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!!
Natalie
I must show this smoker to my husband. He loves good smoked foods. And this brie… OMG! I love brie, it’s one of my favorite cheese. This smoked version sounds super delicious.
Homemade & Yummy
Smoked brie is over the top delicious for sure. Hope you give it a try.
Dan from Platter Talk
We love brie and have used it several times as a baked appetizer (in puff pastry). I’ve never even considered throwing it on a grill but now I can’t wait to try this technique! Thanks for sharing!!
Homemade & Yummy
ENJOY…you are going to love it!!
Dana
Brie is, hands down, one of my most favorite cheeses. Add to that the fact that I love smoked cheese, this recipe is a total dreeeeeeeam. My husband has a smoker, so I’m totally getting him to help me out in trying this! I can’t wait!
Homemade & Yummy
ENJOY….and you don’t even need a smoked…just a tray with pellets.
Nicolas Hortense
Smoked Cheese!! Omg no I have never tried that before! I always see it with meat but never with cheese. that grilling class sounds awesome! I am certainly intrigued by this And I hope I can try it sometime (:
Homemade & Yummy
This is such a fun and tasty experiment…I hope you give it a try.
Heather
(mouth hanging open!) I had NO idea you could smoke your own cheese!! I have a smoker that I use all the time and never once thought about adding cheese to the party. Super helpful tutorial and super great idea to try!!
Homemade & Yummy
Give it a try…you will see how easy and delicious it really is.
swathi
I like smoked brie, it is best appetizer I have ever eaten, I love your way of making smoked brie. It is perfectly done to bring out best flavor.
Homemade & Yummy
This is a fun recipe…and perfect for entertaining.
Mirlene
Would have loved to be a member of that party. I love cheese of shy kind. And this one tops it all!
Homemade & Yummy
HAHAH…well we finished it off at a party yesterday…so good.
Claire
This sounded too good to be true!!!!! I just had to try it!
And Man am I glad I did. SOOOOOO GOOD!!!
It disappeared very quickly and everyone wanted to know why I did make 2!
Homemade & Yummy
So glad you tried it. This is a great entertaining cheese recipe for sure.
Carmy
I AM HERE FOR THIS CHEESE! I’ve never done cold smoking but for this cheese, I will bring the grill out and try my hand at it. It looks absolutely delicious and I want a slice ASAP!
Homemade & Yummy
We just finished it off at a party this afternoon. It was a HUGE hit.
Tammy
I LOVE this idea! Brie is one of my absolutely favorite cheeses…this smoked version is wonderful especially with a little fruit spread…perfection!
Homemade & Yummy
This is the perfect appetizer for any party. Always a hit.
Noel Lizotte
Talk about fancy made simple! I can now impress all my friends with homemade goodies! They’ll think I spent a fortune on snacks, when in reality, it just takes a little time.
Homemade & Yummy
YES…and I know for sure they will be impressed.
Stef
I never even remotely considered that you could make smoked cheeses at home nor have I ever had a smoked brie. I am so intrigued. I can’t even imagine how good this would taste. Sending this link to my husband in hopes that he’ll make it for me!
Homemade & Yummy
Well I hope that he does. I know you will LOVE it.
Michelle
I always wondered how smoked cheese was done, thank you for your tutorial I will definitely try it out soon.
Homemade & Yummy
ENJOY…this is fun and delicious recipe to entertain with.
April
Smoked cheese sounds soooo darn good! I was thinking as I read the post how does cheese get smoked without it melting lol. Thanks for the little cheese smoking lesson. If I had a smoker I’d surely try this out!
Homemade & Yummy
HAHA…we did our when it was a million degrees outside….it worked…but be had to watch it. One a nice cool day, this would not even be an issue. Hope you give this a try.
Samantha H.
I’ve been wanting to try smoking cheese! I need to get the cold smoking attachments before I try it though, since my smoker doesn’t go low enough. I will save this recipe for when I do :).
Homemade & Yummy
You don’t turn the heat on in the smoker…this is COLD smoked, only using the heat that comes off the pellets.