.
Do NOT use Pyrex or Corningware or anything porcelin, it's too close to the heat source and it will crack (I called and asked). I really think that something cast iron or another form of metal is your best bet. If you use the ramekins, don't put the lid on. Bill in tech support suggested trying a tuna can (cleaned out, of course), so he's going to bring one in and we're going to try that. I'm not sure if it would release any kind of toxins if it's right over the heat source like that, though. I will report back. In fact, that may be an upcoming blog. Trying different configurations of cans while cold smoking. Or, if it doesn't work, what melts in the woodbox and stinks up the place
Cayley
PS - if all this falls through, don't forget that you can add other interesting flavors by putting fresh herbs in the woodbox. Think rosemary smoked cheese, or thyme, or you can use tea, the possibilities are endless!
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Hmmm.. That is really interesting. You have done a lot of research! I don't have a smoker, but mmmm... I love cheese, and smoked cheese is my favorite. I love smoked gouda.
I think---if I remember correctly---that this person just said that he stuck a can with the peach juice in it. I guess he probably removed the label so it wouldn't ignite. Let me know how the tuna can works out.
The different kind of juices sound like that would be exciting too. I wonder if the different kind of juices impart enough flavors so you could tell the difference?
tea-smoked cheese? that sounds interesting too.
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I agree with you, I love smoked cheeses, and gouda is a great one!
That's interesting. The juice can won't fit in our wood box without cutting it in half, and I'm pretty sure they won't let me near any tools for fear I'll cut my hand off, so I'll try the tuna can first and see how that works. Hopefully there's no lingering odors in it. I'm going to try a few variations and report back, with different juices and can configurations. I'll have to use the same type of cheeses to keep it constant, though. We'll be in cheese eaters paradise here!
I'm curious about the results as well, so thanks for the excellent question, it's something that I had never thought of before. It will be really interesting to see what happens! I will let you know.
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And a follow up question: is that a technique that you've used, and can you describe how you did it? And how did you hear about it? You have all of us very intrigued.
Cayley
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Gosh, I don't remember. I think one of my co-workers and I were talking about cheese. I was a vegetarian for a long time and we had a interesting discussion about what can you smoke, if you don't smoke meat? That sounds funny, doesn't it?
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That does sound funny. My dad has actually been different modifications of vegetarian all of my life (more of a flexetarian, I suppose, since it usually included fish, ), so I understand where you're coming from. Smoked marinated veggies are great (eggplant, mushrooms, zucchini, tomatoes, etc), and I just did a blog about smoking rice, which turned out pretty good, and I'm going to blog again about what I did with the dry tray of rice I did, because that actually turned out even more interesting. You can add an interesting layer of flavor with smoke, so you can jazz up dishes with it (adding smoked veggies to salads, for instance). I know some people smoke olive oil for vinaigrettes, which I am still meaning to try.
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