My Kefalotyri Recipe

[rsterne]

Thanks for the cheese!.... and yes, please use this thread to let us know your results.... 

Bob

[mathewjones]

Ok, I took my first attempt at kefalotyri out of the press this morning. I basically followed Bob's very detailed recipe, with a few "modifications".

The biggest modification is that after heating the milk, adding the CaCl2, lipase and mesophilic culture, I realized that I had completely run out of thermophilic culture (DOH! - idiot!). So I attempted to compensate by blending some greek yogurt with NC water and adding that to the milk, hoping that would provide a thermophilic culture. We'll see.

This was also my first time using the flocculation method (which works exactly as advertised, much to my surprise), using this big a volume of milk in my new 5 gal pot, using my new 8" Tomme hoop and using my new DIY wall-mount cheese press (picture below - I'll post details in a separate post).

During pressing, the cheese was very wet and soft, so I didn't flip it because I was worried it was going to fall apart. Even after the 50 lb pressing, I thought it was still too delicate. So I just increased to 100 lbs (2 psi) without flipping overnight.


For some reason I still can't get the inline image formatting to work when I paste a URL from my Google Photo account, so I'm posting them as attachments. Any advice would be welcome.

- My new DIY wall-mount cheese press. With two 8 lb jugs as weight, this configuration is 100 lbs (2 psi).


- The kefalotyri after overnight pressing at 100 lbs. There are some creases from the cheesecloth, and it still feels a bit fragile. It's still slowly weeping some clear liquid, so I'm hoping it will firm up as it dries.

[rsterne]

and now we wait.... 

Bob

[rsterne]

Three months later, and it's time for the reveal, and our first Saganaki from this Kefalotyri....  .... We tasted a sliver before frying the pieces, and it is like a mild Manchego.... in other words absolutely delicious.... Here it is being converted into a wonderful Saganaki....

We use a cast iron skillet, with olive oil, heated until it just starts to smoke....



After grilling to a golden brown, it is removed from the heat, and fresh lemon juice squirted over it....



Then, it's time to enjoy.... The Kefalotyri is gooey on the inside, but firm enough you can cut it into cubes and savour every bite....



Here is my wife Diane's recipe for our Saganaki....

Saganaki
(Made With Our Own Kefalotyri Cheese)

Kefalotyri Cheese (about 8 oz.) – Cut it into 4 - 2 oz. pieces that are about ½” thick
Olive Oil
Flour
Lemon

Make sure the Kefalotyri is cold.  Heat a cast iron pan on medium heat and add some olive oil (about 1 – 2 tbsp.).  When the pan just begins to smoke slightly, put your cheese in cold tap water and dredge it in flour (put the flour on a plate and place the cheese on the plate and tip it and make sure it is all coated in flour). 

Place the flour-dredged cheese on the heated cast iron pan.  NOTE:  It is crucial you pre-heat your cast iron pan!  Sear the cheese until it is browned on top and bottom and starts to soften.  I like to turn it with two forks.  Remove the pan from the stove and place it on a trivet.  Squeeze lemon juice (1/2 lemon) over the hot cheese.  Let it sit for about one minute to allow the cheese to continue to soften right through.  Turn the cheese over, leave it on the cast iron pan and serve while hot and softened.  YUM!!!

Without bragging (OK maybe a little bit) this rivals anything we have ever had in a Greek restaurant.... We will be making a Kefalotyri every year, giving us a delicious Saganaki every 3 months....

Bob

[Mornduk]

That looks great and made me hungry Happy Thanksgiving and AC4U

[rsterne]

Happy Thanksgiving to you as well, and thank you!....

Bob

[mathewjones]

Hi Bob and Diane,

My kefalotyri (following your make recipe) still needs another few weeks to reach 3 months. We'll see if I can last that long. Your saganaki looks fricken awesome. I hope my cheese will look that delicious when I fry it.

Thanks Diane for the saganaki recipe. I've made it before with store-bought kefalotyri and kasseri (frankly, I would skip the kasseri next time. And halloumi? Don't even get me started on what a waste of time that is). When I've done saganaki, I first pierced the cheese all over then marinated the cheese in either brandy (greek grappa or ouzo would be better) or vermouth, before drying it and dredging it. I'm not sure this really adds anything, I don't think the cheese really soaks up much of the flavor at this stage. Then at the end after frying, I squirt it with a bit of brandy/ouzo and then lots of lemon juice, just before serving.

I do NOT let it catch on fire or yell "OPA!' or any of that stupid crap.

Anyway, thanks for the delicious update. I'll post my success/failure on this thread later.

Cheers,

Matt

ACFU!

[rsterne]

Thanks, Matt.... I hope your Kefalotyri turns out as awesome as ours has.... One of the first cheeses we made was an Halloumi, and what a bland piece of rubber it was....  .... I'm glad we didn't give up on finding the perfect Saganaki cheese!....

Bob

[geozte]

Thanks for the excellent recipe. Unfortunately the ph level dropped to 5.1.
Is there any hope of saving it?

[rsterne]

I don't work with a pH meter, so I can't actually tell you what the pH of my Kefalotyri is.... To be honest, I think the trick in not having it melt when making Saganaki is to have the skillet hot enough to start smoking the Olive Oil BEFORE you drop the coated cheese on, keep turning it, and stop when golden brown.... Ours turns out soft in the center, but not runny.... Try it and let us know!....

Gavin made the mistake of putting the cheese in a cold skillet and then heating it, and it melted all over the place!.... 

Bob