Smoked cheese
Homemade cheese is an excellent idea for a delicious Easter dish! It’s very easy to make, and its appearance is sure to impress your guests. The smoked version we’ve prepared pairs perfectly with cranberries. When you taste homemade smoked cheese, you’ll feel as if you were enjoying authentic Podhale oscypek. Shaping the cheese as a lamb makes it even more irresistible. The delightful aroma that beech imparts during smoking will make smoked cheeses a frequent guest in your kitchen.
Notes
Recipe for homemade smoked lamb-shaped cheeses
Preparation:
Heat the milk to 38°C, add the rennet, and stir briefly but vigorously. Turn off the heat and leave for 1 hour to allow the curd to form. After this time, cut the curd into cubes about 2 cm on a side. You can also cut the cubes diagonally. Gently stir everything. Transfer the curd to a cheesecloth, then hang it up to drain and leave it overnight on a sieve at room temperature. The next day, pour water into a pot and heat it to 75–80°C. Cut the cheese into pieces of about 120–130 g (so they fit into the lamb mold). Place them, piece by piece (ideally in a cloth so they don’t fall apart), into the hot water and scald them in batches several times. After each scalding (about 1 minute), press each portion to remove as much whey as possible. When the texture in the center starts to resemble slightly stretchy modeling clay, place it in one half of the lamb-shaped mold, press down, and cover with the other half of the mold, pressing firmly as well. After cooling (for 30 minutes), gently remove the lambs and immerse them in brine for 2 hours. Pat dry, then place in the smoker. Smoke for 2–3 hours over beech smoke at 30–45°C, until a golden-brown color is achieved.
