If you’ve landed on this page, then you must be as passionate as I am about smoked foods. But the conditions required for smoking cheese are very different to smoking meat. Read on to discover our top tips for smoking cheese.
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SEE ALSO: Everything you ever wanted to know about smoked cheeses →
1. Smoke your cheese in cold weather
Since temperature is a critical consideration for cheese, we recommend that you smoke cheese in cold weather for best results. Autumn and Winter tend to be the best time of the year for smoking cheese, regardless of where you are in the world. Just make sure that the ambient temperature is well below 32°C (or 90°F). In fact, I would recommend a temperature of 15°C or 60°F.
If the ambient temperature is a bit higher, you can keep the temperature inside your grill a bit closer to the ideal conditions by placing a bowl containing ice cubes inside. And by always smoking in the shade.
2. Use cold smoking
Overall, there are two methods you can use to smoke cheese: cold smoking and hot smoking. Our recommendation is to use cold smoking because it will allow you to use a wider range of cheeses without compromising their flavour and texture.
Cold smoking involves smoking cheese at relatively low temperatures. In fact, the temperate used will be below 32°C (90°F) in order to protect the integrity of the cheese.
3. You don’t need to buy a smoker
We’ve got some great news for you! You don’t actually need a smoker to smoke cheese. Indeed, any outdoors grill will work but you will need a smoking tube and wood pellets to generate the smoke. You will also need a butane torch (or any other heavy duty lighter) to start your wood pellets.
It goes without saying that you should not be turning on your grill! Its only purpose is to provide a vessel for the cheese and allow the smoke to flow around it.
4. Match your wood pellets to the cheese you’re smoking
Your choice of wood pellets will have a significant impact on the aroma and flavour of your smoked cheese. And depending on your cheese selection, you might want to use different woods. Some of my favourite pairings are listed below.
- Oak – Cheddar or Gouda
- Pecan – Monterey Jack
- Hickory – Pepper Jack
- Beech – Raclette
- Apple – Mozzarella
- Cherry – Gruyère
- Maple – Provolone
5. Put out any flames on your wood pellets
Once again, cheese is very sensitive to heat which is why we are cold smoking and not hot smoking. Hence, it is of paramount importance that you make sure that there are no flames in your smoking tube before putting it in your grill.
6. Smoke semi-hard to hard cheeses
Undoubtedly, the choice of which cheese to smoke at home comes down largely to personal preference. But we definitely have some recommendations for you to base your selection on. As a general rule, pressed cheeses with semi-hard to hard textures tend to be the best cheeses to smoke. Some examples in this category include Cheddar, Gouda and Gruyère.
The main reason for this is that the firmer cheeses tend to tolerate temperatures close to 32°C (90°F) better. And their denser textures allow the aroma and the flavour of the wood smoke to slowly penetrate the cheese without overpowering the existing flavours.
Having said that, pasta filata cheeses such as Mozzarella, Provolone and Scamorza are also great options for home smoking. Due to their delicately mild flavours, those cheeses are beautifully elevated by the smokiness imparted by the wood.
7. Experiment with an inexpensive cheese first
Whichever type of cheese you decide to go for, I would recommend a relatively inexpensive one for your first attempt. As you build confidence in your smoking skills, you can start to experiment with more expensive cheeses.
Some great examples of inexpensive cheeses are Cheddar, Gouda and Mozzarella blocks. Over time, you can venture into smoking more specialised cheeses such as Gruyère and Raclette.
8. Cut your cheese into smaller portions before smoking
While you can certainly smoke an entire wheel or block of cheese, I would recommend portioning before you put them in your smoker. Overall, this will increase the surface area exposed to smoke and help keep smoking time to a minimum.
Depending on the cheese, you can either cut them into smaller blocks (e.g., Cheddar or Gouda) or thickly slice them (e.g., Gruyère or Raclette). Moreover, the size of the blocks will determine the texture of your smoked cheese. If you want a smoky, slightly crunchy rind with a soft paste, cut your cheese into larger pieces.
9. Let your cheese get to room temperature
As always, you should let your cheese come to room temperature before smoking. If you attempt to smoke cold cheese, condensation will form on its surface and this will negatively impact the cheese’s ability to absorb the smoke.
Also, be sure to gently wipe off any water droplets that appear on the surface of your cheese after you remove it from the fridge.
10. Smoke your cheese for thirty minutes to four hours
The recommended smoking time will vary depending on the texture of the cheese you have chosen. For a soft cheese like Mozzarella, you might find that 30 minutes is enough to allow the smokiness to permeate throughout the cheese.
On the other hand, firmer cheeses such as Cheddar and Gouda might require a minimum of two hours. It will definitely take a bit of trial and error before you find the ideal smoking time for each type of cheese. The goal here is to allow enough time for the smokiness to penetrate the cheese without overpowering its innate flavours.
11. Monitor the temperature inside your grill
Because cheese is very temperature sensitive, I would recommend using a smoker pit grill low temperature thermometer to monitor the temperature inside the grill. This will be particularly important if the outside temperature is a little bit on the high side in your region.
12. Rotate your cheese every 15 minutes
Moving your cheese every 15 minutes or so will ensure an even exposure to the smoke. This is doubly important if you’re using a regular grill and a smoking tube because the smoke will be coming from one direction only.
What you are aiming for is an even brown colour around the entire cheese and a homogenous smoky flavour throughout the paste. I would recommend rotating your cheese regularly whether you’re smoking softer cheeses like Mozzarella or firmer cheeses such as Cheddar.
13. Wrap your smoked cheese before refrigerating
If you’ve been hanging around other cheese lovers, you will have no doubt heard them ramble on about how cheese needs to breathe. And that wrapping cheese in plastic is bad both for the cheese and the environment.
Well, this will be one small exception to the general rule. I would still recommend wrapping the cheese in parchment paper for the first seven days. But afterwards, you will probably want to vacuum seal the cheese before storing it in your fridge. The main reason for this is to trap moisture and the smoke in the cheese while it ages. Moreover, it will prevent the smoky aroma from spreading to the rest of your fridge.
14. Do NOT freeze your smoked cheese
As with all cheeses, you should avoid freezing smoked cheese because freezing and thawing will damage the texture and integrity of your carefully prepared cheese. You can read more about the effects of freezing on cheese by clicking here.
15. Let your smoked cheese cure for at least two weeks
Unfortunately, you will not be able to enjoy your smoked cheese immediately. We recommend that you wait between two to four weeks after smoking before eating the cheese. The waiting time will allow the smokiness to slowly penetrate the cheese and produce a more homogenous flavour and aroma throughout.
Our top tips for home smoking cheese
Thank you for reading our post on the top tips for smoking cheese. Smoking cheese can be a lot of fun, especially if you follow our recommendations. Have you tried smoking cheese before? We’d love to hear about your adventures. Please leave us a comment below.
Jonah is a a hipster, eco-warrior and slow food afficionado. Coming from a scientific background, Jonah has a particular interest in cheese science. And yes, he loves a good cheese pun!
