Smoked Cheese
Description
Another fun summer experiment, that worked! Brock sourced out some hay, and then set to smoking a couple of balls of mozzarella – the cheese would be brilliant on it’s own but he also grilled some tomatoes for an ‘over-the-top’ variation of a caprese salad. The idea is straight from Steven Raichlen’s book, ‘Project Smoke’, and below is what Brock did – enjoy!
Ingredients
1 ball (225g to 500 g) fresh mozzarella, patted dry
hay for smoking
the rest of your ingredients for a caprese salad OR any combination of goodies so that this can be used as an appetizer
Instructions
Preheat your smoker to 200 and while it’s heating, leave the cheese out so that it can come to room temperature.
When the smoker has come to temperature, place the cheese on the (oiled) grate, toss a big handful of hay onto the coals and close the smoker. Smoke the cheese until it’s colored with smoke and soft but not melted – this will take 2 to 5 minutes depending on how large your ball of cheese is.
Slide a spatula under the cheese to remove it – if you touch it with your fingers, the smoke color will come off! You can cool the cheese, refrigerate it and serve it later (but why the heck would you?), warm, soft and gooey off the smoker definitely gives maximum flavor.
