Do you love cheese? Do you have an electric smoker? Are you looking forward to enhancing the taste of your favorite cheese? Nodding in yes, aren’t you?? Then you are at the right place. We can teach you how to smoke cheese in the electric smoker and make it taste heavenly good.
Smoking cheese in an electric smoker enhances the taste, and it becomes something that you can add to any recipe and make it scrumptiously unresisting and mouth-watering. Best electric smoker lets you get this taste complete task with convenience.
So let’s get started with how to make your cheese taste more cheesier. First of all, remember that smoking cheese is relatively easy, and you can do it on your first try, and when you do it, you will always smoke your cheese before adding in food.
Steps to follow:
-
Buy the cheese:
The first step is buying the right cheese. When you are learning how to smoke cheese in an electric smoker, you can buy any inexpensive cheese which you like the most. The smoking process boosts the taste, and you will love it no matter what type it is.
-
Set the temperature:
A block of cheese is best smoked at a cold temperature. As long as the temperature is appropriate, you will get an excellent outcome. The reason to smoke cheese is to melt the butterfat, which is possible on 98.6 F. So, there is no need to over-heat it and spoil the texture and taste.
-
Use appropriate wood:
Use the appropriate wood which does not mess up with the taste of your delicious cheese blocks. You can use woods like oak, hickory, pecan, and nut woods. The wood pellets are also a good choice as you are looking forward to cold smoking. Take a cup full of wood chips or wood pellets. If you are using wood chips, then soak the wood into the water for an hour before using it in an electric smoker.
-
Cut the pieces:
Once you have cheese, it is time to cut it into pieces/blocks. The size of the block can vary from larger to smaller. Larger pieces mean it will take more time to smoke and get the flavor to penetrate nicely into the cheese.
To get the best taste faster, it is ideal for cutting the pieces is not more than 2.54 cm (which makes almost one inch) in thickness and eight to ten cm (that makes three to four inches: in width.
The smaller blocs of cheese mean it will provide better results, and with every single piece, you get an extra smoke layer on each side of the block.
-
Keep it at room temperature:
Once cut, it is time to place your cheese on the electric smoker rack. But before, it is good to keep the cheese somewhere at room temperature, but make sure it should not be longer than few hours.
Keeping at room temperature helps to develop soft skin on the upper layers. It is helpful while you are smoking the cheese because it keeps the cheese from premature melting when it is placed in the smoker.
-
Place on the rack:
After that, it is time to place the cheese blocks on the smoker rack. Here is how you can do it:
- Arrange the blocks o the top-most grates by keeping a one-inch distance between the pieces so the smoke can circulate better.
- You can simply put the pieces on the grate or use the cold smoke plate or a foil if you have concerns over messy smokers later on.
- When placing the cheese blocks in the foil or smoke plate, you can stand them up, so the circulation of smoke gets much better. It offers more room in the smoker, and you can add more cheese to it too.
-
Smoking process:
The smoking process varies from type to type of electric smoker you have. Some of them come with an ice tray, so the temperature does not get very high. In the smokers with an ice tray, there is a wood rack, then there is a thin ice tray, and then there are products try. In many electric smokers, the ice tray is optional for cold smoking. It also makes the process simple.
-
Set the temperature to start the process:
- Once you have arranged the smoker and placed the cheese and ice on the smoker, get the smoking process started, and turn on your smoker and set it to 225 degrees. The temperature does not matter because once the smoker is thoroughly heated up, it has to be turned off for cold smoking.
- Do not choose a temperature less than 98 F for best results. Turn the smoker off after fifteen minutes because the steady smoke will appear at this time. Make sure you have not left the smoker on for more than 20 minutes maximum as the temperature can damage the smoker and also might cause any safety hazard.
-
Let your cheese smoked:
After the smoker is turned off, leave it as it is with cheese inside for around an hour but not less than 45minutes. The cheese inside will be smoked to the right flavor. If you want more smoking and extra flavor, you can repeat the process for one or two more cycles until you get the taste you want. Use everything same from temperature to ice and wood pellets for consistent flavor.
-
Take out the cheese:
Once done, take the cheese out and put it in the zip lock bag or plastic wrap, then place it into the refrigerator. Sometimes the tempting smell might not let you put it into the refrigerator, and you might eat it instantly. But for the best results, let it get settled in the refrigerator, and the flavor will spread flawlessly.
The wait might look tough, but the longer you wait, the better your cheese will taste. You can keep it in the refrigerator for a minimum of ten days, but most savory flavors store for a month before using it.
Voila Cheese is Ready!!
And that is it! Your smoky cheese is read. Learning how to smoke cheese in an electric smoker is not a difficult task, and the little effort you made in the process is worthy of its mouth-watering savory flavor.
