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Smoking some cheese... first trial

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caliking
caliking Posts: 18,731
in EggHead Forum
The enablers on this forum (you know who you are) talked me into buying the A-Maze-N smoker recently. Time to try it out.

Wanted to do this yesterday, but opened up the eggs and found mold in the small and large eggs. They moved to an uncovered area recently, and I covered them to keep the elements out. Bad move, and many have said as much on multiple threads here. no more covers for the eggs. Fired up both of them yesterday for clean burns, and postponed the cheese smoking trial until today.

Hit the little doohickey with the weedburner to burn off any residual oil/chemicals. It got glowing red hot pretty quickly.
image

Filled up one column with apple-oak pellets since this was not going to be a long smoke. Bought the pellets at Academy - B&B apple flavored oak pellets, $13 after tax, 20lbs bag. Fired it up with a propane torch and let it burn a little before blowing the flame out. 
image

Set up 4 blocks of cheese (2 extra sharp cheddar, 2 monterey jack with jalapenos). 
image

The smoke has been pretty steady, and I'm about to go pick it all up (2 hrs smoke). Plan is to take some to my sister's place for Thanksgiving and pack some away to try at the 2 week mark, to see how the flavor differs. Will try more or less smoke next time, depending on the results from this batch.


#1 LBGE December 2012 • #2 SBGE February  2013 • #3 Mini May 2013
A happy BGE family in Houston, TX.
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  • caliking
    caliking Posts: 18,731
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    This is how it looked after 2 hrs of smoke. The color of the cheese darkened a little, but not much.
    image


    And this is how much of the pellets remained. I'm pretty sure this would run 12hrs as advertised, if it was packed full of pellets.
    image

    I'm going to try and wait a few days before I sample any. 

    #1 LBGE December 2012 • #2 SBGE February  2013 • #3 Mini May 2013
    A happy BGE family in Houston, TX.
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  • caliking
    caliking Posts: 18,731
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    Forgot to give a shout out to @henapple for the tip about pellets at Academy.

    #1 LBGE December 2012 • #2 SBGE February  2013 • #3 Mini May 2013
    A happy BGE family in Houston, TX.
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  • DMW
    DMW Posts: 13,832
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    Nice, we just had some cheddar that I smoked about a week ago. I like how you put it on its side to smoke it. More even smoke application I would think than laying it flat.
    They/Them
    Morgantown, PA

    XL BGE - S BGE - KJ Jr - HB Legacy - BS Pizza Oven - 30" Firepit - King Kooker Fryer -  PR72T - WSJ - BS 17" Griddle - XXL BGE  - BS SS36" Griddle - 2 Burner Gasser - Pellet Smoker
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  • caliking
    caliking Posts: 18,731
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    @DMW - your thread was what galvanized me into action! I stood them up on the side, because the rack I was using was small, and I was planning on using the small egg for this. 

    #1 LBGE December 2012 • #2 SBGE February  2013 • #3 Mini May 2013
    A happy BGE family in Houston, TX.
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  • caliking
    caliking Posts: 18,731
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    @DMW= Quick question - is it ok to foodsaver the cheese now and let the flavor mellow out, or does it need to breathe wrapped in parchment or something for a week or so?

    #1 LBGE December 2012 • #2 SBGE February  2013 • #3 Mini May 2013
    A happy BGE family in Houston, TX.
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  • DMW
    DMW Posts: 13,832
    edited November 2013
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    @caliking I foodsavered it pretty much right away. The first time when I had trouble keeping the temp low I put it in the fridge for about an hour first. This time with the AMNPS and the cold weather here I sealed it right away.
    They/Them
    Morgantown, PA

    XL BGE - S BGE - KJ Jr - HB Legacy - BS Pizza Oven - 30" Firepit - King Kooker Fryer -  PR72T - WSJ - BS 17" Griddle - XXL BGE  - BS SS36" Griddle - 2 Burner Gasser - Pellet Smoker
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  • Greeno55
    Greeno55 Posts: 635
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    I food save red mine and they turned out great.
    LBGE (2012), MiniMax (2014), and too many Eggcessories to list.  - Sudbury, Ontario
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  • caliking
    caliking Posts: 18,731
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    Thanks. I just finished packing it all up.

    #1 LBGE December 2012 • #2 SBGE February  2013 • #3 Mini May 2013
    A happy BGE family in Houston, TX.
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  • yzzi
    yzzi Posts: 1,843
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    I brought some gouda and pepper jack when I saw my family last week. I tried them 2 days after smoking and they were great. I still have lots at home for thanksgiving and probably Christmas as well. I'm loving smoking cheese. No food saver for me yet. I tightly wrapped in plastic wrap and threw in a ziplock.
    Dunedin, FL
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  • caliking
    caliking Posts: 18,731
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    @yzzi - how long do you smoke for? I did 2hrs as a first try. How long does the cheese last in saran wrap? I had good results with cheese in the past by wrapping in parchment then foil.

