How to smoke gouda cheese? Smoked Gouda is an excellent method to add a delicious smoked taste to your cheese.
Can you, however, smoke gouda cheese on your own?
Don’t worry; in this blog post, we will teach you how to smoke Gouda cheese and everything you need to know when smoking cheese at home.
Keep reading!
You need to put your gouda cheese in the smoker for at least two hours. A decent color may be obtained without much smoke exposure.
What is Smoked Gouda Cheese?
Gouda cheese is a type of cheese that originates from the Netherlands.
It’s a delicious semi-hard yellow cheese created from cow’s milk. The milder, smoother, and softer the cheese, the younger it is.
The Gouda grows firmer and more flavorful as cheese ages. It has a silky texture and a little nutty and sweet taste.
Gouda is one of the most popular cheeses in the world, owing to its pleasant taste. It’s also tasty in several dishes.
Smoked Gouda adds that extra smoky taste to cheese, and it can be bought pre-made from the market or smoked yourself.
We’ll purchase ordinary Gouda from the shop and cold smoke it on our smoker for our needs.
How To Smoke Gouda Cheese
Smoked Gouda is a great way to give your cheese a tasty smoked taste.
Gouda and smoke go together very well, But how do you smoke your gouda? Cold smoke is required to smoke gouda cheese at home.
The cold smoke technique includes smoking blocks of cheese for a few hours on a grill or a smoker at a shallow temperature.
The smoke fills the smoke chamber and permeates the cheese without overheating and melting it.
There are two methods for cold smoking cheese:
- Indirectly smoke the cheese using a pellet or an offset grill, where the heat source is removed but the smoke is not.
- To help keep the temperature down, use a standard grill, smoking as indirectly as possible with the cheese over an aluminum pan with ice.
You may use any above technique that works best for you; here is a step-by-step guide on how to smoke gouda cheese.
Step#1. Prepare Your Gouda Cheese
Allow the cheese to come to room temperature. When the cheese is put on the smoker cold, condensation will collect.
Condensation and moisture will impact the cheese’s capacity to absorb smoke.
Remove the cheese from the fridge at least two hours before smoking it.
Before smoking the cheese, remove any moisture that has formed on it.
Step#2. Create the Smoke
Place the smoking tube in your smoker and light it according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
Check for any open flames. Remember that you want the smoke, not the heat.
When a constant stream of smoke emerges from the tube, put the cheese on a grill pan or directly on the grilling grate without touching it.
Ensure that there is enough airflow between each block so smoke can reach the cheese from all sides.
Step#3. Smoke the Cheese
On warmer days, use a grilling grate thermometer to check how hot the grill is.
Put the lid back on, and let the magic happen. For 2 to 4 hours, smoke the cheese.
Step#4. Remove it From the Smoker, Cover it, and Wait
When the cheese has had enough time to smoke, remove it from the smoker and wrap the cheese in plastic wrap.
After that let it sit for at least a week so the flavors can mix and grow; for best results.
It should be put away for two weeks. Eat or use, then wrap in plastic and store in the fridge for 6–8 weeks.
Tips When Smoking Gouda Cheese.
How to smoke homemade gouda cheese. Before smoking your gouda cheese at home, you should be informed of what you should or should not do.
Here are some simple instructions for smoking your gouda cheese.
1. Smoke Your Cheese On a Cold Day
The best time to cold smoke gouda cheese is in the fall or winter when the temperature outside is no more than 60oF (15°C).
When it gets warmer, your cheese might melt. This is especially true if you’re not using a cold smoker and just letting it cool down.
2. Cut the Cheese Into Smaller Portions
To help the smoke get into the block of gouda cheese, remove the rind and cut it into small pieces about four inches long.
Exposing more surface area to the smoke will reduce the total amount of time you need to smoke.
If you want the inside to be soft and the skin to be smokey, cut it into more significant pieces.
3. The Cheese should be at Room Temperature.
There’s no reason why you can’t smoke frozen or cold cheese, but it will taste best when it’s at room temperature.
Some cheeses can quickly lose their color, texture, and flavor when they are smoked while still frozen.
Give your cheese an hour or two to sit at room temperature before smoking it. Get rid of any moisture to help the skin grow better.
4. Pick the Right Wood to Smoke
You can’t say enough about how important good smoking wood is. You need to choose something that goes well with your chosen cheese.
We’ve seen how important it is to use the best wood when smoking brisket, pork or turkey. Cheese is the same way.
Applewood or other soft fruitwoods like cherry and pecan are the best woods to smoke cheese with.
This is especially true when working with cheeses that are soft and mild.
If you're smoking something hard and strong-tasting, try smoking it with hickory, which has similar flavors.
You can even use dried tea leaves to mix things up.
5. Keep the Temperature Low
Try to keep the temperature of the cold smoking below 90°F. If the temperature goes above this, your cheese could sweat or melt.
Ice pans are one of the best ways to help keep the temperature low.
These are the same as the water pans we use for hot smoking, except they are filled with ice.
This will help keep your chamber cool and lessen the effects of weather changes.
6. Turn Regularly
For even smoke penetration, you should ensure that all of the cheese’s surfaces get enough smoke exposure.
Every 15 to 30 minutes, you should turn your cheese.
7. Pay Attention to Time
How long you need to cold smoke gouda cheese will depend on the type of cheese you use and how you like it to taste.
It can take anywhere from 30 minutes to several hours, and the flavors get stronger the longer you do it.
It’s also important to know that if the block gets wet, it will pick up more smoke particles, which will make the taste stronger.
Softer cheeses smoke faster than tougher ones
Most of the time, the smoking period for milder cheeses is shorter than that for tougher cheeses.
But you’ll have to try a few things before getting it right. Many pro smokers learn to tell the time by the color of the rind when it’s done.
Cheese usually takes on flavors quicker than meat: If it gets too much smoke, it will have a strong, bitter taste.
If you use a hard or semi-hard cheese, like gouda or cheddar, leave it in the smoker for about 2 hours.
It should get a good color without getting too much smoke on it.
8. Make Sure the smoke is light and constant
When smoking cheese, you want to keep the smoke light and make sure it comes out in a steady stream.
Make sure to add a few wood chips or pellets every once in a while.
FAQs About How To Smoke Gouda Cheese
Do you have any other questions about how to smoke gouda cheese? Please keep us informed.
Here are some of the most commonly asked questions about smoked gouda cheese.
How Do You Keep Your Smoked Cheese Fresh?
Before putting cheese in the fridge, vacuum seal it for the best results. If they are sealed, many kinds of cheese can last at least a year.
Avoid freezing it. This will make it crumbly, not smooth and creamy, which is what we want.
How Long Does it Take to Smoke Cheese?
The cheese won’t be ready to eat for two weeks until it has been vacuum-sealed and put in the fridge.
This will give it time to soften and develop its flavor, removing the sharp and harsh taste it usually has right after being smoked.
Why Doesn’t Smoked Gouda Melt?
It’s simple to melt young gouda cheese into a sweet and creamy sauce.
Because of the low moisture level, added and smoked gouda might be more difficult to melt.
Read Next: How Does Cottage Cheese Taste Like?
Final Verdict.
So there you have it, a guide on how to smoke gouda cheese. This method is simple and effective and will result in some delicious smoked cheese that is perfect for any occasion.
Give it a try next time you want to add some smoky flavor to your Cheese platter.
Thanks for reading!