Raw Milk Pepper Jack Cheese (Recipe)

It took several tries to get this recipe right, but I'm finally satisfied: the cheese is hot enough to get a whoo-whee kick, but not so hot that it deters you from eating it. In other words, it's perfect! (For me, anyway.) We like to eat it melted over tortilla chips, tucked into a bacon burger, grated over taco salad, or plain, with crackers.
LINKS
Vacuum Sealer: amzn.to/3KG4N5R (Amazon)
8-gallon soup pot: bit.ly/3zONbAq (Webstaurant)
Cheese Press: bit.ly/3BjMSP1 (New England Cheesemaking)
Rennet: bit.ly/3AZldBT (New England Cheesemaking)
Cheesecloth: bit.ly/3evpHIM (New England Cheesemaking)
Bamboo Mats: amzn.to/3qkEQ24 (Amazon)
Read my blog: jennifermurch.com
Recipes: jennifermurch.com/recipe-index
Email me: [e-mail]
CHAPTERS
00:00 Pepper Jack Cheese
00:10 Tasting a previous wheel
00:50 Heat milk to 90 degrees
01:00 Sanitizing equipment
01:35 Mesophilic Culture: adding flora danica
02:39 Steeping red pepper flakes
03:02 Adding red pepper broth and rennet
03:46 Checking for a clean break
04:17 Cutting the curd
05:00 Gently stir the curd for 10 minutes
06:19 Heat the curd to 100 degrees over 25-40 minutes
08:16 Strain off the whey
09:06 Add the red pepper and salt, and mill the curds
11:14 Pressing
13:50 Air Drying
14:12 Vac-packing and aging
Disclaimer: This video may contain affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I'll receive a small commission.

[@daVinciJane]

Ok, gotta tell you…this was the first ‘aged’ cheese I tried. Didn’t have a press yet so I weighted something down on a poked plastic cottage cheese container. I didn’t have cultures so I tried yogurt. It was all by the seat of my pants and with ZERO cheese making background. Today…for our anniversary, we opened and tried the cheese. After a couple months of age 🎉 😮❤ what a surprise. The extent of flavors!!! What a trip. Amazing how cheese can change. It’s fantastic and we both love it. So freakin cool 😎

[@jmilkslinger]

Yessss! Congratulations!!! Cheesemaking IS so freakin' cool.

[@tcwaterdrill]

My joal was to retire with about 15 acres and have hogs and a couple of Jersey cows to produce high cream content milk to make cheese with. But due to being rear ended sitting at a red light my back will not allow me to do that. I think it is great that someone else has been successful doing just that. I enjoyed watching you make the cheese. Thanks

[@konstantinapapaioannou4306]

I'm so sorry for your accident. Take care ❤

[@HarveyParsons1975]

I recommend saving the peppery whey for your next batch of pepper jack cheese to add more heat spicyness to your cheese

[@merranoneill2407]

I sit my pot in a sink of water with my sous vide controlling the temperature and the time- it makes it a bit too easy lol, so sometimes I check back too late and end up with cheeses I hadn't planned. Loving your videos Jen, I think you're just ahead of me in terms of experience, so your explanations are always just what I need. I'm not one to follow recipes and I love your lack of discipline 'cause that's the way I work (I'm also incredibly imatient lol, so I get that you need to taste them early). At the moment I'm hanging on your every word re aging, have bought the dedicated cheese fridge, have been waxing, but will do a cloth wrapped soon. I'm also wanting to make a Brie from a medieval recipe just out of interest. Keep up the great work xx I'm looking forward to tasting this Pepper Jack

[@jmilkslinger]

The lack aging information was one of the main reasons I started this channel (even though I didn't know what I was doing, ha!).

[@iwonacharleson7071]

Great video again, love your kitchen too - thank you!

[@Reinolds_Recipes]

Very impressive! Keep up your good work… thank you again, subscribed!! 🙏🥰

[@amysherk]

Wonderful 😊

[@heidisnow]

PS I just love how you take us through all the ups and downs of your cheeses! You make me feel so much better about my own differing results! And, yes! Lactation period, time of year, etc, can affect the milk. I have goats, but I assume it's the same for cows, too.

