Upstate NY, by upstate I don't just mean 30 miles north of NYC ;-)
My current cookers include a Shirley Fabrication 24x36 patio model; Weber Performer with the Slow-n-Sear 2.0 & Drip & Griddle; Pit Boss Series 2 propane smoker & SnS Travel Kettle.
Straight Whiskey: I'm a bourbon guy. All time favorite Pappy Van Winkle 12 year. Standard go to Blantons
Blended Whiskey: James Oliver American Whiskey
I also enjoy an occasional cigar
I decided to try my hand at smoking cheese. After reading as many technique posts as I could find on various methods, I decided the best approach for me would be to use my Shirley reverse flow offset cooker.
I built a small fire using a few pieces of lump charcoal and added a couple of chunks of apple wood.
I put the cheese on at 9:45 AM EST. I forgot to taken a picture of the cheese but I took a couple of pictures of the fire and smoke output.
I'll update my post with more info as the smoke progresses.
Keep it cold. I smoke a lot of cheese every year, then age it. I never do it unless the Temps are below 50° or lower outside during the entirety of the smoke.
Upstate NY, by upstate I don't just mean 30 miles north of NYC ;-)
My current cookers include a Shirley Fabrication 24x36 patio model; Weber Performer with the Slow-n-Sear 2.0 & Drip & Griddle; Pit Boss Series 2 propane smoker & SnS Travel Kettle.
Straight Whiskey: I'm a bourbon guy. All time favorite Pappy Van Winkle 12 year. Standard go to Blantons
Blended Whiskey: James Oliver American Whiskey
I also enjoy an occasional cigar
Will do texastweeter . The outside temp is currently 36 degrees F and the temp on the bottom she'll (typically the coolest part of the cook chamber) is running about 55 degrees. I've read that you need to keep the cook chamber below 80 degrees. If it starts getting too warm I'll add a hotel pan full of ice on the top shelf where the smoke/heat come out.
I just passed the 1 hour mark and added some more lump to keep the fire going and another piece of apple wood.
You can also set a washed out tuna can on top of the coals and put the chips sawdust or pellets in there. That is what I did until I got an amazin maze and tube. I probably smoke around 100lbs of cheese a year. Be sure to bring it to room temp before adding to pit and then after before bagging and aging to prevent condensation and mushyness on the outside layer. Give it plenty of time to age before eating. If you don't it taste king of acrid and ashy, if that happens, age it longer.
Thanks for the guidance! This test run is for a gathering the 3rd week in January, so it will age for about 4 weeks. Can I keep it in the fridge, or should I freeze it?
I'm not sure freezing will allow the smoke flavor to mellow as much as you want. Also freezing changes the texture of some cheeses. I'd wrap it in waxed paper, then in plastic wrap, and keep it in the fridge.
Upstate NY, by upstate I don't just mean 30 miles north of NYC ;-)
My current cookers include a Shirley Fabrication 24x36 patio model; Weber Performer with the Slow-n-Sear 2.0 & Drip & Griddle; Pit Boss Series 2 propane smoker & SnS Travel Kettle.
Straight Whiskey: I'm a bourbon guy. All time favorite Pappy Van Winkle 12 year. Standard go to Blantons
Blended Whiskey: James Oliver American Whiskey
I also enjoy an occasional cigar
Thanks IowaGirl . I pulled the cheese at 2.5 hours and I'm letting it rest on the counter. I was planning to vacuum seal the cheese, so I'll wrap in wax paper per your suggestion, then vacuum seal it and put it in the fridge.
Retired, living in Western Mass. Enjoy music, cooking and my family.
Current cookers Weber Spirit 3 burner with a full insert griddle added. A 22" Kettle with vortex SnS and OnlyFire pizza oven. A Smokey Joe and the most recent addition a Pit Barrel Jr with bird hanger, 4 hooks and cover. ThermoWorks Smoke 2 probe, DOT, ThermoPops and a Thermapen MK4. 3 TempSpike wireless meat thermometers.
Totally did this. I cut a small slice off of each block before I vacuum sealed. Then I cut each slice in half and tried a piece of each and then vac sealed the remaining pieces to put in the fridge with the blocks. I figure this way, I can open the small bag to taste in a couple week with out opening the whole block. Great idea!
I always age a minimum of two weeks, wish I could say I had some that lasted a year like texastweeter, unfortunately once I open the package it doesn't last long. Never used apple wood may have to give that a go for a different flavour profile.
bbqLuv I likeys me some cottage cheese jus fine, could eat me a bucket full, esp with some pineapple tidbits, or fruit cocktail mixed all up in it.
