Step 1

Soak a few handfuls of hardwood chips in water for about 45 minutes before smoking. You can use any flavor you like: hickory, oak, mesquite, etc.

Step 2

Meanwhile, a heaping handful of hardwood chunks or hardwood lump charcoal in a small pan or tin plate. Light on fire until they are white before you start. For this recipe I used oak hardwood lump charcoal.

Step 3

Once those are white, go ahead and set the plate at the farthest point away from the grill grates as you can on your smoker/grill and place it on the opposite side of where you'll be placing your cheese on the grill for indirect heat.

Step 4

Add a couple chunks of apple wood (you can use any fruit wood here or your wood preference), onto the hardwood lump and then a good handful of the soaked wood chips Close the door and make sure all your vents are wide open to create good smoke!

Step 5

Fill an aluminum pan with ice and place a wire rack over it. Place the cheese on top. Place the pan on the indirect heat side of the grill. Close the lid and make sure the vents are open for more circulation.

Step 6

Note: If you don't have a grill where you can alter the level of your grill grates and/or coal pan, one of the easiest ways to do this is with disposable aluminum pans. Flip 1 pan upside down and place the cheese pan on top, which creates more height (see video for details.

Step 7

At the 1 hour mark flip the cheeses over. Also, this is a good time to add more soaked wood chips to increase the smoking and check to see if you need to add more ice to the tray. Check on the cheese about every 1/2 hour to 45 minutes to make sure the ice is still good and we're still getting some good smoke. Add in more chips or chunks as needed just be sure you're getting smoke but not too much heat.

Step 8

Smoke softer cheese for about 2 hours and harder cheeses for about 2 1/2 to 3 hours.

Step 9

Remove the cheese from the smoker and let cool before placing in a bag and placing in the refrigerator. I recommend you leaving it in the fridge for 6 hours or overnight. The longer it sets the more smoke flavor absorbs.