New AMNPS so I bought some cheese :)

[someAZdude]

To be honest, it sounds a little strange? I wasn't sure this would be tasty when I first started reading about it but the more I see the better it looks.

So I bought 3 small blocks of med cheddar and 3 mozz to try out. I see that after they are smoked they get vac sealed for 2 weeks?

Anything else I need to know? Like what kind of smoke should I use and for how long? Probably do it sometime this week. Maybe Sunday? Not sure yet.

[merrell]

I use pecan pellets. I have done cheese with oak, apple or alder. Anything mild. The last I did with pellets I did for 1 1/2 hrs and it is still resting in the fridge.........

[Fishawn]

What Merrell said here also. I might go a little longer in the smoke.

[SOB]

I like 3 hours for mine...then straight into the vac bags. I had left a batch covered with plastic wrap in the fridge for 2 days till I got to vac sealing and was not happy with the end results. Seemed to air out too much and lose its potentcy. JMOH.
SOB

[Mark R]

What they said.

[someAZdude]

OK, so say 2 hours of smoke with something mild like pecan. I have 5lbs of that so I guess I'll start that way. Straight to the vac seal. Sounds good. I am curious about the wait time though. What is the 2 week thing about?
On a side note. My wife asked me if they could be frozen. I have never frozen cheese by itself before but I freeze lasagna, and frozen pizzas work so I guess?? I was kind of worried about condensation/sweat when it defrosts. Anyone have experience with freezing smoked cheese?

[Doug S.]

You vac-pac it and let it sit in the fridge a couple of weeks to let it mello out and absorb some of the smoke. I've never frozen "smoked" cheese cuz last cheese I did freeze went to crumbles when thawed....

[ExhaustedSpark]

IMHO
Aging it does not effect the flavor. Just put in what you don't eat in a vac bag in the fridge and enjoy. 3 hrs is pretty much the most you want to smoke but having said that i would eat a briquette if it is smoked. I also have a family member that if i smoke the cheese longer then 1 hr they think that is to much. Thats what is so great about the pellet burner. You can adjust the time and flavor to suit yourself. Same goes for aging or not to age that is the question.
I use a flat ware drawer divider to load the pellets smoke and i cannot wait until i can get one of the amazn smokers to use. Waiting at this time to get a Smoke daddy in.
Love that smoked cheese.
Karl

[SmokinOutBack]

I wouldn't freeze smoked cheese, no need to IMO. If you vac-pack them they will keep for months in the fridge.

[someAZdude]

OK, thanks guys I am going to try it today.

So the time in the fridge is for aging not the mellowing of the smoke? What does the aging do?

[L20A]

I think the time in the fridge is not necessary. I have smoked large batches of cheeses & consumed some right away & then some that sat in the fridge for a couple weeks & I couldn't notice any difference. I have had the best results by smoking softer cheeses with the milder pellets, like apple or pecan, and the denser cheeses with apple mixed with oak or a little hickory. The softer cheeses absorb the smoke flavor more quickly so I take them out a little sooner. You can experiment with the different pellets & cheeses to see what works best for your taste. The one important thing that I learned is the AMZ pellet smoker will give off radiant heat & some convected heat so I always put a paper plate with holes in it between the cheeses and the pellet smoker. This keeps the cheeses that are right over the pellets from melting. Hope this helps.

[ExhaustedSpark]

I think the time in the fridge is not necessary. I have smoked large batches of cheeses & consumed some right away & then some that sat in the fridge for a couple weeks & I couldn't notice any difference. I have had the best results by smoking softer cheeses with the milder pellets, like apple or pecan, and the denser cheeses with apple mixed with oak or a little hickory. The softer cheeses absorb the smoke flavor more quickly so I take them out a little sooner. You can experiment with the different pellets & cheeses to see what works best for your taste. The one important thing that I learned is the AMZ pellet smoker will give off radiant heat & some convected heat so I always put a paper plate with holes in it between the cheeses and the pellet smoker. This keeps the cheeses that are right over the pellets from melting. Hope this helps.

X2
Some put ice in the unit above the pellets to keep from heating.
I myself just use a heat diffuser. That could be a pie pan or a pc of tin foil or even if you have the room a colinder.
Karl

[someAZdude]

Thanks for the advice. What I did was to put the AMNPS in the bottom of my WSM and left the empty water pan in it to act as a heat shield. I have 4 blocks on the bottom rack and two blocks on the top with a small pan that has 2 sticks of butter in it. Smoked for about an hour then the AMNPS went out. I didn't fill it very far as I only wanted about 2 hours of smoke anyways. I think that because of this I didn't have it packed tight enough. I have re lit it and the temp was sitting at 70 forever. Interestingly, when I moved the WSM from the base and set it on a nearby table the temp went up to 77. Not sure what's up with that except that it may have been in more sunlight. I am going to let it smoke for a bit longer and then check it out.
I am smoking 3 small blocks of medium cheddar and 3 small blocks of mozzarella. I am using maple pellets to get it done :)

[ExhaustedSpark]

One other thing i also have taken the racks out of my top load Big Chief and set them on bricks to raise it up about 2 inches and then used a pillow case over the whole thing and the cheese came out fantastic. A word of caution. Don't try to put the pillow case back on the wifes pillow.
Think outside the box. Its fun.
Karl

[ExhaustedSpark]

You should not have to pack the pellets. If it went out you either did not wait long enough for the starting burn or your smoker is to air tight and it needed more air. Did you check out todds web site for lighting. Even though i am using a alternate pellet holder his site helped a bunch with advice. Not to mention reading some of the advice he had given to other on the forum.

Karl