I’m so excited to share this recipe with you guys, I have been making this cheese since over a year and kept it to myself, until now.
I can’t find words powerful enough to express how much I love this cheese. Honestly, I love it even more than my camembert and blue cheeses, even if they take more time and effort to make. There is just something about it, maybe the comforting smoky smell, the strong umami flavor, or its golden brown color, but this cheese just hit me. And I’m sure you will love it too if you give it a try.
It’s the kind of cheese that brings back memories of smoked cheddar or even bacon. This smoked cheese is seriously delicious. The natural smoking process gives it a warm, comforting flavor you can’t get with flavorings like liquid smoke or smoked salt for example. It is aged for a total of 3 weeks, smoked after two and edible one week after the smoking process. If you can wait for one-two additional weeks it will be worth it as the flavors gain in complexity as time passes.
The advantage of this recipe is that it doesn’t require any specific mold. Just 4 ingredients: cashews, white miso, nutritional yeast and acidophilus (or mesophilic culture). You don’t even have to take care of the temperature or humidity that much compared to my previous cheese recipes.
It starts just like any basic cashew cheese, you let the cashews soak overnight and then blend them with the cultures until smooth. I also added some nutritional yeast and white miso, it gives them a more pronounced nutty flavor. My first tries didn’t include them and something was missing, so don’t omit those two ingredients.
Once your cheeses are formed, you let them age for at least 2 weeks. They will firm up, flavors will develop and they will become sharper. After two weeks they should be firm enough to handle and smoke.
To smoke this cheese, I used a Camerons stovetop smoker, I was hesitating to buy one at first but I don’t regret it at all because you can smoke many things in it. Stay tuned for a post on how to use a stovetop smoker!
The smoking process is super easy. You sprinkle a tablespoon of wood chips in the bottom of the smoker, add the grid and place the cheeses on top. Then close the lid and heat over medium heat for about 12 minutes. That’s it.
After 10-12 minutes, they should be golden brown. At this step they will be very soft because of the heat, let them sit at least 30 minutes before transferring to a clean grid or bamboo mat.
They are not edible right after the smoking process, the smoky taste would be too strong, that’s why you need to let them age for at least another 7 days. It will allow the smoke to penetrate the interior of the cheeses and let the flavors merge. I like to wait 2-3 weeks after smoking, they become firmer and taste even better.
You can serve it on its own, or with roasted nuts, a drizzle of maple syrup, jam or apple slices. It goes very well with whole wheat bread, crackers, and you can even use it in other recipes like burgers, sandwiches, dressing, and more!
Everyone who tried it loved it, non-vegans included so I urge you to try it now, you won’t be disappointed! As always, let me know in the comments if you try this recipe!
Hickory Smoked Vegan Cheese
Aged cashew cheese that is real smoked over hickory wood chips. Smoky, buttery and full of complex flavors.
Yield: 3 Cheeses 1x
Print Recipe
Pin RecipeIngredients
- 4 cups raw cashews, soaked overnight
- 3 tbsp sweet white miso
- 3 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 4 tbsp filtered water
- 8 capsules acidophilus (or 1/8 tsp mesophilic culture)
- sea salt
- 2 tbsp hickory wood chips
Instructions
Making the cheeses
- Drain the soaked cashews and place them in a large glass bowl. Bring a pot of water to a boil and pour over the cashews. Let sit 1 minute, and drain. This step is not essential but will kill possible bad bacterias.
- Transfer the cashews to a blender, or food processor. Add the white miso, nutritional yeast, and filtered water. Blend on high speed, scraping down the sides from time to time, until you get a very smooth, yet thick texture. If needed, add 1 tablespoon of water at a time until smooth. Do not add too much water, you want to use as least as possible otherwise the cheese will be too soft.
- Stir in the acidophilus powder from the capsules (or use mesophilic culture) and blend again for a few seconds.
- Transfer the cashew mixture into a cheesecloth and pull it tight. Add a weight above it and let sit at room temperature for about 24 hours. I placed the cheesecloth in a colander on top of a bowl. This step is important to start the fermentation of the cashew cream and drain possible excess water.
- After one day, the cashew cream should have a slightly sour, lemony taste, like fresh cream cheese. Transfer to a clean bowl, cover with plastic film to touch and place in the refrigerator for about 4 hours.
- Cut strips of parchment paper and lay them in 3 4-inch springform pans. You want to cover the sides and bottom of the springform pans, you can also use plastic film if you prefer. The goal is to prevent the cheese from sticking to the metal. Fill the pans with the mixture and press it down using plastic film so it doesn’t stick to your hands. Cover the pans with plastic film to touch and place in the refrigerator for 2 days.
- Then, carefully remove the cheeses from the springform pans and place them on a plate or small baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Salt both sides with about 1/4 tsp of salt. Do the same for the sides. Use your finger to gently spread the salt on the surface of the cheese.
