Welcome to the EGGhead Forum - a great place to visit and packed with tips and EGGspert advice! You can also join the conversation and get more information and amazing kamado recipes by following Big Green Egg to Experience our World of Flavor™ at:
Facebook  |  Twitter  |  Instagram  |  Pinterest  |  Youtube  |  Vimeo
Share your photos by tagging us and using the hashtag #BigGreenEgg.

Want to see how the EGG is made? Click to Watch

Smoke Cheese Again!

egret
egret Posts: 4,168
edited November -1 in EggHead Forum
Well, I tried again with the smoked cheese. This time I followed Old Dave's charcoal recommendation and put 5 briquets in the egg and lighted them with my propane torch. I put 3 small pieces of hickory on the briquets after they turned "grey", then put in the cold plate setter (legs up) with a pan full of ice on plate setter. I put the regular grid on the plate setter with a raised grid attached. Put the cheese on the raised grid and let 'er rip. It looked like it was getting too much smoke after a few minutes, so I took one of the hickory pieces off. I smoked them for about 1 hour and 20 minutes (the dome temperature never got over 78 degrees). There was plenty of smoke flavor in the cheese afterwards (in fact, maybe a little too much). As Dave said, a little goes a long way! Next time I'm just going to put one piece of wood on the briquets. Anyway, here is is the shot of the cheese after smoking. It doesn't look much different than it did before smoking, but, it sure has an unbelievabe and fantsatic taste :
SecondAttempt.jpg

Comments

  • thirdeye
    thirdeye Posts: 7,428
    egret,[p]Yeah, you don't want to see color on the cheese. You could always try something like alder to lighten the flavor too.[p]~thirdeye~

    Happy Trails
    ~thirdeye~

    Barbecue is not rocket surgery
  • egret,[p]Looks great and I am happy to see that you are getting the flavor that you want in the cheese. [p]I have now done 44 pounds with about half with hickory and the other half with apple. The cheese I am smoking with apple is only taking about 50 minutes per smoke. [p]61MVC-006E.jpg[p]Dave

  • egret,[p]Looks great and I am happy to see that you are getting the flavor that you want in the cheese. [p]I have now done 44 pounds with about half with hickory and the other half with apple. The cheese I am smoking with apple is only taking about 50 minutes per smoke. [p]61MVC-006E.jpg[p]Dave

  • Clay Q
    Clay Q Posts: 4,486
    Old Dave,
    I gotta give this a try. We have lots of cheese here in WI. Yeah, I'm a cheese head and proud of it. If I can hand out smoked cheese along with my cranberry nut bread for the holidays I'm sure it will be well recieved. BTW, I'm using your contraption for all of my cooks and it sure does a great job.
    Clay

  • egret
    egret Posts: 4,168
    thirdeye,
    I'm going to try the alder next time. Also, was thinkin' about some Jack Daniel's chips.

  • egret
    egret Posts: 4,168
    Thanks, Dave. I've noticed the smoke doesn't last nearly as long as the time the cheese stays in the egg. I'll cut back on the smoking time next run.
  • ClayQ,[p]Nice to see a great cook using the contraption and hope it continues to work out well for you.[p]Dave

  • BBQfan1
    BBQfan1 Posts: 562
    egret,
    The JD chips may be a little strong for cheese, especially out of a fresh bag; them's some kind of pungent! It might stand up to some of the stronger cheeses; I wonder what a JD smoked nut coated sharp cheddar cheese ball would be like? Hmmmm....
    If you want folks to 'know' that the cheese is smoked based purely on the visual, try some cherry. As it does with meat, it will create a darker outer appearance but the flavor it imparts, if used in moderation, is mild and fruity.
    Gonna do me some smoked cheese this week, I think! Thanks for the motivation, everyone!
    Qfan

  • BeerMike
    BeerMike Posts: 317
    BBQfan1, Last time I cold smoked cheese, the cherry smoke did not create a dark outer appearance. However, the time before that it did. The only difference was the temperature at which I smoked the cheese. At 70° the cheese was darker than when I smoked the same type of cheese at 35°. Why do you think that is?[p]BeerMike
    I think it's time for another beer!

    I think it's time for another beer!
    BGEing since 2003
    2 Large BGEs 
    Sold small BGE, 3rd and 4th large BGEs and XL BGE (at wife's "request"....sad face)
    Living the dream in Wisconsin