Sargan Posted November 22, 2020 Share Posted November 22, 2020 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 ? ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Icefever Posted November 23, 2020 Share Posted November 23, 2020 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wade Posted November 23, 2020 Share Posted November 23, 2020 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wade Posted November 23, 2020 Share Posted November 23, 2020 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sargan Posted November 23, 2020 Author Share Posted November 23, 2020 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sargan Posted November 23, 2020 Author Share Posted November 23, 2020 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 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wade Posted November 23, 2020 Share Posted November 23, 2020 Here are some of my fresh mozzarella balls smoking alongside some cheddar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sargan Posted November 23, 2020 Author Share Posted November 23, 2020 How long do you smoke your cheeses for ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wade Posted November 23, 2020 Share Posted November 23, 2020 About 4 hours Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sargan Posted November 23, 2020 Author Share Posted November 23, 2020 OK ... bit longer than I do ..... maybe I'll try 4 Hrs next time. Quick Q ... you ever smoked butter ? .... going to do some this week, wonderring how long, was going to aim ast an Hr ... but you may know what works. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wade Posted November 23, 2020 Share Posted November 23, 2020 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. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sargan Posted November 23, 2020 Author Share Posted November 23, 2020 Your vulume of smoking is impressive Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wade Posted November 23, 2020 Share Posted November 23, 2020 Whilst I am running down the commercial side of it now that I am retired, Woodchurch Smokery has been a commercial smokery for 10+ years. Over that period of time you do tend to smoke quite a lot of different things in bulk. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sargan Posted November 24, 2020 Author Share Posted November 24, 2020 no doubt built up a lot of experince ...... I only 'play' at this .... using a ProQ Cold smoker box in my ProQ smoker. With that set up would not ex[ect any heat to get near the butter esp if smoked at night - do you think ice still needed. ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wade Posted November 24, 2020 Share Posted November 24, 2020 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sargan Posted November 24, 2020 Author Share Posted November 24, 2020 Ta Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbqman Posted February 17, 2022 Share Posted February 17, 2022 On 11/23/2020 at 5:16 PM, Sargan said: Your vulume of smoking is impressive I agree mate, is impressive the amount of cheese on that smoker Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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