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This is inspired by my love of authentic Mexican food that I enjoyed for most of my life when living in San Diego.  I have no idea how it will turn out but I had a blast making it!  It should have a nice marbled look when cut.

Ingredients:
3 Gal. raw milk
¼ Tsp. Mesophilic Direct Set (C101)
1 Pinch Mesophilic MA 4001 culture
1/3 Tsp. single strength liquid animal rennet in ¼ cup purified water
2 Dried Ancho chile peppers
2% of curd weight non-iodized salt (approx. 28 grams)

Brine:
3 Limes
2 Cups Tequila
1 Small bunch of Cilantro

Instructions for making cheese:
  1.   Bring milk up to 86° F (30° C).
  2.   Add both Mesophilic starter cultures, cover and let sit 5 minutes holding temperature.
  3.   Stir in cultures well, cover and let sit 30 minutes holding temperature.
  4.   Add rennet, cover and let set for 45 minutes holding temperature. Check for clean break.
  5.   Cut curds with ½ inch spacing and let heal for 5 minutes.
  6.   Slowly raise temperature to 102° F (39° C) over 30 minutes while stirring.
  7.   Hold temperature and stir for another 30 minutes.
  8.   Let curds settle to bottom for 20 – 30 minutes.
  9.   Pour curds into cheesecloth lined colander and drain off whey.  Preferably when whey has reached 6.1 – 6.2 PH without the curds going too dry.
10.   Place colander with curds into pot for 15 minutes while holding temperature of mass at 102° F (39° C).
11.   Drain whey from pot, remove curds from cheesecloth, flip and put directly into pot for 15 minutes.  Do this two more time for a total of 1 hour.  Make sure to drain off whey each time and hold temperature.
12.   Cut curds in half, stack on each other and let sit for 15 minutes.  Do this four times flipping each time for a total of 1 hour.  Make sure to drain off whey each time and hold temperature.
13.   Remove curd mass to cutting boards and cut with knife into ¾ inch cubes.
14.   Place curds back into pot keeping warm, add ½ salt, mix and wait 5 minutes.  Add remaining salt, mix and wait another 5 minutes.  Add Adobe Chile and mix.
15.   Put curds into a cheesecloth lined mold and press at 15 lbs. for 30 minutes
16.   Flip cheese, re-wrap and press at 20 lbs. for 1 hour.
17.   Flip cheese, re-wrap and press at 50 lbs. for 4 hours.
18.   Flip cheese, re-wrap and press at 50 lbs. for another 12 – 24 hours depending on how well it has knit together.
19.   Remove from mold, trim up if needed and place into brine for 4 hours.  Flip and brine for another 4 hours.
20.   Remove from brine, pat dry and let air dry for 1 – 3 days in refrigerator until entire surface is well dry.
21.   Wrap or seal with your preferred method. 
22.   Age for 2 – 12 months or more at 85% humidity and 50-55° F (10-13° C).

Instructions for preparing Ancho Chile Peppers:
  1.   Bring a small pot of water to boil, turn off heat, put in dried peppers and cover.
  2.   Let steep for 15 minutes and remove peppers to small bowl and let cool.
  3.   Remove stem, seeds and skin.
  4.   Chop very fine.

Instructions for preparing brine:
  1.   Crush Cilantro to release natural oils (think Mojito)
  2.   Place into bowl along with Tequila and lime juice.
  3.   Stir well.

Adios!

Love it .... And a cheese for you for the worm at the end ! Haha...Love your sense of humor, John

Quote from: Fritz on August 14, 2016, 06:18:53 AM
Love it .... And a cheese for you for the worm at the end ! Haha...Love your sense of humor, John

Ha ha.  I thought it would freak out the folks that don't know about the Mezcal worm.  Just a touch of authenticity. 

It has been six months now so I had to give it a try.  A little on my aging first.  I wanted to do a natural rind but because of some PR contamination issues in my small cave, I cream coated it and let it go five months then bagged it for another so it wouldn't get too dry.  Turned out I didn't need to because it has no dryness or crumbliness at all.

I was really expecting a flop with this experiment.  But to my pleasant surprise it turned out fantástico!  It was mature tasting and the saltiness was spot on.  The ancho peppers were subtle and the Mezcal came through nicely.  Every one in the family including the cat loves it.  My daughter even put a dab of mango salsa with hers.

The first photo is straight out of the cave with the cream coat still on.  Second photo is the first cut.  Third, enjoying!

Beautiful, and definitely worthy of AC4U!

Hey, that's not cheese, is it?   Marble, right?

John, you're an artiste! Gorgeous cheese, sir. Have a cheese.

-Boofer-

I was planning to make a chapotle jack cheese soon and your make has helped me to understand what a perfect example would look like. AC4U

From beginning to end an amazing cheese adventure!  John you really showed your skills with this one!  I'd give you five cheeses for this one but the site won't let me so here's one for now!

What size mold did you use?

Quote from: DoctorCheese on February 12, 2017, 05:50:39 PM
What size mold did you use?

I think I got this from Artisan Geek.  It is perfect for a 3 gallon batch with a 5.3 inch inside diameter and is heavy duty.  I did however just get a taller 6 inch diameter stainless mold so I can get up to a 4 gallon batch.

Awesome recipe and great looking cheese! Well done AC4U

Oh man I love the looks of that cheese !!! I have never made a cheddar before but you have given me inspiration Duntov. Not sure if I will get to it soon but I will at some point