Food Smokers and Smoking Tips/Tricks/Techniques

I drove to Amarillo for a steak, you think I won't go to SC for primo brisket?

 

.... what's 10 hours from you for BBQ because Charleston is only 15 hours, so that would POTENTIALLY mean if you went North, it's only 5 hours from me

 

Serpent & The Rainbow right there. Only way to take it other than a Taunt would be an invite.

 

Has anyone tried smoking shredded cheese? I’ve done lots and lots of block cheese. Couldn’t find any blocks of mozzarella the other day but got a 5lb bag of shredded. Thinking about laying it out on a fine mesh tray and seeing what it does. I would imagine it will tend to melt much quicker. And not sure how to go about vacuum sealing it like I normally do the blocks.

Just wondering if it’s worth it to try or not.

Also gonna be smoking, extra sharp cheddar, pepper jack, and gonna try some Swiss this time also.

 

You would also need to leave it in for like 5 minutes and then take it out immediately with that much surface area.

Cheese is cheap - try it. Worst that happens is it doesn't work.

 

I would put it on a sheet pan lined with parchment for maximum surface area exposure. Smoke it for a few minutes and then, using plastic wrap, form the semi-melted cheese into a log or block. Refrigerate and then re-shred it.

What about that idea?

 

I’d hate to waste cheese lol but I’ll probably give it a shot

I hadn’t thought about plastic wrap, but it did cross my mind kinda similar when vac sealed it would mush together and then reshred later.

 

I'm not sure it'll do anything. Pre-shredded cheese tends to have lots of preservatives on them to keep them from clumping together. I don't know how much smoke flavor you'll get through that.

 

Good point. Most pre-shredded cheeses are covered in cellulose and other stuff to keep them from sticking together.

Might have to start with a block of cheese, shred it, smoke it, re-form it, refrigerate and then re-shred.

Might be more work than it's worth.

Or it could be a great way to get some smoke into mozz or provolone for a pizza.

 

Lay it out on a screen if you have one that's stainless steel. Don't vacuum seal it as it will make a mess. Cold smoke it with a tray of ice under it to keep it cool. Take pictures and report back. I bet it'll be a success

 

If you have a block... just smoke the block.

 

Guess I’ll just have to give it a shot with a small batch since I’ve already got the smoke tube rolling for other cheese tonight.

Normally I do a block and shred or slice when used but the store didn’t have any blocks this time and we just got a bag of shredded since we go thru a lot of cheese anyway.

Yep I’m going to use the screen tray out of my new air fryer and give it a shot. Not too worried about it getting too hot tonight, it’s supposed to be in the upper 20s (after being in the 70s & 80s the past couple weeks). I’ll try to remember pics I’ve got a dozen different projects going on in addition to smoking tonight

 

Second batch of pork chops. The same rub as the first time just with the addition of a touch of brown sugar. Tried to get a shot of the smoke ring but it's proving difficult.

 

I vacuum seal pre shredded cheese all the time and it is fine. When I buy the 5lb bags from Costco, I divvy it up into 1lb bags and to seal and freeze. Just don’t pull down into as hard a vacuum. Hit the seal button before it squeezes the cheese too much.

 

I should have clarified.. don't vacuum seal smoked shredded cheese as it tends to become "sticky" HAHA

And most people don't know how to pull a soft vacuum HAHA

 

I wanna get a 2nd smoker but I don't know which direction to go. I really want to have a variety of cooking styles/tools. What is TW's thoughts on me replacing my vertical offset?

I started off with a 22" weber kettle which I've had for 3 years before getting the BJ3. I currently have a Kamado BJ3 and a Dynaglo vertical offset. I don't really like the vertical offset. It's super fuel inefficient, tons of smoke leaks, and is already showing signs of metal fatigue after 1 year of ownership and about 12 uses.

My buddy has a rec-tec 700 which I've used a couple times and I'm not a fan of the bark and flavors it produces.

The BJ3 is my main work horse, which I use 3x/week, but sometimes I wanna use a different smoker for some variety.

Weber smokey mountain? Or....?

I'm thinking of building a 100 gallon offset out of an old propane tank.

 

Why not get something custom? Set a budget/parameter for the build and let them roll. An experienced builder will give you what you want, but it won’t be off-the-shelf price (and vice versa).

 

talk to hank hill first.

jokes aside talk to someone in the propane industry ideally in tanks. They might use some coatings on the inside of the tanks that you would not want to be part of your dietary considerations. I don’t know enough to say one way or the other.

 

I've got a plan and design in the works, but it's going to take a few months to build. My co-worker and I will knock out a 100 gal off-set build over the next few months with an insulated firebox making it out of an old propane tank. Any coating would burn off in the first few burn in cooks.

I'll also hold myself over with a barrel smoker. That only takes a day after work to fab up, so I have something to play with until the 100 gal is finished up.