Cold Smoked Cheese Easy Brie Appetizer might just be the hit of your next party. Take your wine and cheese party in a whole new and very interesting direction.
Wood pellets, a cold smoker box, and some great brie produce the best smoked cheese you have ever tasted. You might also want to make this easy cheese log too.
When I first tried cold smoked brie at one of the many grilling classes we have attended, I was hooked. Even my husband (who is not a brie lover) thought the smoked cheese appetizer was REALLY good.
I am so glad I can convert those taste buds of his to enjoy the good things in life. Have you tried smoked apples?
Have you tried smoked cheddar? We often have it in the house, especially when Costco puts it on sale.
RECIPE and INSTRUCTIONS for this smoked cheese recipe are at the bottom of the post.
Once we found out how to make it ourselves, there is no need to buy it anymore.
It is easy to do and gives you the option to try lots of other cold smoked cheese recipes. The different combinations of paring woods and cheeses are endless.
Totally different than pit smoking. If you know anything about hot smoking, controlling the temperature is vital. My husband loves his Flame Boss 300 WiFi.
What Is Cold Smoked Cheese?
If you have ever bought smoked cheese at the store you know it can be expensive. Flavour is added to cheese with the help of wood chips or pellets using a low temperature.
The cheese is not cooked but infused with a smokey flavour from the outside. What a great way to add some personality and elevate the taste of humble cheese. Take ordinary cheese and make it extraordinary.
For this cold smoked cheese recipe, we re-created the originally smoked brie appetizer we had at our cooking class.
Did you know that Canada has some fantastic cheese? Look for the Dairy Farmers of Canada logo next time you shop for your selection of cheese.
There are several methods to cold smoke cheese. You can use a gas grill or charcoal grill. My hubby is a BBQ fanatic (yup he has all the toys).
For this brie appetizer, he used a KEG charcoal grill (minus the charcoal). When we smoked cheese in class it was done on a gas grill (minus the heat).
So, you may ask if there is NO HEAT involved, how do you smoke cheese? You use a container called a smoker box.
Some can be tubes, others can be DIY foil pouches. In both our cooking class and our own cheese smoking, we used a cold smoking tray by *(affiliate) *A-Maze-N.
The Cold Smoking Process
- choose your cheese (bring it to room temperature prior to smoking)
- choose your wood pellet flavour (we used apple, more info below)
- fill your smoking container with the pellets
- place inside the grill and light
- close lid (for several minutes) to start the smoking process
- add the cheese on the rack (not too close to the smoker box, you don’t want the cheese to melt from the heat)
- monitor the heat inside the grill (you want to keep it under 90 degrees F)
- continue to smoke till you reach your desired level of flavour (hard cheeses will take longer than soft cheeses)
Cold smoking on a cool day is ideal. It makes it much easier to control the temperature inside the grill. The day we smoked our cheese it was a million degrees outside.
How long does it take to cold smoke cheese? Hubby cold smoked the brie for 80 minutes. Depending on the outside temperature, and the type of cheese you choose, you can cold smoke anywhere from 30 minutes to 4 hours.
Can you freeze smoked cheese? Yes, but I would only freeze HARD cheeses. Make sure they are wrapped REALLY WELL (vacuum sealing is ideal) to prevent freezer burn. You can usually keep it for about 2 months in the freezer.
Can you eat smoked cheese right away? The flavour of the cheese right off the grill will be milder than when you store it in the fridge. In fact, just like fine wine (and women LOL) if you can let it sit for a week or so, the flavour will be over the top fantastic. Be sure to wrap it tightly in plastic wrap.
Of course, when you smoke brie, how can you not eat it right away? Warm, gooey and delicious the absolute BEST time to eat it!!
Best Cheese To Smoke
This is the fun part (along with choosing the wood flavours). Just about any cheese that will not fall apart will work. Large blocks of cheese should be cut into smaller pieces (but DO NOT cut the brie). That would be a tragedy!
- Brie
- Mozzarella
- Monterey Jack
- Gouda
- Swiss
- Gruyere
As for the best wood for smoking, there are lots of flavour profiles to choose from.
You can go from mild (like apple and cherry) to strong (like hickory and mesquite). The choices are ALL personal preference. Lots of tasty options for your eating pleasure.
This home smoked cheese was our Sunday afternoon appetizer. Paired perfectly with wine (who would have thought LOL). Who would have thought of making cheese on the grill?
Sliced nice and warm, runny wedges of goodness, put them on some crackers (or straight to my mouth). Piled on some spicy wine jam, added some charcuterie meats, and called it dinner.
If you like warm cheese, mini stuffed peppers make a GREAT party starter. Have you ever tried Grilled Shishito Peppers? They have a nice smokey flavour, and totally addictive. You won’t be able to eat just one.
This easy cheese appetizer would be perfect with roasted eggplant slices. Easy finger food for bbq parties.
From appetizers like Strawberry Bruschetta to desserts like Watermelon Pizza or Grilled Balsamic Strawberries, cheese seems to be a common denominator in many recipes. Have you ever tried baked feta and strawberries? So good!
Cold Smoked Cheese Easy Brie Appetizer certainly will be happening a few more times (all year long).
