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Smoking cheese

I have a lg BGE and amazin smoker tray with Apple pellets. I’m going to smoke some cheese next week for the first time. My question is setting the top and bottom vent. Is the bottom vent wide open and do you use the daisy wheel to hold the smoke longer on the cheese. Or should I leave the top vent off all together. 

Comments

  • I leave the top on, with top and bottom vents wide open. In my experience, the pellets need a surprising amount of airflow to keep smoldering. You still get plenty of smoke.

    1 LBGE in Chapel Hill, NC
  • Gym
    Gym Posts: 366
    Post results. I'm interested in this.
  • The Cen-Tex Smoker
    The Cen-Tex Smoker Posts: 22,951
    edited March 2019
    I put my AMS in the firebox (i usually clean it out but if I dont I put a small pizza stone on top of the lump so it  does not light any lump that’s in there. I put a stone between the AMS and grid. Those smoldering pellets can be harsh so I like to let it mix with a little air before hitting the food. I run bottom vent wide open and top wide open or off. I don’t want that smoldering smoke lingering in there. Less is more when it comes to smoldering pellets. 
    Keepin' It Weird in The ATX FBTX
  • Dmb3739
    Dmb3739 Posts: 62
    I put the A-maz-n smoker in, put place setter in place, and opened vents fully.  It produces a lot of smoke.  I smoked for 4 hours.  Next time, I would do it a little less.  Cheese was extremely smokey.  Also, you're going to want to let it mellow for a couple weeks or longer.  This is where a food saver comes in handy.  If you simply wrap in plastic wrap, your fridge will smell smokey.   
  • Stormbringer
    Stormbringer Posts: 2,007
    edited March 2019
    I leave the top on, with top and bottom vents wide open. In my experience, the pellets need a surprising amount of airflow to keep smoldering. You still get plenty of smoke.

    Interesting. I use a smoker that takes dust, when I open the top and bottom vents the dust burns through way too quickly. I have them open a crack, the same as when cooking low n slow. Before and after shots for @Gym:





    Some of these were used to make some smoked mac 'n' cheese:


    -----------------------------------------------------------------------
    | Cooking and blogging with a Large and Minimax in deepest, darkest England-shire
    | My food blog ... BGE and other stuff ... http://www.thecooksdigest.co.uk
    -----------------------------------------------------------------------


  • Timba
    Timba Posts: 34
    Well this was a learning experience.  Here is the set up, amazin pellet tray at the bottom of a LBGE. The LBGE was clean. No Placesetter, grill grate was raised to gasket level. I checked the smoke every hour. Hour 1 all looks good. 1.5 hour all,looks good and I turned over all the cheese (sharp cheddar, pepper jack, Swiss and Gouda). Checked at 2 hour time all looks good. Dome Temp at that point was 65°F. When out at the 2.5 hour and found that the Gouda and Swiss melted down on the pellets putting out the smoke. Dome Temp was 70°F. It was was a mess. I was able to save some of the cheddar and pepper jack. I will vacuumed what I have but now it just tasted burnt. Outside temp was 53°F. I hope I’m not the first person this happen to but would like to hear your comments. I can laugh at my mistakes and hope you all get a little chuckle out of this mess. 


  • lkapigian
    lkapigian Posts: 10,706
    Once in awhile the AMAZN will flame up and heat that right up without you knowing--That little flame will heat my smokehouse right up ...think that is what happened to you.....to much air like a breeze will can make it flame..
    Visalia, Ca @lkapigian
  • littlerascal56
    littlerascal56 Posts: 2,104
    I would have pulled it all at 1.5 hours. It should have received plenty of smoke by then.
  • MO_Eggin
    MO_Eggin Posts: 282
    If I followed your setup, you were going direct with nothing but air between the cheese and smoldering pellets.  I find (and you may have too) that setup produces too much direct heat on the cheese. Try using the platesetter or a pizza stone next time.  My setup is Amazen on the spider, cooking grid with pizza stone, raised grid with cheese. 

    Also, give the finished cheese 2-4 weeks to mellow so it no longer tastes like an ashtray.  
    LBGE - St. Louis, MO; MM & LBGE - around 8100' somewhere in the CO Front Range
  • nolaegghead
    nolaegghead Posts: 42,102
    I dilute the pellets with some quality lump, small pea-gravel sized lump.  The lump burns hotter, seems to keep the nasty smoke at bay.
    ______________________________________________
    I love lamp..
  • Timba
    Timba Posts: 34
    Thank you all for your comments I agree with you Mo Eggin with using the Placesetter. I was able to save some cheddar and pepper jack we will see how it turns out in 3 or 4 weeks.  
  • 77bronco
    77bronco Posts: 56
    edited March 2019
    Some of the oil may have dripped from the cheese and flared up. Then next thing you knew you had a big cheese fire. Try it again with the platesetter. I’m going to do some on Saturday. Have to get it done before the weather warms up. 
  • BeerMike
    BeerMike Posts: 317
    Here are a few pictures from my cheese smoking. 



    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
  • MattBTI
    MattBTI Posts: 417
    I don't typically smoke cheese in my egg. I usually use my upright. Just a chep-o masterbuilt propane smoker. Lets me get a lot of distance between the amazin tube and cheese. I don't need the thermal properties of the egg when smoking cheese either. I've done it in a charbroil gas grill too where I set the smoker on one end and the cheese on the opposite. 
    Pratt, KS