Rauchkäse

Homemade Rauchkäse (German Cold-Smoked Cheese)

A semi-soft, birch-smoked cow's-milk cheese from the Bavarian Allgäu, traditionally used as the base for Obatzda. A stovetop cold-smoker keeps the curd well below the temperatures that would melt or cook it, layering a clean woodsmoke aroma into the paste over 2–4 hours.

Prep

60 min

Cook

240 min

Total

300 min

Serves

Makes about 1.2 kg (2 lb 10 oz) of cheese, 8–10 servings

Difficulty

Hard

Recipe ingredients

• •8 L (2 gallons) whole cow's milk, pasteurised is traditional for home make; raw milk must be held at 63 °C / 145 °F for 30 min if not from a certified raw-milk dairy
• •1 g (¼ tsp) mesophilic starter culture, e.g. MM100 or Flora Danica, or 60 ml / ¼ cup live buttermilk as a substitute
• •2.5 ml (½ tsp) liquid rennet, diluted in 60 ml / ¼ cup cool non-chlorinated water; double strength if using tablet rennet
• •20 g (4 tsp) non-iodised sea salt, for the brine
• •50 g (½ cup) birch sawdust or chunks, spruce is the traditional alternative; hardwood fruit woods also work
• •1 L (1 quart) cold water, for brine

Steps

1. 1 Heat the milk to 32 °C / 90 °F in a heavy stainless pot. Sprinkle the mesophilic starter over the surface, let it rehydrate for 2 minutes, then stir gently in a figure-eight motion for 1 minute. Cover and ripen for 45 minutes, maintaining the temperature.
2. 2 Add the diluted rennet while stirring gently for 30 seconds, then stop. Cover and let the milk set undisturbed for 45–60 minutes, until you get a clean break and the curd mass resembles firm tofu.
3. 3 Cut the curd into 1.5 cm / ½-inch cubes with a long knife, then let the curds rest 5 minutes. Slowly raise the temperature to 36 °C / 97 °F over 30 minutes, stirring very gently every 5 minutes. Hold at 36 °C for another 20 minutes until the curds are firm enough that a broken piece feels springy when chewed.
4. 4 Line a colander with butter muslin and ladle the curds in. Tie the cloth into a bundle and hang it over the pot to drain at room temperature for 4–6 hours, until the curd drops to about 60% of its original weight and the interior reads pH 5.0–5.2 on a probe.
5. 5 Prepare the brine: dissolve 20 g salt in 1 L cold water. Submerge the drained cheese ball for 30 minutes per cm / 15 min per ½ inch of thickness (about 3 hours for a 1.2 kg ball). Pat dry with a clean cloth.
6. 6 Air-dry the cheese on a rack at 12–15 °C / 55–60 °F for 2–3 days until the rind is dry to the touch and slightly tacky. Flip twice daily. Cold smoking requires a dry surface or the smoke will deposit as a black, acrid layer.
7. 7 Set up a cold smoker on a dry day or in a cool garage. On a stovetop or outdoor burner, light the birch sawdust in a smoke tray and pipe the smoke into a cardboard box or small fridge cabinet that holds the cheese. Keep the smoke temperature under 25 °C / 77 °F at all times — above this the fat will smear and the rind will crack. Cold-smoke for 2–4 hours, rotating the cheese every 45 minutes so the colour is even.
8. 8 Rest the smoked cheese on a rack at 12–15 °C / 55–60 °F for at least 2 weeks before eating, turning daily. The smoke flavour softens and penetrates from the rind inward during this time. Younger wheels (2 weeks) taste mild and milky; aged wheels (6–8 weeks) taste concentrated and bacon-like. Store wrapped in parchment, not cling film, so the rind can breathe.
9. 9 TO MAKE OBATZDA: Crumble 250 g / 9 oz room-temperature Rauchkäse and mash with 60 g / ¼ cup soft butter, 1 grated small onion, 1 tsp sweet paprika, ¼ tsp caraway, 60 ml / ¼ cup lager beer, and salt to taste. Beat until creamy and serve at room temperature with pretzels and rye bread.