Want more appetizers cooked on the grill? Here are a few to try this summer for your bbq parties!
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Cold Smoked Cheese Easy Brie Appetizer
Ingredients
- 21 ounces Brie cheese wheel (brought to room temperature)
- Crackers (optional)
- Toppings (optional)
Instructions
To Smoke:
- Fill your smoker container with your choice of pellets.
- Place inside your grill, and ignite. Close the lid for a few minutes to create some smoke.
- Place the room temperature cheese on the grill (not near the smoker container).
- Close the lid, and smoke until your desired level of flavour. We smoked ours for about 80 minutes. **NOTE** Be sure the internal temperature of your grill stays under 90ºF…YOU DON’T WANT TO COOK/MELT THE CHEESE.
To Serve:
- When done, remove from grill.
- Place on a board, along with a cheese knife, crackers, meats, and toppings.
- ENJOY!!
Sondria
We love cheese in this house. I love this idea of adding the smoky flavor to the cheese. I need to make this for my next party.
Homemade & Yummy
Hope you give it a try…you guests will love it.
Kylee
oh my goodness!! You just took “delicious cheese” to a WHOLE other level. I wish I could have a bite, right now!
Homemade & Yummy
I am serving this to my guests today.
Melissa
Oh my word this sounds incredible!!!! I am a cheese lover, it is actually close to addiction (ha!). My hubby has a smoker and I have never thought of doing cheese on it!!! We are supposed to have a nice weather day tomorrow so I better go get myself some cheese tonight to smoke up. Yum, thanks so much for sharing this!
Homemade & Yummy
This is a fun and interesting way to enjoy cheese…once you give this a try you won’t buy smoked cheese at the store again.
Armelle Dee
OOh, I never saw this or heard of this before. This is an eye opening. I adore this cheese smoking idea
Homemade & Yummy
Hope you give this fun little cheese experiment an try. Takes cheese to a whole new level of yum.
Julia
Wow, it actually is easy! I honestly thought it would be terribly complicated. We do have a smoker (that I won from a blogger giveaway a few years ago) which we used just once and it’s now covered with dust in our garage. But using our normal grill sounds like a much easier way! I am actually going to try and convince my husband to buy that smoker tray. I think it sounds amazing! Thanks for sharing, Gloria! (PS. I also love Costco’s smoked cheese, got 3 packages since they were on sale last week)
Homemade & Yummy
Once you give this a try with the smoker tray, you won’t be buying smoked cheese again. This is so easy.
Alexis
I never thought to do this with cheese, thank you for the inspiration.
Homemade & Yummy
I know…so cool right? Hope you give this a try.
Tina
Smoked gouda is probably my favorite smoked cheese. I didn’t know it was this easy. I have a smoker and I think this would be perfect in the Fall or Winter here, to control the heat. I’m going to have to do this, I really enjoy smoked macaroni and cheese and smoked cheese is a great way to get that smokiness into your pasta dishes. Thanks for sharing this fabulous tutorial, very helpful!
Homemade & Yummy
Well since the heat IS NOT turned on in the grill, controlling the temperature is not difficult. We did it on a VERY HOT day outside, so that ALONE was heating things up.
Jacqueline Debono
I love brie but have never tried smoked brie. It looks and sounds scrumptious!
Homemade & Yummy
Yes it sure is delicous.
Cathleen
I agree!! I love looking for the Canadian cheeses. I absolutely love brie, so I would be ALL over this!
Homemade & Yummy
Well hubby never liked brie before, but if it is made this why…he eats it! So good!!
mydeliciousmeals
This looks absolutely delicious, I love smoked cheese on sandwiches and crackers. I often buy smoked gouda, because it’s not as pricey as other types of cheese. This looks like a great way to change up brie. Thanks for the detailed instructions.
Homemade & Yummy
This makes such a great appetizer…hope you give it a try.
Shobee
Brie Cheese is my daughter’s favorite and yes, adding personality by smoking is a perfect idea.
Homemade & Yummy
Both my daughters LOVE brie too. This is a winner!!
Veena Azmanov
I love brie cheese and this sounds like an absolute treat. My whole family would feast on this for a great weekend Brunch or dinner. You make it look so easy.
Homemade & Yummy
This is really easy…and super delicious. Hope you give it a try.
Constance Smith
Okay now really – why haven’t I thought of doing this??? We have a smoker and I loved smoked cheese! Thanks for the genius idea!
Homemade & Yummy
Well there you go. A nice experiment for the weekend. ENJOY!
Marisa Franca
Hubby is the grill expert as well as our sons. I’m going to have to share this post with them. We love smoked cheeses and it would be fantastic if we could make our own. This Fall would be a great time to do it. I haven’t tried smoked brie although I’ve had quite a few smoked cheeses. We love our brie so this would be nice to surprise the family at the next gathering.
Homemade & Yummy
Hope you give this super easy to do recipe a try. Smoking in cooler weather is perfect…but we still manage to do in the heat of summer too.
Claudia Lamascolo
We just bought a smoker recently. I didnt even thikc about trying to smoke cheese until this. I love smoked provolone and brie is a favorite melty spread. Wow this is genius!
Homemade & Yummy
You really need to give this recipe a try. Once you smoke your own cheese, store bought will be history.