Smoked Cheese

[Jighed]

Sorry no pics. Last night I decided to try my hand at smoking cheese, no I did not roll it :-)
I took a 1/2 block of pepper jack and put it on my grill. Heated 3 or 4 briquets and placed them on the far side of the grill. Took some oak wood chips that I had soaking and placed them on the briquets and closed the door. This is called cold smoking. No heat, just smoke. I left the cheese in the smoke about 20 minutes and then put it in the fridge.
I am now eating smoked pepperjack cheese with my sandwhich and chips mmmm.
Now what I didnot tell you is that I had just removed a pork loin from the pit and it was still hot. So my cheese started melting. I had to take it out, let it cool and put it back in several times during the process. It is best to do this on a cool day/night to help keep the cheese firm.
I also smoked a full block of cheddar. The oak is strong so next time I am going to try something else...pecan. If you trim the smoke ring off it also lessens the smoke taste.

Just remember very little to no heat.

[eradicator]

Smoked cheese is the best. Like you said, it doesn't take long. I usually will do it about 10 minutes. Take it off and wrap it in Saran Wrap. This will hold it in and absorb the flavor. I've found that if I do it to much longer than that the smoke becomes too strong(and I like a lot of smoke flavor) and the cheese will lose it's texture. That reminds me, I need to get a block of sharp cheddar for the lease next week.