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I just smoked two, 3 lb cheddars... One mixed with habanero powder, and the other mixed with horseradish. (I named them "Our Love (Burns)" and "Rohan" respectively. Seemed appropriate at the time...) Now I just have to let them age for 8 or 9 months... The wait might kill me, but they look beautiful now!

Congrat's-they look great. Keep us posted on their aging.

They do look good.  Keep us updated as they progress.

- Jeff

I vacuum sealed these fairly quickly after smoking them, because I've noticed that putting smoked cheeses in my cave with other non-smoked cheeses tends to leave everything tasting... smoked. Having vac-packed them makes the aging process fairly low maintenance for me, but it's also less interesting to watch... It's mostly me remembering to flip them every time I move them out of the way of the curing meats... 

Mightyjesse,
How did you smoke them? I got my next door neighbor into curing bacon, and he set up a cold smoker on Sunday, smoked a load of bacon, and just for the fun of it, threw in some cheese from the fridge. Smoked for about an hour with cherry. They were OK on Sunday, but we tried them again last night and they were noticeably improved. Do you age them at all before smoking? Did you use the same method for your smoked Gouda that I tried in NY?

I generally smoke before I age. I find that the smoke doesn't "stick" as well to a good rind, as it does to a cheese that's only partially dried. I wait until about a day or two out of the press and then smoke, and then age... Just be aware that aging a smoked cheese in open air in your cave will make EVERYTHING "kinda" smokey. Thus I have a tendency to vac-pack my smoked cheeses fairly quickly in order to avoid contaminating the rest of my cave.

I smoke my cheeses after aging but then I do not let a thick rind form i vapac after about a month. Smoked cheese is always better at least the next day. kind of blah right out of the smoker. needs time to meld with the cheese and be absorbed by it.

Deejay, what setup do you have for cold smoking?

Dave

I just take a small chunk of wood and get it smoldering with 3 or 4 charcoal briquettes all around it. As the charcoal gets down to about a 3/4 inch puck I lay abother piece next to it to keep the wood chunk going. I use a coffee can with holes punched in and waded paper to get the coals burning. works well.

Thanks! That sounds easier than sawdust. About how often do you have to tend it?