How to Cold Smoke Cheese
Smoking your cheese is the best way to make your ordinary cheese extraordinary! The process is actually quite easy, all you need is a smoker tube. You can do this on a grill or a smoker!
Ingredients
- Cheese 2-3 inch blocks, you can place as many as you can fit on your smoker, leave at least a ½ inch of space between blocks
- Smoker Tube
- Wood pellets I prefer a mild flavored ones, like apple, cherry, hickory, pecan, or maple
- Propane torch to light pellets on fire
- Grill or smoker
Instructions
- Check the Weather. Make sure you are cold smoking cheese on a cool day. Ideally, when the temperature is 60 degrees or less. This will keep the cheese from getting too warm while it is smoking.
- Cut the Cheese. If using large blocks, slice them into 2-3 inch thick pieces for better smoke absorption.
- Prepare the Smoker. Fill a smoker tube with wood pellets and ignite them using a torch. Ensure the pellets produce smoke without generating excessive heat. If you don’t have a smoker, you can do this on a gas or charcoal grill.
- Smoke the Cheese. Place the smoker tube at the bottom of the smoker and arrange the cheese blocks on the smoker grate. Let the cheese smoke for 3-4 hours, ensuring proper ventilation for the smoke to escape.
- Wrap and Age. Once smoked, let the cheese cool to room temperature if warm. Wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and allow it to age for at least two weeks before slicing and enjoying. If the smoke flavor is too strong after 2 weeks, wrap it back up and let is age in the refrigerator for another 2 weeks to help mellow the flavor.
Video
Notes
Freezing cheese. If you plan on freezing your cheese, make sure the cheese has aged for several weeks before doing so. The smoke flavor will not continue to penetrate the cheese once in the freezer. If you’d like to freeze your cold smoked cheese, I recommend shredding it first. When cheese is frozen, the proteins structure is damaged by the ice crystals formed, resulting in crumbly cheese that does not slice well. However, if you are planning on melting the cheese, it seems to work just fine.
Flavor Your Cheese. To add a little extra flavor to your cheese you can add some seasoning, or brush some maple syrup or honey on the outside of the cheese before smoking it.
I love doing maple syrup with a barbecue rub on the outside of the cheese. Feel free get creative, a lemon herb seasoning with honey would be fantastic with mozzarella.
Nutrition
Serving: 1ounce | Calories: 113kcal | Protein: 7g | Fat: 9g