Now, lemme 'splain summat: I'm a Cheese a Holic... BIG TIME!!!
Smoked cheeses is even mo bettah, any day of th week that ends in 'y'.
But I've found that freezin my cheese yields a texture, an mouthfeel that I find most unsatisfactory: gritty, grainy, it becomes separated constituent ingredients, curled all up next to each other.
Cookers:
Oklahoma Joe Offset (older thick steel version!)
Camp Chef Woodwind
OK Joe Bronco
Weber Genesis
Ooni Karu
Weber Kettle
My goal is to eventually have at least one of every style of cooker….. I have work to do. Lol!
Thermometers:
ThermoWorks Thermapen MK4
ThermoWorks Thermapen ONE
ThermoWorks Thermopop
ThermoWorks RFX
ThermoWorks IRK-2 Infrared
Maverick XR-50
TempSpike Plus
Other Gear:
Megaforce 3000 Meat Grinder
Weston 7-pound sausage stuffer
Jerky Gun for making poppers. (Game changer!)
Amaz-N-Tube
Original SnS with drip n griddle
Weber Chimney
Fuels Used:
Splits/Chunks, whatever I can get. Usually B&B competition. Favorites are Cherry, Apple, Post Oak, and Hickory.
Pellets, Lumberjack.
Charcoal, whatever is on sale. Currently have a bunch of KBB. Will eventually try B&B. Use whatever lump is on sale in my Ooni.
Propane, Blue Rhino.
Rubs:
Usually make my own riff’s on Memphis Dust and BBBR. Also use Meathead’s commercial rubs and occasionally try something new. I like a couple from Tuffy Stone and Kinder’s. After several surgeries, I’m very sensitive to “spicy” stuff, so I need to be careful about heat levels.
Well….. it happened….. I was inspired by efincoop and everyone else in the pit who talks about smoking cheese. I went and bought a few different types of cheeses that were on sale and threw them in the Genesis with an Amazen tube filled of apple and cherry pellets about an hour ago. I’m an absolute cheese-a-holic and have been dying to try my hand. Thanks Coop for the final push and everyone else for the advice you’ve given coop……. I’ve been lurking. Lol!
I wanna hear bout how this comes out, Brother!
Gots me an Amazen tube, jus wonderin if'n I need to go buy me a Genesis lol!
Be safe and well, Reaper Wun Thuh-ree!
Firebase Bonedaddy, Fwd out.
Retired, living in Western Mass. Enjoy music, cooking and my family.
Current cookers Weber Spirit 3 burner with a full insert griddle added. A 22" Kettle with vortex SnS and OnlyFire pizza oven. A Smokey Joe and the most recent addition a Pit Barrel Jr with bird hanger, 4 hooks and cover. ThermoWorks Smoke 2 probe, DOT, ThermoPops and a Thermapen MK4. 3 TempSpike wireless meat thermometers.
Cookers:
Oklahoma Joe Offset (older thick steel version!)
Camp Chef Woodwind
OK Joe Bronco
Weber Genesis
Ooni Karu
Weber Kettle
My goal is to eventually have at least one of every style of cooker….. I have work to do. Lol!
Thermometers:
ThermoWorks Thermapen MK4
ThermoWorks Thermapen ONE
ThermoWorks Thermopop
ThermoWorks RFX
ThermoWorks IRK-2 Infrared
Maverick XR-50
TempSpike Plus
Other Gear:
Megaforce 3000 Meat Grinder
Weston 7-pound sausage stuffer
Jerky Gun for making poppers. (Game changer!)
Amaz-N-Tube
Original SnS with drip n griddle
Weber Chimney
Fuels Used:
Splits/Chunks, whatever I can get. Usually B&B competition. Favorites are Cherry, Apple, Post Oak, and Hickory.
Pellets, Lumberjack.
Charcoal, whatever is on sale. Currently have a bunch of KBB. Will eventually try B&B. Use whatever lump is on sale in my Ooni.
Propane, Blue Rhino.
Rubs:
Usually make my own riff’s on Memphis Dust and BBBR. Also use Meathead’s commercial rubs and occasionally try something new. I like a couple from Tuffy Stone and Kinder’s. After several surgeries, I’m very sensitive to “spicy” stuff, so I need to be careful about heat levels.
Interesting observation! I'd be willing to bet that may be the reason. Most of the examples I have seen the smoke is closer to the cheese. I was in the same boat as you regarding the cover on my offset. Difference was I got an earlier start and was able to let the cooker cool down and got the cover back on before it started to rain.
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