Did it!
Morning temps were cool. I had a pound or so of pepper jack that has been mocking me for months now. You may have followed my posts about my AMNPS testing in my #2, maybe not, but I was having some mild issues with air flow and temp. Air seemed low, temps were high.
I took out the smoker box altogether to promote air flow. I filled up the drip pan with ice and put it directly below the cheese. I put a tin foil tent over the AMNPS to prevent any condensation from dripping on the wood.
I put the cheese in for two hours, checking on it at the one hour mark. I decided at that point to put a air pump into the drip hole to "promote" a little more air flow. I did so more as an experiment more than anything.
I pulled the cheese at 2 hours, and it was cold to the touch when I pulled it. Not sure what the outside temp was, but internally the smoker never got above 56F. One thing I noted and I think it is a result of the cold temp inside, smoke was mostly coming from around the doors and drip hole vs coming out the exhaust vent. I think the ice had that much of an impact the density would allow the smoke to rise out of the top. Since I opened the smoker to pull the cheese, the internal temp has risen to 70, and I am seeing smoke out the top now. So, I'm not a science major, but I am guessing my air density theory is correct.
The cheese is drying before I vac-seal for a minimum of three weeks.
Since I have the smoke going, I put in some coarse and fine sea salt, pepper and garlic just to give it a try. Going in for a minimum of 5 hours. I'll post pics when I am done.
At 2.5 hours, the smoke being generated. Internal temp is 73F.
