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!!
Sam
I love the flavour of smoked cheese (I am obsessed wtih smoked gouda), but never thought I could smoke it myself! This sounds amazing! Can’t wait to try it with brie, yummm
Homemade & Yummy
YES….and you can try all different types of cheese…and different pellets to get lots of great results.
Anne Murphy
I never heard of smoked brie but I’ve enjoyed other smoked cheese – and just got a new gas grill. Hmm… I’m going to have to play with this! (Love all your suggestions for other combos!)
Homemade & Yummy
Well you don’t HEAT the grill…only the heat from the pellets. Hope you give this fun recipe a try.
lauren
This is super cool! I’ve never thought about smoking my own cheese, what a great idea! We recently got one of those egg smokers, I wonder if I could use that. I’ll have to give it a try, smoky brie needs to be a part of my life!
Homemade & Yummy
Any BBQ will work, you are NOT heating the grill….just the heat from the pellets in the container!!
Liren
I learned something new today! I can’t wait to try this cold smoke technique, thanks for such an interesting post!
Homemade & Yummy
ENJOY…this is great for BBQ parties.
Shelley
This is such a terrific post! First, because the smoked brie looks amazing – I adore cheese, and this is something I’ve just GOTTA try! But beyond that, I really appreciated the great photos and in-depth how-to info – so that even someone like me (who’s never cold-smoked anything ever before!) – could feel confident giving it a try! Fantastic – thank you for the helpful tips!
Homemade & Yummy
YES…it is so easy. Hope you give this a try. It is AMAZING….and the perfect entertaining cheese!! Your guests will want more,
Julie
I had no idea you could cold smoke in a gas grill! What a cool idea.
Homemade & Yummy
YES…since there is NO HEAT from the grill….any grill will work.
Kristen King
I might need to try this because I’m usually not into brie. What a great idea! And grilling classes sound really fun!
Homemade & Yummy
Well my husband is not a brie lover either, but he does like it done this way. Give it a try.
Megan @ MegUnprocessed
This sounds like it has so much flavor!
Homemade & Yummy
It sure takes cheese to a whole new level of yum!!
Carolyn
I love the idea of smoked brie, I feel like it would compliment the flavors so well!
Homemade & Yummy
Hope you give this super delicious cheese recipe a try.
Donna
Ha I was literally at Costco yesterday and my husband made me buy the smoked cheese because apparently he had it on a burger recently and it was the most amazing thing ever. I haven’t tried it yet, but now I am excited. I never even thought about doing it at home, but I always love experimenting with food at home, so this is right up my alley. Thanks for all the tips, this is definitely something we will be trying out!
Homemade & Yummy
Well now you can experiement at home…works really well. We did a bit of old cheddar too.
Linda
This is such a great idea! We just got a Traeger grill, so am excited to try this method.
Homemade & Yummy
Have fun….this is a great party appetizer.
Shobee
Wooow, I would think that the cheese would melt when it is smoked,but it looks like it is not the case. Will try this as soon as we can,
Homemade & Yummy
The only heat is from the pellets creating the smoke. You are NOT cooking the cheese. ENJOY!
Sean@Diversivore
I love love love smoked cheeses! In fact, I’ve done one myself, though it was a hilariously last-second idea. I had just smoked something on the barbecue and when I took the wood chip packet (wrapped in foil) off the barbecue, it was clearly mid-way through ideal smoking period. Not wanting to waste it, I grabbed a big piece of cheddar, threw the wood chips in a metal bowl and put the cheese on a little metal stand over top of it. I didn’t know if it would work, but MAN was it ever good! So when I saw this, I was thinking “YES. BRIE. That’s next.” So three cheers for smoked cheese!
Homemade & Yummy
This is the perfect entertaining cheese. So easy, so delicious….so “fancy” without any effort.
Gabby
Yum! I love smoked cheese and will love learning how to make our own with this wonderful recipe. it’s only a new find for me but I don’t think I can ever go back.
Homemade & Yummy
I know my daughters cannot get enough of this. It has quickly become the favourite party appetizer.
Stephanie
This looks like such an easy appetizer! I love brie, too! It’s so yummy 🙂
Homemade & Yummy
It sure is easy and delicious. Hope you give it a try. If you love brie, you will LOVE this.