Cheddar is my favourite type of cheese. I tried shop bought smoked cheddar, but I found the taste quite mild, so I decided to make it at home. Full disclosure: hubby smoked the cheese, as using the BBQ is his domain. The whole process will last for 3 hours.

You’ll need some smoking chips. Hubby found these at a B&Q and they seemed very interesting; made from whiskey barrels. I think that oak will give you a nice flavour but you can try other wood types, like apple.

First light some chips and when they are well lit up it’s time to start. Don’t let them burn for too long as they will get hot and you want to keep them at a lower temperature. Or else your cheese will cook instead of just smoking.

Put your cheddar on the BBQ and then place the lid. Because the chips won’t have any oxygen to burn, the fire will extinguish itself. Eventually the smoke inside the lid will dissipate so you’ll have to reignite the chips from time to time (~15 minutes intervals).

Flip the cheese every 30-45 minutes to smoke it evenly and to prevent it from cooking.

If you are like me you’d want to eat it then but you’ll have to wait. The smoked cheddar needs some time to absorb all the flavour. Leave it for 1 week in the fridge. I’ve sealed it in zip bags and I wrote the date on them.

The cheddar is finally ready to serve.

I hope you liked my recipe. Is it something that you did or you’d like to try?