At a glance
On a cool day, cold smoke a chilled log of goat cheese for 1 to 2 hours using a pellet smoke tube in a smoker with the heat off, keeping it below 90°F. Wrap it and rest it in the fridge for at least 24 hours so the smoke mellows. Serve it with honey, herbs and crackers.
Smoked goat cheese is tangy, creamy and gently smoky, and it is one of the easiest ways to impress on a cheese board. Because fresh goat cheese melts at low temperatures, it has to be cold smoked: smoke without heat. A cheap pellet smoke tube makes this simple in any smoker or grill.
What is cold smoking?
Cold smoking flavors food with smoke at temperatures low enough that it does not cook. For cheese, the smoker must stay below about 90°F, or the cheese will soften, sweat and lose its shape. A pellet tube or maze produces a slow trickle of smoke for hours with almost no heat. Cool weather helps a lot, and on warmer days a tray of ice in the chamber keeps the temperature down.
Why rest it?
Straight from the smoker, cheese can taste harsh and acrid. Wrapping it and leaving it in the fridge for at least a day lets the smoke flavor mellow and spread evenly through the cheese. Harder cheeses like cheddar benefit from a week or more, but soft goat cheese is best within a few days.
Recipe
Smoked Goat Cheese
- Prep
- 10 min
- Cook
- 1 hr 30 min
- Rest
- 24 hr
- Total
- 25 hr 40 min
- Makes
- 8 oz (225 g) of smoked cheese
- Keep the smoker below 90°F (32°C)
- Cold smoke for 1 to 2 hours
- Rest in the fridge for at least 24 hours
Ingredients
- 1 log (8 oz / 225 g) fresh goat cheese, well chilled
- 1 tbsp honey, to serve
- 1 tbsp chopped fresh herbs, such as thyme, chives or rosemary
- Cracked black pepper
- Crackers, figs or toasted bread, to serve
Equipment
- Smoker or grill with the burner off
- Pellet smoke tube or maze
- Fruitwood pellets, such as apple or cherry
- Small rack or mesh tray
- Thermometer for the smoker temperature
Method
- Choose a cool day, ideally below 60°F (16°C) outside. Keep the cheese in the fridge until the last moment.
- Fill a pellet smoke tube or maze with apple or cherry pellets, light one end and let it flame for 5 to 10 minutes, then blow it out so it smolders.
- Place the tube in your smoker or grill with the heat source off, and check that the chamber stays below 90°F (32°C).
- Unwrap the goat cheese, set it on a small rack and smoke it for 1 to 2 hours, turning it halfway.
- Wrap the cheese tightly in plastic wrap or parchment and refrigerate for at least 24 hours to let the smoke mellow.
- Serve drizzled with honey, rolled in herbs and pepper, with crackers and fresh figs.
Notes
- If the smoker goes above 90°F, the cheese softens and sweats. Put a tray of ice in the chamber on warmer days.
- Smoked goat cheese keeps for about 1 week in the fridge, well wrapped.
Serving ideas
- Drizzled with honey and herbs on a board with smoked figs.
- Crumbled over a smoked beet salad.
- Spread on toast with smoked tomato jam.
Frequently asked questions
Can I hot smoke goat cheese?
Not on its own, as it will melt. You can smoke it hot in a dish as part of a dip or baked appetizer.
How long should I smoke goat cheese?
1 to 2 hours is plenty. Soft cheese absorbs smoke quickly.
What wood is best for smoking cheese?
Mild fruit woods such as apple and cherry. Hickory and mesquite can overpower delicate cheese.