    #1 LBGE December 2012 • #2 SBGE February  2013 • #3 Mini May 2013
    A happy BGE family in Houston, TX.
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  • fletcherfam
    fletcherfam Posts: 935
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    I personally do 90 minutes, throw in the fridge over night then seal a meal the next day. Throw some in the fridge and the rest goes in the freezer. All has turned out great
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  • Ron341
    Ron341 Posts: 1
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    I would love to try this. At what temp. do you try to maintain while doing this ?
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  • caliking
    caliking Posts: 18,731
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    @Ron341 - Its a cold smoke, using the A-Maze-N- Smoker tray. Uses pellets, and there wasn't any appreciable rise in temp. Outside temp was about 50°F, and the dome therm didn't budge.

    #1 LBGE December 2012 • #2 SBGE February  2013 • #3 Mini May 2013
    A happy BGE family in Houston, TX.
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  • Searat
    Searat Posts: 80
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    What is the venting set up for the egg whey you use the A-Maze-N smoker? (Christmas might have to come early this year.)

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  • caliking
    caliking Posts: 18,731
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    @Searat - with this setup, fully open intake and vent (no DFMT). I pulled the cheese after 2 hours, and let the pellets keep going just to see how long they would burn. Easily burned 4+hrs total with  the amount that I started with.

    #1 LBGE December 2012 • #2 SBGE February  2013 • #3 Mini May 2013
    A happy BGE family in Houston, TX.
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  • tjv
    tjv Posts: 3,830
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    try cutting the blocks in half.  the more surface area the more smoke on the cheese.  I shoot for something around 1.5 inches square....it is cheese smokin' season.....

    t

    image
    www.ceramicgrillstore.com ACGP, Inc.
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  • DMW
    DMW Posts: 13,832
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    caliking said:

    @Searat - with this setup, fully open intake and vent (no DFMT). I pulled the cheese after 2 hours, and let the pellets keep going just to see how long they would burn. Easily burned 4+hrs total with  the amount that I started with.

    I filled mine when I did bacon and after 10 hours it still had 3/4 of the last row to go. These things really are amazing.
    They/Them
    Morgantown, PA

    XL BGE - S BGE - KJ Jr - HB Legacy - BS Pizza Oven - 30" Firepit - King Kooker Fryer -  PR72T - WSJ - BS 17" Griddle - XXL BGE  - BS SS36" Griddle - 2 Burner Gasser - Pellet Smoker
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  • henapple
    henapple Posts: 16,025
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    Thus... The amazing.
    Green egg, dead animal and alcohol. The "Boro".. TN 
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  • yzzi
    yzzi Posts: 1,843
    edited November 2013
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    caliking said:

    @yzzi - how long do you smoke for? I did 2hrs as a first try. How long does the cheese last in saran wrap? I had good results with cheese in the past by wrapping in parchment then foil.

    I did 2 hours. I have no clue how long it will last in the plastic wrap, but it's sealed pretty good. I think I'll throw what I don't use Thursday in the freezer but leave one piece out to see how long it'll go for. I normally wrap cheese in wax paper then foil and they keep really well like that. I did it this way cause I was on a time crunch, and I really didn't even let it cool. I'm sure I broke a lot of cheese smoking rules but hey, it still tastes great.
    Dunedin, FL
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  • laserdoc85
    laserdoc85 Posts: 577
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    I smoked some yesterday on my bradley smoker using alder wood for about 2.5 hours. I kept the temp at 80 degrees. I than vacuumed sealed them after they sat on the counter inside for an hour.
    They are in the frig for 4 weeks to cure and I plan to open some Xmas morning. Tasting a bit right out of the smoker it tasted like an ash tray. I was told you have to let it age for that 4 weeks and it will be unbelievable 
    Jefferson .GA.  
    Been egging since 1985 on a medium egg
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  • caliking
    caliking Posts: 18,731
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    @laserdoc85 - from what I've read, a week seems to be the minimum to let the cheese rest after smoking, but the flavor may improve after a longer rest. I'm planning to try some of mine at the 1 week mark then crack the second bag open at the 2 week mark for now. Some body posted recently that the cheese was good even after just a couple of days of resting though. 

    #1 LBGE December 2012 • #2 SBGE February  2013 • #3 Mini May 2013
    A happy BGE family in Houston, TX.
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  • caliking
    caliking Posts: 18,731
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    @tjv - that's what I'm going to do next time. I cut the blocks in half like yours after i was done smoking and ready to pack them with the foodsaver. That's when i realized that i should have started that way. Ya live, ya learn.

    #1 LBGE December 2012 • #2 SBGE February  2013 • #3 Mini May 2013
    A happy BGE family in Houston, TX.
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  • yzzi
    yzzi Posts: 1,843
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    I just had some pepper jack with some apples that's been in the fridge wrapped for 1.5 weeks. Pretty darn good.
    Dunedin, FL
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  • revolver1
    revolver1 Posts: 372
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    The Whiz has a recipe, FYI.  
    Dan, Columbia,Mo.
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  • caliking
    caliking Posts: 18,731
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    I'm trying to be patient, but don't know how much longer I can hold out :)

    #1 LBGE December 2012 • #2 SBGE February  2013 • #3 Mini May 2013
    A happy BGE family in Houston, TX.
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  • yzzi
    yzzi Posts: 1,843
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    caliking said:

    I'm trying to be patient, but don't know how much longer I can hold out :)

    Just try a piece!
    Dunedin, FL
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