Cold Smoked Cheese

Have you ever smoked cheese? It’s a really fun process, and the end result is heavenly. In this blog post, we’ll walk you through the cold smoking process for cheese, so that you can make your own at home. Enjoy!  Below is a photo slideshow on the process.

1. First of all, I purchased a smoker tube from Amazon 
2. Next, I make sure I had enough pellets.  For this recipe use Traeger Pellet Blend of 3 kinds of wood (Hickory, Maple, Cherry)
3. The best type of cheese to use is blocks of higher quality cheese from Costco (or your local store), preferably Tillamook.  I usually do 5-7 blocks at a time with the grill extender.
4. To start, fill the tube with pellets and light the open end, let burn for 1-2 minutes then blow out.  I have found that my tube will smoke for 4-5 hours.
5. Clean charcoal out of the grill, you don’t want it to ignite which will melt the cheese.  Target temperature 70 degrees or lower.
6. Put in deflector plates if you have them
7. Put a pan of ice on top of the deflector plates
8. Put in Grill Grate and top with cheese.
9. Close up the grill and let smoke for 2 hours, then turn the cheese.
10. Let it smoke until the smoker tube stops producing smoke.
11. Take the cheese off of the grill and store it in gallon ziplock bags for 3-4 days.  The cheese is going to take at least a week if not two to let the smoke penetrate.  If you try it too soon it will taste charred.
12. If you want to store them for an extended amount of time, vacuum seal them in batches with a variety of different cheeses.  Then you can take just one bag at a time out of your freezer to use.
13. You can freeze them, but when they defrost they get crumbly, but still taste good.
14. Enjoy.

If you’re looking for a fun and easy way to add a smokey flavor to your cheese, give cold smoking a try. It’s a process that anyone can do at home with just a few simple tools. And the best part? You get to eat all of the delicious results!