First off, here's where this came from: http://www.nibblemethis.com/2009/11/fun-with-cold-smoking-macgyver-style.html
Cliffs: Soldering iron, tin can, woodchips.
I have an electric smoker that has two settings: Off and full-blast On. Smoking cheese isn't an option unless I want a burnt pile of goo...no thanks.
I grabbed this soldering iron for under $5. I highly recomend just getting a new one. Solder is lead based and lead is nasty stuff. Certainly nothing you want to cook with. I used a drill to punch some holes in the can; about 12 up top and a large hole in the base to stick the iron in. The open end of the can was covered with some tin foil.
I put the soldering iron in the can, filled the can with hickory chips, covered the end with the foil and put it in the base of my smoker. I removed the element that's usually in the base of the smoker to keep things simple.
It'll take a bit, but you'll start to see the smoke. It's really difficult to see here:
We were out doing yardwork Sunday, so I didn't time things. I'd say I got a good hour or so out of each "can". Shaking the can up can help get the last bit of smoke out. You can refill on the fly if you work quickly. The can gets pretty hot, but with gloves, you can handle it. Dump out the burnt chips, put in some new and you're set.
I didn't check the temp in the smoker, but it was pretty much the same temp as the air; 50's. As you can see, the cheese didn't melt. It just took on a nice smokey color:
I used a ball of mootz and sliced that into smaller disks. The other cheese was a block of cheddar that I cut up.
So how'd it come out? I'm not sure yet. From what I've read online, the cheese needs to sit for a bit. I guess if you try it right away, it tastes very similar to eating straight ashes; not that I've ever sampled those. So, we wrapped the pieces in saran wrap, double bagged everything in zip lock bags and let it sit. Seems that after sitting for a week or two, it should be ready. I think we'll try to sample some this weekend. My only concern is that I used Hickory chips which tend to be a bit "strong". I usually use applewood when I smoke. However, since that's harvested myself, I only have chunks of those...and not smaller chips. In the future, I'll see if I can get some apple or cherry wood chips at the store.
This nice thing about this setup: It's very cheap. And, you don't need a smoker. You could easily toss this thing into a grill and ShamWow...you have a cold smoker.
Cliffs: Soldering iron, tin can, woodchips.
I have an electric smoker that has two settings: Off and full-blast On. Smoking cheese isn't an option unless I want a burnt pile of goo...no thanks.
I grabbed this soldering iron for under $5. I highly recomend just getting a new one. Solder is lead based and lead is nasty stuff. Certainly nothing you want to cook with. I used a drill to punch some holes in the can; about 12 up top and a large hole in the base to stick the iron in. The open end of the can was covered with some tin foil.
I put the soldering iron in the can, filled the can with hickory chips, covered the end with the foil and put it in the base of my smoker. I removed the element that's usually in the base of the smoker to keep things simple.
It'll take a bit, but you'll start to see the smoke. It's really difficult to see here:
We were out doing yardwork Sunday, so I didn't time things. I'd say I got a good hour or so out of each "can". Shaking the can up can help get the last bit of smoke out. You can refill on the fly if you work quickly. The can gets pretty hot, but with gloves, you can handle it. Dump out the burnt chips, put in some new and you're set.
I didn't check the temp in the smoker, but it was pretty much the same temp as the air; 50's. As you can see, the cheese didn't melt. It just took on a nice smokey color:
I used a ball of mootz and sliced that into smaller disks. The other cheese was a block of cheddar that I cut up.
So how'd it come out? I'm not sure yet. From what I've read online, the cheese needs to sit for a bit. I guess if you try it right away, it tastes very similar to eating straight ashes; not that I've ever sampled those. So, we wrapped the pieces in saran wrap, double bagged everything in zip lock bags and let it sit. Seems that after sitting for a week or two, it should be ready. I think we'll try to sample some this weekend. My only concern is that I used Hickory chips which tend to be a bit "strong". I usually use applewood when I smoke. However, since that's harvested myself, I only have chunks of those...and not smaller chips. In the future, I'll see if I can get some apple or cherry wood chips at the store.
This nice thing about this setup: It's very cheap. And, you don't need a smoker. You could easily toss this thing into a grill and ShamWow...you have a cold smoker.
