Cheese on the grill? It’s easier than you think.
Camembert, jelly and jalapeño go great with crackers
You just have to trust the process.
When I saw a recipe for smoked Camembert with jalapeños and jelly in Steven Raichlen’s book “Project Smoke,” I knew I had to try it, especially since I was already planning on smoking some salmon.
All of the ingredients are in the name of the dish. Get an 8-ounce wheel of Camembert (or brie), a jar of pepper or apricot jelly (or jam of your choice) and a whole jalapeño stemmed, seeded and cut into thin slivers.
And you need a cedar plank and your favorite crackers or toasted bread to put the cheese on.
All together, the ingredients for this dish cost about $12 at the grocery store. Aside from the cheese, you can get multiple servings out of the ingredients. This is a huge bargain, because this appetizer easily could sell for $20 or more at a restaurant.
Dealing with the cedar plank requires the most effort. Soak it in water for a good hour to keep it from catching fire, and prep your standard grill and get it hot (around 400 degrees).
Char each side of the plank for a couple minutes and don’t leave the grilling area at all while doing this. Even wet, the plank picked up a flicker of flame.
Raichlen says the charring process is optional, but if you have the time, it’s a silly step to skip. It smells amazing.
And I wasn’t a big fan of wasting a full charcoal grill setup for five minutes of plank roasting, so I tossed some asparagus on there indirect to add another menu item.
Prepping the cheese is a one-minute process. Place it on the center of the plank, and coat the top with a heavy layer of sweet stuff (I used apricot jam instead of pepper jelly) and liberally scatter the slivered jalapeños on top.
If you want to get to eating the cheese quickly, Raichlen actually recommends putting it in the high heat of the grill you used to char the planks with some smoke chips. It will be ready in about 10 minutes.
Since I was using my water smoker that caps out at about 250 degrees, the cheese took about 35 minutes before it was finished. When the cheese swells and has a slight jiggle to it, it’s ready.
You can’t get a better serving plate than a hot cedar plank. Raichlen’s marriage of the aroma provided with the plank and the smoke penetration into the Camembert is tough to beat. Add in the jam and this dish could work easily as a dessert.
The cheese was intended to be a prolonged appetizer for the salmon and asparagus, but my wife and I devoured it all in less than five minutes.
My only word of caution was that the Camembert oozed out a bit after that first bite, so be prepared for some quick repair with extra crackers.
Also, you probably have to make at least two of these if hosting a gathering with four or more people.
And even though the high-heat cooking method is primarily listed in the recipe, doing it on the smoker will allow a prolonged margin of error before the cheese gets away from you.
This one now will be a regular offering at Chuck’s Patio Bar and Grill.