- Place the cheeses in your refrigerator.
Aging
- The next day, your cheeses will have lost some water thanks to the salt. Pat them dry with a paper towel if they are too wet, and replace the parchment paper with a new one.
- For the next 2 weeks, flip the cheeses every day and change the parchment paper regularly if it becomes wet. Note: Cheeses should always be aged in your refrigerator, not at room temperature. At first, the cheeses will be very soft but as they age they will become firmer. If you see some mold appearing, just scrape it off and re-salt the area.
Smoking
- After two weeks, your cheeses should be firm enough to handle, if they are not I recommend you let them age another week.
- Place one tablespoon of hickory wood chips in the bottom of the stovetop smoker. Place the drip and cooking trays on top of the wood chips. You can now place two cheeses on the cooking rack.
- Heat the smoker over low-medium heat on a stovetop burner. Once smoke starts to appear, close the lid of the smoker completely and smoke the cheese for about 12 minutes. Some smoke will escape from the smoker, that’s normal. I usually carefully flip the cheeses halfway through smoking but it’s not essential.
- After 12 minutes, the cheeses should be golden brown. Remove the smoker from heat and let cool for at least 30 minutes. The cheeses will be very soft because of the heat, so be careful when handling them.
- Transfer to a bamboo mat or clean grid and place in the refrigerator. Let it age for one more week, flipping every 2-3 days. If you are patient enough, I recommend you let the cheeses age for 2-3 weeks after the smoking process, the flavors will merge and the cheese will become even firmer.
- This smoked cheese is delicious on its own, or with crackers, whole-wheat bread, a drizzle of maple syrup, jam, nuts, or fruits. It can also be used in other recipes like grilled cheese sandwiches, risotto, hamburgers, etc.
Notes
To make this recipe, you will need a stovetop smoker. I recommend the Gourmet Mini from Camerons.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 oz (29g)
- Calories: 125
- Sugar: 1g
- Fat: 10g
- Carbohydrates: 3g
- Fiber: 0.5g
- Protein: 4.4g
The cheese looks so wonderful … I want to break into the screen and steal it …
I do not have hickory chips, can I replace them with a hickory extract?
If so, when to add it?
Thanks! Yes, you can add the hickory extract when blending the cashews.
Thanks. Sorry for the late response.
I can’t find sweet white miso in my country, and all the sellers in the web,don’t send it to Israel.
Is it possible to use light miso and add sugar to it?
(I never tasted sweet miso so i have no idea how does it taste like)
Sure! Use the same amount of miso and add about 1/2 tsp sugar.
Excellent work Thomas. I have some doubts about the salt; is it used to prevent bad mold to develop or extract excess of humidity? Or both?
Thank you!
Alberto
★★★★★
It is used to prevent bad mold from growing AND drain excess water, as well as improving the flavor.
Hi Thomas,
Is there a reason you don’t place the cheeses directly into their molds and into the refrigerator on the second day? Also..
After removing the cheeses from their molds can you place them on a fine wire rack so they’re elevated and thus don’t require flipping? Or is there another reason for flipping them that I’m not aware of? Thanks!
Hi Jeff,
Actually now I place them directly into the molds as I found no difference.
Sure, if you have a fine wire rack use it, you won’t have to flip them as often!
I saw where I could stove top smoke the cheese but can’t find the directions. Could you direct me to the directions. Can’t wait to try the recipe. I’m 70 years young and have switched to a WPBD. Wish I had made the switch decades earlier.
God bless you,
Barbara
★★★★★
Hi Barbara,
I’m not sure what you mean…The instructions to smoke the cheese are in the recipe.
Hi Barbara. Greetings from NZ! I smoke my cheeses in an old stockpot on the stove top. I soak some manuka woodchips in cold water for a few minutes, drain them and then add some Hickory Liquid Smoke. I then wrap the damp woodchips loosely in foil and put the package into the stockpot. I switch on the hotplate and when the woodchips begin to smoke I pop the cheeses into a wire basket (I use the one that came with my pressure cooker) and then hang the basket in the stockpot. I put a lid on the stock pot and seal the lid with a damp tea towel (taking care to keep the tea towel away from the element!!) I adjust the hotplate temperature so that it’s not too hot or too cool. As per Thomas’ recipe, I smoke the cheese for around 12 minutes. The end result is the most delicious cheese ever! I hope my hints enable you to enjoy this yummy and cruelty free cheese. Regards Helen PS I’m 64!
★★★★★
Thomas, when aging these cheeses in the fridge, are they covered in plastic wrap or not? Thanks
Hi Jeff, cheeses should not be covered by plastic wrap, but covered with a container or bowl so it doesn’t touch the cheeses.
If you are using a fridge only for cheeses then no need to cover as there will be less possible contaminations.
