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Oh, yes, people laughed when I brought up the idea of smoking Velveeta. “Why?” “Are you insane?” You name it, I heard it. But I was not deterred. In my mind I had already tasted smoked Velveeta mac-and-cheese and grilled cheese sandwiches. And they tasted fantastic.
Amazingly Delicious
I used the exact same process that I use for cold smoking cheese blocks except that I froze the Velveeta overnight first. Velveeta gets soft even at room temperature. By freezing it I was helping to guarantee that it didn’t melt on a smoker. And it didn’t! It came out absolutely amazing! Next time, I’m loading up my smoker big time with Velveeta! This stuff is awesome!
I use a smoke tube when cold smoking. It gives me perfect control over the temperature and produces consistent smoke. I buy wood pellets (I used apple) and fill the tube completely, then light one end. The tube stays lit for a few hours, perfect for smoking cheese or anything else that doesn’t need higher heat. I highly recommend it. It’s also great for adding smoke flavor to dishes being cooked on a gas grill.
The first thing I made with smoked Velvetta was, of course, macaroni and cheese!
Smoked Velveeta
Ingredients
- 1 pound Velveeta
Instructions
- Unwrap the Velveeta. Place on a plate and place in the freezer for at least 24 hours.
- Fire up your smoker for cold smoking.
- Make sure you keep the temperature below 90 F, and preferably at 70 F.
- Place the Velveeta on a grate or in a disposable pan and transfer to the smoker.
- Smoke for 30 minutes to 2 hours depending on how strong you want the smoke flavor. If the cheese begins to sweat wipe it dry and make sure the temperature is staying low.
- Remove from the smoker and let cool completely. Place in a vacuum sealer bag or resealable bag and close. Refrigerate for at least 2 weeks before using.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional values are approximate.
The idea of freezing the cheese overnight is interesting. What I would do is put the cheese block on a grate over a container of ice cubes and I would rotate the cheese 180° halfway through the smoke. The ice cubes are obviously not necessary for Harder cheeses. All of the cheeses I have smoked so far have been about four hours and no complaints about over smoky taste.
Fortunately, where I live at this time of the year we’re hovering around the freezing mark and I can smoke cheese from late fall to late spring without any fear of exceeding even 60° in the smoke smoker and it’s out of direct sunlight which is a huge bonus.