Huhwhat?
Blackhawk
First off, cheese obviously melts, so this is a cold-smoking item, best done on cool days.
My set-up is a Masterbuilt electric smoker with a small Chargriller charcoal/wood grill ducted into the side of the Masterbuilt.
I can use the Chargriller with charcoal or wood or, for this application, I put an electric hot plate into the side grill, and use a pan of pellets on top to produce smoke without much heat. The main smoker is powered up without heat, so I can monitor the temperature inside the smoker.
The cheese is cut into roughly 4" x 4" x 2" pieces and placed in the smoker directly on the grates with no other preparation. The temps yesterday were around 38 to 40, and I smoked the cheddar for 4 hours over mesquite smoke. While I was at it, I rolled some cheese curds in green chili powder, and smoked them for two hours.
I wasn't sure I was going to be happy with the results of the cheddar yesterday. It only smelled a little like smoke, and you couldn't taste it at all. This morning, it smelled like smoke, and there was a little taste. However, I sliced some and made a fried egg and cheese sammich for breakfast, and when it melted, the smoke flavor just exploded from the cheese.
The cheese curds, due to size, I suspect, and the softer texture picked up more smoke, even with half the smoke time.
I will be doing more experimenting with this.
My set-up is a Masterbuilt electric smoker with a small Chargriller charcoal/wood grill ducted into the side of the Masterbuilt.
I can use the Chargriller with charcoal or wood or, for this application, I put an electric hot plate into the side grill, and use a pan of pellets on top to produce smoke without much heat. The main smoker is powered up without heat, so I can monitor the temperature inside the smoker.
The cheese is cut into roughly 4" x 4" x 2" pieces and placed in the smoker directly on the grates with no other preparation. The temps yesterday were around 38 to 40, and I smoked the cheddar for 4 hours over mesquite smoke. While I was at it, I rolled some cheese curds in green chili powder, and smoked them for two hours.
I wasn't sure I was going to be happy with the results of the cheddar yesterday. It only smelled a little like smoke, and you couldn't taste it at all. This morning, it smelled like smoke, and there was a little taste. However, I sliced some and made a fried egg and cheese sammich for breakfast, and when it melted, the smoke flavor just exploded from the cheese.
The cheese curds, due to size, I suspect, and the softer texture picked up more smoke, even with half the smoke time.
I will be doing more experimenting with this.