I wish I could share the photo after using the smoker for my first time today! I haven’t tasted it yet, but it looks great! I didn’t like Camerons sample hickory sawdust in PLASTIC cups, (1 pint for $7.), so I bought 180 cu in (about 2.25 lbs) Western hickory smoking chips at WalMart for $5.80 and cut the chips into little twigs with a utility knife. Not sure if they’re equivalent, as I read that Camerons chips have the resin removed which can apparently impart a bitter flavor. The smoker never exuded smoke which made me think my fire wasn’t hot enough or the twigs were too thick. When I removed it from the grill and opened the cover, there was a little bit of smoke coming from the opening. I lifted the drip tray and the twigs were black and burned, so it worked! Thank you, Thomas! (how come this won’t let me click on 5 stars?)
Awesome! 😀
I have no idea about the resin, I used some smoking chips from different brands and never had a bitter flavor.
I hope you will like the flavor of the cheeses! It’s still one of my favorites!
Hi Thomas! Now that I’ve seen how firm this cheese gets after 2-3 weeks in the fridge, I’m wondering if other types of vegan cheeses could be firmed up in the same way? Up until now, I’ve been using agar or carrageenan to firm up cheese, with varying degrees of success. But it seems like it would be a lot easier to firm it up by aging it in the fridge? What do you think? Thank you!
★★★★★
Hi Louisa
I am aging cheese in the fridge, (not mold cheese)
I learned the method from Connie (I attach a link to the video)
https://youtu.be/anqq5tKwhLc?t=34
She uses two types of paper. Absorbent paper and brown paper. She replaces the absorbent paper several times at the beginning of the process, and then wraps it in brown paper for several weeks.
I managed to firmed up a few cheeses by this method. Especially those that contain starch (potato, rice or chestnuts)
Great! Thank you!
Hi Louisa,
Sure, the longer you let it age “naturally” in the fridge, the firmer it becomes. Be aware the smoking process also helps making it a bit firmer.
Great! Thank you!
Hey Thomas! I FINALLY got to taste my cheese for the first time, and it’s quite delicious! But the color is more of a tannish-brown, and I’m wondering if you might know the reason for this? I had the flu and it ended up aging in the fridge for 4 weeks instead of 2, then smoked and aged for another two. But other than that, I followed your recipe to a T. Any suggestions? Thank you for all your recipes and the time you take to test, taste, and tweak! (Not to mention all the photos and time you put into this blog!)
Hey Louisa! Awesome! Regarding the color, it really depends on how long you smoke the cheese, and at which temperature. If you want a lighter color, try smoking on very low heat.
Oh, interesting! This was the first time I used my smoker, and when I put it on the grill, I waited and waited but no smoke was coming out. I finally just closed the lid even though there was no smoke, so the total time was probably a lot longer than what you recommended. As for the temp, I had the grill on the lowest notch, so maybe next time I’ll raise the grill. To tell you the truth, I was just amazed that I could even get a fire going! And since I bought hickory chips and whittled them down to skinny strips rather than buy Camerons hickory “dust”, I didn’t even know if they would burn. Now I’m more confident and will probably do better on my second try!
★★★★★
That’s weird, I see smoke coming after just a few seconds. Maybe wood chips were different. Hope your second try will turn even better!
Maybe because I whittled down hickory chips into little twigs instead of buying Camerons hickory “dust”.
Thanks for sharing this recipe. Can’t wait to try mine. I’m at the aging after smoking stage.
Questions: After a week of aging after smoking (not gonna lie, no way I can wait any longer to eat it!) THEN do I wrap it in cling wrap? And how long will it last?
Freezable?
Anticipating deliciousness!
★★★★★
I would recommend cheese paper (or parchment paper), but cling film can do it. It will last for another few weeks if you don’t cut through it. Once opened it will laste around 10 days.
Hi Thomas! I just want to be sure I’m doing this correctly to hopefully maximize my chances for success (cashews are expensive!). So, you’re only using 1/4 tsp salt for each cheese round, including top, bottom, and sides, right? I’m also making your Camembert, which has to have a cover over it to prevent drying – but the Hickory Smoked Provolone doesn’t need a cover? Also, the HSP is removed from the springform pans to salt them, and not put back in them again, right? But the Camembert remains in the springform pans for four days? Also, when you put the Camembert in springform pans (I’m assuming with the bottom disk in place), you put them on a baking sheet or plate lined with parchment paper? Why would you need parchment paper under the springform pan? Thank you for all the work you put into your blog!
Hi Louisa,
The amount of salt is just an estimate, you lightly sprinkle salt on each side (yes top, bottom and sides) and rub with your finger. It also depends on the size of your cheeses so very hard to give you the exact amount.
That’s right, the smoked cheese doesn’t need to be covered as you want it to dry. Not put back into the molds.
Baking sheet or plate doesn’t matter. You line the springform pans with parchment paper (or cling film) so the cashew cream doesn’t stick to the metal of the pan. I would recommend checking the ebook or video as it may help answer some of your questions 🙂