Smokin Cheeses

Yo, JackRabbit, the subject of smoking cheeses has appeared before on these celebrated pages. Go to the top of your screen and punch "search." Say "CHEESE" and you will get about 27 entries. It's a start. Hope it works for you. I tried it on my Brinkman. Good taste; bent cheese. (Gets hot in there!)

(There used to be a guy called SmokinOkie around here with lots of answers but he was lost to Kansas City ["they got those pretty little women there"], or something.)

Smokin Who?

What are you say you miss me? Heck I've only got 1111 posts as of Today. I try to answer most of them, but I'm getting negative feedback about my long posts.

I'll try to do better, but most of the posts have been repeats of previous, like the cheese, and you've helped with the answer.

So, CS Nation, glad to have everyone help!!!!! Maybe you can replace me

And NO, there's are no girls in KC, it's my job is keeping me busy. And Mrs Smokin' reads these emails and you're going to get her mad at me and now YOU can tell her you were kiddin'

Thus ends the Smokin' report from KC.

p.s. If you see this months copy of "On-Q" and there is an article on Smokin Okie, just ignore the photo, PLEASE, ignore the photo, I don't know who that guy is.

Smokin' here again in KC

Jacrabbit, Some people smoke cheese cold and I do it hot and let it melt. Get some small aluminum pans (like bunton pans) and slice cheese in 1/4 size chunks, place in pan and put on top rack. Once cheese has completely melted (around 1 hour) remove and wipe off excess oils from top. Put in fridge so cheese hardens, remove and peel off aluminum and slice. Very important to serve at room temp since cold smoked cheese has a different flavor vs room temp.

Add some chopped hot peppers to cheese or a little dry rub for aditional flavor.

I then serve this with crackers, sausage, mild peperoncini's, and BBQ suuce. Trust me with this, put all the above in your mouth (stuff it) at once and enjoy an explosion of flavors.

Dixie

Dixie...

What's the texture of the cheese after it has melted and reformed? Doesn't it tend to get a little waxy?

What kinds of cheeses are you using in this way?

Sounds really simple and interesting - especially the part about adding the peppers or other flavorings!

That Joe Guy, the texture does change but the key is for the cheese not to get too hot and bubble. That is why I tend to take it out after it has melted down flat and oils are on top. (Since I dab off the excess oils I would think it's less fattening, lol) The key here is to serve at room temp after taking from fridge. Usually after 45 min cheese will firm up. If you have trouble removing from the alum pan (cooked to the sides) then you may have cooked it too long. You will destroy the pan removing the cheese. Another tip is to place cheese in smoker when it's smoking the most.

I have had good luck with mild cheddar and also mixed with Jack cheese. To me Colby did not work very well.

Good Luck

Dixie

Also, do not store cheese in alum pan. Always remove and put in plastic. It gets difficult to remove and taste different.

Thanks, Dixie. Think I'll give that a shot soon. I have a good-sized chunk of white cheddar I wouldn't mind trying something with...wonder what wood would go best for that...???

I've had good success with cold smoking cheese in my smokette.

Put the cheese on the top rack. On the bottom rack, I use a disposable aluminum tray filled with ice.

Set the smoker to 125 and wait until you see smoke coming out of the vent hole. Turn off the unit and wait an hour. Repeat if you want a stronger smoke flavor.

I have not measured the internal temperature, but the cheese does not melt and takes a nice smoke flavor.

Wow, Dixie, that melted cheese trick works great. I did cheddar and swiss. Chopped some pickled jalape�os into one batch, and bacon chips in another. Talk about flavorsom cheese!
They popped out of the aluminum easy.
Now trying not to eat them before Christmas.

I'll have to be honest and say I've tried the Melted Cheese Method before...

...but it wasn't "intentional", just got the smoker too hot. So I told everyone that's the WAY it's supposed to look

I will do it now, intentionally, I'll do Brie that way.