Jump to content

Smoking Mozzarella Cheese


Sargan

Recommended Posts

Smoke plenty of cheese, but all have been hard cheese.

Maybe time to try Mozzarella, question when you buy Mozzarella it is sealed ina bag with Whey.

After it has been smoked, I vac-pack cheese and put in teh fridge, woudl you vac-pack with original Whey or vac-pack dry.

 

 

A 2nd Q ..... sort of related not smoked any of the 'Blue cheeses'   Danish Blue, Stilton, Gorganzola etc.      Do these smoke well ? ...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Any cheese can be smoked if the temperature is kept nice & low... vac pack if you want, I would do it dry...trying to vac pack a bag with cheese & whey would be impossible with most machines..😉.

I can use my machine to vac liquid but only by using the bowl that comes with it....I'm changing over to using these cheese wraps.

https://cheesemakingshop.co.uk/shop/accessories/cheese-wrap-for-soft-cheese/

 

Ice.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Mozzarella is a soft cheese and you need to be careful when smoking it. There are two main types of Mozzarella - fresh and hard. The fresh mozzarellas are sold in bags of brine (often used in salads) and the hard mozzarellas are sold vacuum packed (usually used on pizzas). When you see smoked mozzarellas on the American forums they are usually using the hard version and this can be smoked just like cheddar.

The fresh mozzarellas need a little more preparation as they contain a high water content and fresh mozzarella usually has a "use by" date whereas hard cheese usually has a "best before" date. When chosing the type of fresh mozzarella to smoke ensure that it is made with pasteurised milk. Some are made with raw unpasteurised milk and these have a higher risk of Listeria when stored. 
The first thing to do is to remove as much of the water as possible. Place the balls in a fine muslin and gently squeeze. Place them over a container in the fridge and allow to drain for 24 hours - giving a gentle squeeze every couple of hours or so. You can smoke them on a grate but many make a simple string cradle for them using butchers string and hang them in the smoker. When smoking keep the smoker cool and keep air passing over the cheese to help it lose more water. It can then be hung in the fridge for a couple of days to let the smoke flavour penetrate and to lose more water.

The smoked fresh mozarella will keep for several weeks - the more water you can remove the longer it will keep. Do not try to mature it as you would hard cheese. If you are wanting to store it, use the hard mozarella.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

13 hours ago, Sargan said:

A 2nd Q ..... sort of related not smoked any of the 'Blue cheeses'   Danish Blue, Stilton, Gorganzola etc.      Do these smoke well ? ...

They do smoke - but not well. With many of the stronger blue cheeses the smoke flavour competes with the flavour of the cheese rather than compliment it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, Wade said:

They do smoke - but not well. With many of the stronger blue cheeses the smoke flavour competes with the flavour of the cheese rather than compliment it.

Never bothered, and looks like I won't ..... I just saw a local company showing them for sale, so thought I'd check.     

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, Wade said:

Mozzarella is a soft cheese and you need to be careful when smoking it. There are two main types of Mozzarella - fresh and hard. The fresh mozzarellas are sold in bags of brine (often used in salads) and the hard mozzarellas are sold vacuum packed (usually used on pizzas). When you see smoked mozzarellas on the American forums they are usually using the hard version and this can be smoked just like cheddar.

The fresh mozzarellas need a little more preparation as they contain a high water content and. Fresh mozzarella usually has a "use by" date whereas hard cheese usually has a "best before" date. When chosing the type of fresh mozzarella to smoke ensure that it is made with pasteurised milk. Some are made with fresh milk and these ...

I now consider myslef eductated on Mozzarella - thank you, I didn't know there were 2 types, we typically buy Galbani product, which is in a little plastic bag of Whey.   I'll look for some hard mozzarella and try that

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I smoke the cheese for 3 hours in my offset smoker but in the larger fridge smoker the smoke is less dense and I find it needs 4 hours. Ir really depends on the size of your smoker and the smoke generator that you are using.

Smoke butter just like cheese. I used to have a restaurant that I smoked it for in quantity. An important difference to smoking cheese is that you need to keep the smoking chamber cooler.

Smoke as whole pats of butter (250g). Place on wire racks in the smoker and do the smoke in the evening when it is cooler. Place a large tray of ice under the butter to stop the heat from the smoke generator softening the bottom butter layer.

Smoke for 3-4 hours (or to taste), vac pack and leave in fridge for a week before using to allow the smoke flavours to penetrate the butter.

Ice.thumb.jpg.03e4e71427354b4d2618bc2bef53f4d4.jpg 2111831447_ButterinSmoker.thumb.jpg.0e9381b035e6eba38abc2f948efb267d.jpg

2144263154_Butteronrack.thumb.jpg.93995e2c7a5e25f3b8ff07df3985dec7.jpg

 

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

You would be surprised how much heat the smoke generator creates when in a confined space like the barrel of a ProQ. With harder foods like cheese this often isnt a problem (though it can still make it sweat). Butter is slightly different though as, even if it becomes only slightly softened you are likely to find it slipping slowly through the gaps between the grate bars. The only way to really check in your environment is to give it a go. A £1 bag of ice from Tesco placed in the water pan would not break the bank though.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 year later...

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...