Below are advice and links at SMF about cold smoking.
Mr. T’s Q&A Guidelines – He is the resident expert on cheese smoking and has great how-to posts and advice on others posts. Go here for his detailed how to. See his cold smoking tips here.
- 2 weeks aging is a good starting point. Try and leave one of them to sit for at least a month, you’ll be happy you did. Cheddar, pepper jack, and gouda are our go to flavors.
- Time depends on now much smoke you want on it. I go anywhere from 3-6 hours, depending on who I’m making it for.
- For hard cheeses, I like apple smoke, but hickory has been friendly as well.
Miscellaneous comments and advice:
- A poster said Pepperoni cheese is wonderful smoked.
- Vac pack but do not freeze. Some have kept in Refer for 1-2 years and it keep getting better.
- smoked Velveeta for cheese dip is awesome! I cut a block in half and smoked it for 45 minutes at 100 degrees. Let it sit for a day or two in the fridge and make cheese dip using the recipe on the Rotel can. Add a 1/2 pound of burger and a teaspoon of cumin for an added touch.
- I give it a light coat of olive oil before vacuuming.
- I’ve found that I prefer Monterey Jack, Pepper Jack, and Gouda for smoked cheeses. I smoke mine for 2 to 3 hours, in butter-stick size hunks. As in, I get a big hunk of cheese, but then trim it down to the size of a butter stick, only because I like that size for slices for crackers. I use an AMNPS with the Pittmaster pellets for my smokes.
