Who cut the cheese?

[DParker]

Did you ever eat your cheese?

Oh, yeah...I forgot. So I didn't go with the 2-days-after-smoking taste test, but waited 1 whole week instead. I opted for that because the smell from even the 2-hour smoked batch (which didn't seal properly, and was letting odor escape until I put it in a zip-loc baggie) was still pretty intense after 48 hours. So this past Saturday I opened both vac-packs and the wife and I tried a small sample from just the Swiss block from each (because Swiss was one of the mildest varieties, and I figured if it wasn't overpowered by smoke then they'd all be OK). We both agreed that the 4-hour version could still use some more time, but that the 2-hour one would be OK to eat now (and was quite good). But we're still giving both one more week just to see what happens.

[bluecat]

Thanks, I just happened across a pamphlet I'd squirreled away some time ago regarding smoking times for various cuts of meat. They listed cheese as 30 minutes.

I'd also be interested in what cheeses you liked smoked. I like mild cheese but found the smoke sort of dominated the subtle flavors. So I've kind of settled with cheddar as it seems to take the smoke as a compliment whereas the Havarti, Swiss didn't.

It would be a good experiment to try those cheeses again but this time just smoke an hour or less.

[DParker]

I'd also be interested in what cheeses you liked smoked.

Well, I like the 2-hour Swiss so far. And smoked Gouda has always been popular in my house, so I'm sure we'll like that. I'm least sure about the Mozzarella, for the same reason you mentioned (I'm concerned the smoke will obliterate the flavor). But, we'll see.

[DParker]

So long as we're talking food, I need to vent.



Even ignoring the beans...bell pepper, cabbage, orange juice and BBQ sauce?! But he put 1 tsp of chili powder in his pot of random-ingredient soup, so that magically makes it "chili", right? My star-spangled ass! Here, look at this spaghetti I made. Yeah, it's instant ramen noodles covered in V8 Juice, but that's my spaghetti recipe!

And I've been wanting to experiment with using the pressure cooker for chili, so sat up last night scouring YouTube to see if anyone had pressure cooked anything even remotely resembling actual chili, just to get an idea about how much time it took.

The results? Nothing but weapons-grade failure. Vegan "chili". Quinoa "chili". Pretty-much-nothing-but-bean-soup "chili". Frank Tolbert and Wick Fowler are both spinning in their graves like the props on a P-38 over Berlin.

[Swamp Fox]

"Beans belong in chili."

----Change my mind.

[bluecat]

That's a collection of craziness. Orange Juice, brown sugar, brats?

[Swamp Fox]

Let me guess: He's from Cincinnati.

[DParker]

Let me guess: He's from Cincinnati.

No cinnamon and he didn't boil any hamburger, so I'm going with no. And the beans were the least of his transgressions.

[Swamp Fox]

Close to Philadelphia, but on the Ohio side of things?

[DParker]

"Beans belong in chili."