Cold smoked cheese is a super-easy dish that can make great gifts for the holiday season! All you need is a grill, a smoke tube (which is available on your favorite online retailer), some smoker pellets and cheese. I had promised to do a tutorial but life here on the farm has been hectic, so I invite you to watch this video by Ash Kickin’ BBQ on how to turn a plain block of cheese into a giftable gourmet treat! This is exactly the way we do it.
A COUPLE HINTS; I smoke our home made cheeses, which tend to be pretty thick. I tried some store-bought 8 oz and 16 oz blocks, and you really need to watch the time on the 8 oz blocks because they melt REAL easily in the smoker! If you are using the 8 oz blocks, I’d suggest checking at about 1/2 hour.
Also, most of these videos suggest leaving the cheese to sit out at room temperature for a time before placing in the smoker. I’ve found this is entirely dependent on how warm or cool it is outside. On cold winter mornings (my favorite time to cold smoke) when the temperature is in the 30’s or 40’s, I let the cheese sit on the kitchen counter for maybe half an hour, but when temps are in the 50’s or low 60’s, I just put the cheese straight into the smoker to reduce the chance of melting. If it’s above around 65°F I’ll just wait for a cooler day.