Food Smokers and Smoking Tips/Tricks/Techniques

When y'all smoke cheese, what cheese do you start with? Type and brand... Or can you just use any cheese?

 

Y'all soak your wood or chips?? Random question, does the bark produce more/less or the same amount of smoke as the rest of the wood? Do y'all think the bark would make it more bitter??

 

No soaking. Hardly any water absorbs into the wood and all it does is cool off the charcoal or kill it where the wood is. You want wood smoke not steam.

 

I am not sure what type of smoker you are using. But my opinion:

The goal with a traditional side fire box smoker is to have little to no visible smoke coming out the exhaust. I only used properly stacked/seasoned/split oak. It gets plenty of flavor that way. Too much smoke makes it taste bitter/putrid.

I never use mesquite for long term smoking...I only use that for steaks/burgers/fajitas.

 

Hickory can get all up in your face too if you use too much for too long.

 

His question about the bark though... Been wondering that myself. I pick pieces with no bark but maybe that's just superstition.

 

Bark has nothing to do with wood used. Bark is fat and rub.

 

? I think he was talking about the bark on the wood chunks.

 

Yeah knock that bark off before you burn.

 

Okee doke. Maybe I wasn't being a paranoid putz after all.

 

In my experience chedder and Gouda take smoke the best, mozzarella next (and it's not as critical about aging). Jack and Colby seem to not take quite as well. I've read up on it, but never have attempted any "soft" cheeses. The better quality the cheese is to begin with, better the outcome. But you can make "inexpensive" cheese taste mighty fine. The key is letting it age, it takes on a totally different taste. And I never eat it unless it's at room temp.

 

I usually use the Tillamook brand. I've had good luck with all the cheeses that I've cold smoked. I've smoked cream cheese, salted and unsalted sticks of butter, salts, spices, flour, chocolate chips, vodka... you can smoke a LOT of things.
Everything is really personal taste. I use a blend of hickory and apple pellets for cheeses, I use real apple and cherry wood for pork, mesquite for beef and smoked paprika. I have jars of hickory smoked salt, mesquite smoked salt etc. I've been experimenting for a long time and those are the flavors I choose.

 

Dang, that reminds me. I haven't smoked any salt in years. I used to always keep that on hand.

 

Best thing to smoke when on tight time frame? Guests gonna be here in 2 hours, get something edible going within 4?

 

Whole chickens are easily doable in 4 hours.

 

Tri tip!

 

Tri tip? Recipes?

 

This, or chicken halves even. With white sauce is hard to beat.

 

Best white sauce recipe? I found one and it is damn good, but... ?