Easy and delicious way to transform ordinary cheese into a gourmet treat!
Cook Time2 hourshrs
Total Time2 hourshrs
Course: Appetizer
Cuisine: American
Difficulty Level: Easy
Author: Louise
Equipment
Ninja Woodfire Outdoor Grill & Smoker OR
Ninja Woodfire Outdoor Oven
Ingredients
Your choice of cheese blocks
1cupWood PelletsI recommend apple, cherry, or maple
Instructions
Cold Smoking the Cheese
Fill the hopper with pellets. Turn the Woodfire dial to the Smoker function. Push the temperature button down until the display reads, "CLD." Set the time to 2 hours and hit start.
Let the pellets burn for 10 minutes, so when the time reads 1 hour 50 minutes, open the lid and let out the heavy smoke.
Place the cheese blocks on the grill grate and close the lid. Set a time for 30 minutes.
In 30 minutes, flip the cheese over and fill the hopper back up with pellets. You may have only burned some of the pellets, but it is best to keep it full so the burning pellets ignite the new ones. If the pellets run out you will have to hit the ignite button again and let the heavy smoke out.
Flip the cheese every 30 minutes and fill the hopper until you only have 30-45 minutes left on the countdown. Then let the cheese smoke and the pellets burn out.
Once the 2 hours is up, remove the cheese from the smoker and place it on a rack or tray. The cheese will feel soft and you may see beads of sweat. This is normal.
Resting the Cheese
Wrap the individual blocks of cheese in parchment paper and place them in the refrigerator for a minimum of two hours. This will firm them up and dry the outside.
After the cheese has completely cooled, place each block of smoked cheese in a vacuum seal bag and vacuum seal it or place it in a ziplock bag or wrap it in plastic wrap. Let the cheese sit in the refrigerator for several days before serving. I have found that waiting two weeks is optimal for the best flavor.
Nutritional information is not provided because it will vary by the cheese you choose. The cheese can be eaten right after smoking and chilling, but it is even better if you let it sit for 7-14 days in the refrigerator. This allows the smoky flavor to disperse throughout the cheese, and it isn't all concentrated on the outside.