Cold smoke cheese

[bustednuklz]

I am looking to give some cold smoked cheese a try
I have just bought 2 smoke tubes
Been poking around here and picked up some ideas, but still have some questions.
1- do I need to season the smoke tubes first? I have washed them and have dried for a couple of days, but should I light them without the cheese first?? (They are supposed to be stainless steel-or at least Amazon’s version of stainless steel )
2- sounds like cheddar or mozzarella would be a good place to start
3- I have read that it needs to sit for a minimum of two weeks in the fridge to ‘mellow’ and many people seem to vacuum seal them for the ‘mellowing’
I do not have a vacuum sealer, can I get as much air out as possible and use a ziplock freezer bag?
4-Apple or cherry pellets as a first go? (I guess that is more of a survey than a question)
5- How long to smoke for? Seen anything from 1 1/2 hours to 3 hours
Tips, tricks and advice all welcome!

Thanks in advance
Busted

 

[RustyJake]

Apple will be nice. 1-1/2-3 hours sounds about right, just depends how much smoke flavor you want. When I did my cheese I only used one tube. I also put a pan with some ice in it to keep the pit cool. You can put them over the tray on a rack if it is warm out.
After smoking I wrapped in paper for the night. The next day I vacuumed sealed them and let them sit for a couple weeks. It does mellow. You can use ziploc and just suck out ad much air as possible.
I have done all kinds of cheeses, cheddar, mozzarella, gouda, Jack, Swiss, and a few others. They all worked well.
Good luck with it. Take some pics and share the process with us.

 

[davwhite]

I would be concerned that the temp might get a bit high with two tubes. Second suggestion, get a sealer. When I pull my cheese out I wrap it butchers paper and into the fridge for 10 days. Then I vacuum seal what I don't want to use immediately. The sealer is a big help to me as I am the only red meat eater in the house so I seal all leftovers and enjoy them for months ahead.
I may be wrong here but I can't pick what wood or pellets I use, it is a definite smoke taste you get, however.
Ziplock bag will work but will not work as long as the sealer bag.
Watch the temp when you do a soft cheese, they melt! Start with a hard cheese then later you can move to the Brie's etc.