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Cold Smoking Cheese
We’d recommend getting a
ProQ® Cold Smoke Generator
for this as it will produce
8-10 hours of cold smoke without a heat source and is specifically designed to
make cold smoking easy, however if you don’t have one yet, this method will also
work for short periods of cold smoke which is perfect for smoking cheese.
1. Light 4 or 5 charcoal briquettes in a chimney starter and once they have a
grey appearance, place them in the fire bowl - you won’t need the charcoal
basket for this type of smoking.
2. Cover the briquettes with your chosen wood dust (a cupful should do it),
this will allow the wood to smoulder, plus reduce the heat given off by the
briquettes. It should produce smoke for up to an hour.
3. Place the water pan in its usual position, just above the fire and fill with cold
water to keep the ambient temperature down below 30°C (85°F).
4. Place the cheese on the cooking racks and put the lid on with the lid vent and
one base vent fully open.
5. Repeat steps 1 & 2 to keep the smouldering smoke going for 3 - 4 hours whilst
keeping an eye on the temperature, then wrap your cheese in cling film and
leave to mellow for 2 - 3 days before tasting.