We had never smoked fontina. That idea was sparked by conversations about pizzas and how I'd never experienced smoked fontina. But I imagined that it would be amazing, especially on a pizza. When I was at the cheese counter I spied a nice fontina. Then I spotted a simple brie cheese. I had never made or seen smoked brie before. I picked up a wedge. Now I was smoking a couple of cheeses. I looked around some more and discovered a soft gorgonzola dolce and a rich taleggio. I had smoked neither of them. It appears that I have been lax in my smoke everything endeavor.
I arranged my collection of cheeses on board and set up our tube smoker. I cold smoked the cheeses for several hours, flipping them occasionally and smelling them for levels of smoke. I removed the cheeses from our smoker and wrapped them in plastic wrap to mature for several days. I find smoking foods and then letting them rest allows the smoke to penetrate and mellow into the ingredients. In the coming days we will be tasting and exploring uses of these newly smoked cheeses.
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