Smoked Cheese How to: A Beginner’s Guide to Cold Smoking on a Barbecue
Want to take your homemade cheese to the next level? Try smoking it at home! The rich, smoky flavor transports your taste buds to a whole new level. Your family will grovel at your feet and beg for more cheese. Ok I’m exaggerating a touch with that last bit, but maybe not, homemade and home smoked cheese – it’s magical, and it’s easier than you might think!
Everyone has a different setup but don’t worry, you can make this work with whatever you have and be on your way to smoking cheese in no time!
How to setup a cold smoker for cheese
Like I mentioned above, everyone has a different setup but you can make anything work, I promise! I’ll explain first how I setup my cold smoker, and then give tips and variations that might work for you.
Cold smoker propane barbecue
I have a gas grill. To use it as a cold smoker I simply lit wood pellets on fire, let them burn awhile, then blew them out and let the smoke roll.
A lot of people really love to use this smoke tube for smoking cheese. I didn’t feel like buying one so I improvised.
I layered two sheets of foil, added wood pellets, then rolled it up. I poked plenty of holes in it and then opened the seam back up so I could light it on fire.
Using a blow torch, I lit the pellets on fire. I had to keep the flame to the pellets for a couple of minutes to get them to ignite. After that, I let them burn for 5-10 minutes. If they are being stubborn about staying lit you may have to throw some kindling or little wood chips ( I just used wood scraps from our firewood box) on top.
After they burn for a while blow them out and let them smoke.
Add your cheese to the barbecue. You cant set it at the opposite end on the barbecue, or if you have an upper rack set it up there.
Biggest tip: Smoke your cheese on a cold day so it stays plenty cool even if the barbecue warms up slightly.
Let the cheese smoke for a couple hours, flipping it once. It won’t hurt it to stay even longer if say, you get distracted by sheep lambing in the barn. After you are finished (or your remember your cheese is a smokin’, remove your cheese from the smoker and place back down into your cave for 1-2 weeks (or a couple days – however long you can stand it. Eat it straight off the barbecue if that’s what you want!) for the smoke flavor to really intensify. I vacuum sealed mine and put it down in my basement where it stays around 50 degrees.
Various Alternatives:
Use a smoke tube instead of foil
Use some sort of metal baking tray or metal box (like a fire box out of an old wood cookstove) to use for your fire.
Use pellets, wood chips, firewood scraps, whatever you’ve got that you can light on fire and then blow out to let smoke.
Remember: It is important to keep the temp below 85 degrees or your cheese will melt. So ensure you are not heating the barbecue up, or do it on a very cold day to make your life easy.
Another tip: If you notice the smoke has stopped rolling before you’re finished smoking your cheese, just add more wood / pellets and get it going again. Let it burn for a bit then blow out to smoke. If it is not a cold day remove your cheese just while you get the fire going again.
Eating your homemade smoked cheese
You’ve done all the things. Now sit down and enjoy that smoked cheese! It is delicious. Try not to eat the whole thing in one sitting!
I hope you feel encouraged to try smoking cheese at home. It really doesn’t have to be complicated. There are no hard and fast rules so just have fun with the process and experiment!
Have you ever tried smoking cheese at home? What is your favorite kind of cheese?
Sari
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