This smoked Cheddar cheese recipe walks you through smoking cheese at home, step by step, to achieve a subtle, well-balanced smoky flavor. If you liked those mass-produced smoked cheese boxes, try this and you’ll see how much better homemade smoked cheese can be.
This method brings back memories of shrink-wrapped crates of smoked cheese and sausage, but with far superior results. Smoking your own Cheddar at home is simple, rewarding, and yields a fresher, cleaner smoke character than most store-bought versions. —Renee Schettler Rossi
What To Do With Smoked Cheddar Cheese
Smoked Cheddar is versatile. Enjoy it sliced on a cracker, layer it on a burger, melt it into a patty melt, or use it to elevate sandwiches, gratins, or baked dishes. It also makes a thoughtful homemade gift.
Smoked Cheddar Cheese
David Leite
Equipment
- Apple, alder, or cherry wood chunks or chips
Ingredients
- 2 (8-ounce) blocks Cheddar cheese* (see notes)
Instructions
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Set up your smoker to maintain a temperature below 90°F (32°C). Keeping the environment cold is essential to prevent the cheese from melting while it absorbs smoke.
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For cold smoke: place the cheese blocks on the smoker grate. Light three charcoal briquettes and set them flat in the charcoal pan or firebox. Lay a flat wood chunk on top of the hot coals to generate smoke. Provide a small, steady airflow and replenish charcoal or wood as needed to maintain smoke for the desired time.
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Smoke the cheese lightly for about 4 hours, keeping the smoker temperature under 90°F (32°C) at all times.
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When finished, remove the cheese and seal it in a resealable plastic bag. Refrigerate for about 2 weeks before eating so the smoke flavor can distribute and mellow. If you taste it sooner, expect a stronger, sharper smoke that softens with time.
Notes
*What You Need To Know About Smoking Other Cheeses
This cold-smoking method also works well with Gouda, Muenster, Edam, mozzarella, Swiss, and pepper Jack. Firmer, low-moisture cheeses hold up best to the process.
Adapted From
Smoking Meat
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Nutrition
Calories: 114 kcal
Carbohydrates: 1 g
Protein: 7 g
Fat: 9 g
Saturated Fat: 6 g
Monounsaturated Fat: 3 g
Cholesterol: 30 mg
Sodium: 176 mg
Sugar: 1 g
Nutrition information is an approximation.
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Recipe Testers’ Reviews
Only a portion of tested recipes make it onto the site; this one passed blind testing and earned the Leite’s Culinaria stamp of approval.
Eydie Desser
I enjoyed testing this — smoked cheese is easy to make at home. If you only have a grill, consider using a pellet or smoke tube accessory. Tips I followed: freeze the cheese for a couple of hours before smoking to reduce melting; place a frozen water-filled milk carton wrapped in foil near the heat to help keep temperatures low; and keep the cheese off direct heat. I used applewood sawdust and kept the temperature under 85°F (29°C). Gouda took about 5 hours; goat cheese smoked for an hour. The cheese tasted bitter immediately after smoking but mellowed after a week. After two weeks the flavor was perfect.
Helen Doberstein
This was easier than I expected. I made two smoke pouches with apple and cherry chips and used a foil pan and charcoal. I arranged the cheese off to the side of the heat and closed the lid of the turned-off grill. After about an hour and a half I removed the first batch; any longer and the cheese would have started to soften. I set aside some to nibble and let the rest mature for the recommended two weeks. The result was a delicate, cold-smoked cheese that will be even better after maturing.