Brick cheese is a famous Wisconsin cheese. Making your own brick cheese requires a lot of preparation. It is important to follow the steps carefully to ensure that the cheese is suitable for consumption. Learning make curds properly from milk will take practice, but making the brick cheese is worth the patience and effort. Gather all of your supplies and prepare your kitchen before beginning to make the cheese; accurate timing is essential.
Instructions
Make and Prepare the Cheese Curds
1. Combine the milk and cultured buttermilk. Heat the milk mixture to 85 degrees Fahrenheit in a saucepan on the stove top.
2. Set the milk and the pan to the side. Allow the milk to sit out on the counter for two hours.
3. Add rennet to ½ cup of cold water. Combine the rennet mixture with the milk until well blended.
4. Cover the saucepan. Let the milk coagulate for 50 seconds. Touch the milk with your finger. If your finger creates a depression, then the curd is ready to cut.
5. Cut the curd into ½- to 1-inch cubes. Cover the curds, and let them sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.
6. Boil water in a large saucepan. Place the curd-filled saucepan in a sink or shallow baking dish filled with boiled hot water. The curds will reach a temperature of 102 degrees Fahrenheit. Keep the curds at this temperature for 30 minutes. Stir the curds at five-minute intervals.
7. Remove the curds from the sink. Set the curds out at room temperature for 1 hour, and stir the curds at 10-minute intervals.
8. Separate the curds from the whey. Place the curds in a cauldron lined with cheesecloth.
Shape and Dry the Brick Cheese
9. Rinse the curds with warm water. Blend 1 tsp. of salt with the curds. Let the curds drain for 30 minutes.
10. Place the cheesecloth filled with the curds in a clean, sterile dishtowel. Fold the dishtowel, and pin it together to prevent the curds from falling out.
11. Use two small bricks to shape the brick cheese. Place the towel-wrapped curds between two small cutting boards, and add the small bricks to create enough pressure to combine the curds into a cheese block.
12. Remove the cheese block after 12 hours. Set the cheese on a wire rack to dry. Rotate the cheese at equal time intervals to ensure that all sides of the cheese dry.
13. Rub salt on the outside of the cheese to remove moisture. Continue to turn and salt the cheese daily until the cheese is dry. Store the cheese in a dry place. Continue to age the cheese for up to 6 months.Cover the cheese with paraffin wax or loosely with plastic while it is aging.
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