[@kaileymentink]

Watching on repeat. I’m making my first aged cheese today! ❤️

[@jmilkslinger]

Yesssss!!!!!

[@UpTheHoodoo]

Made this recipe this was my 2nd cheese Tried it today and brought me to tears so good...Thank you Jennifer. Now to figure out why its dry🌻

[@dondufresne8069]

Hello Jennifer, I have been making cheeses for about 3 years now and just found your videos. I love that you show the ups and downs that we all can learn from. I've ordered a larger pot (30 quart) and when it comes in I'm going to make this cheese. I've been using a 24 quart for all my cheeses and cant wait to try the larger size. Please keep up the videos because they are really good. Thanks

[@jmilkslinger]

Congratulations on the new pot! Large cheeses are SO gratifying to make. And yes, more videos coming soon!

[@2americangirl]

You are adorable...love the literal hands on approach. That's my kinda Makin. I'm new to cheese making and trying my hand at it today...I will give this a shot. I am going to make mine with black garlic. After that will be caramelized onion perhaps. Thank you for sharing your hard work and skills.

[@jmilkslinger]

Oooo, that sounds delicious! I'd love to hear the tasting report!

[@2americangirl]

I will let you know...

[@amandahoule4092]

Hi Jennifer! I really enjoyed your video. You are fun, helpful, and real. It's so refreshing! I'm so glad that my search for making my own calcium chloride solution lead me to your channel. Honestly, I have had more failures than successes with the 20ish cheeses I've made so far. The pigs have been happy about that. lol But I just don't know what went wrong. So may variables with cheesemaking! I use raw milk because I have my own milk cows and am learning how to roll with the differences that brings. I look forward to making your recipes "with" you.

[@jmilkslinger]

Hello Amanda!!! Thank you for reaching out, and for your kind words! Cheesemaking can be (for me, anyway) an isolating, frustrating experience, especially when things don't go right --- and things often don't go right. I'm so glad you're here so we can help each other through!

[@RafeGonzalez]

I’d love a follow up video to show us what it tasted like and how it turned out. I’ve only made fresh cheese with mediocre results. It’s tough to find the right milk for cheesemaking. I used to live in Arlington, VA and we could only use pasteurized milk from MOM market or Whole Foods. I can get raw milk where I am now (Nur Sultan, Kazakhstan) but I’m not confident in myself. Hopefully your videos will inspire me!

[@jmilkslinger]

If you can get raw milk, you're lucky!!! Do you trust the source? If so, go for it ---- it's gonna be fine! Making cheese with raw milk is often easier, and there's lots of good bacteria to boot. My first (real) exposure to cheesemaking was in Nicaragua where the women cooked over wood fires, milked in muddy yards, hauled water by hand, and had zero refrigeration --- the cheese was delicious. You can do it! (And yes, I hope to post a video when I taste it --- I need to do better at following up with how things turn out.)

[@leannlayton4221]

Looks great! Do you always vacuum pack your cheese to cure? I normally just let it cure without vacuum packing my cheese and flip and wipe it down frequently. After I cut the cheese into wedges then I vacuum pack it. Just wondering if it makes a difference?

[@h7opolo]

new sub. you're currently doing a live interview with Gavin Webber, the Curd Nerd. i am stricken by your beauty which shines from within.

[@lawrencekellie]

What does "backpacking" the cheese mean? I've searched, but all I get is about hiking! :) Thank you.

[@jmilkslinger]

😂At what point in the video did you hear me say that? My best guess is I was probably saying "vac-packing" (vacuum sealing), but I'm not sure. I'm a terrible mumble mouth!!

[@nigelovery2545]

Hi Jennifer,Do you pasturize your raw milk before you use it ,Thankyou Nigel.

[@jmilkslinger]

No.

[@athenaformosa799]

I love your video n how you share your cheese journey I use your recipe but use clabber and the secondary culture you recommend. Using 7.5 gallon raw milk & 0.5 gallon raw cream.. my cheese came out huge It was 10.94 pounds after I took it out of the press .

[@jmilkslinger]

That is WILD!!! I'm eager to know how it tastes... Maybe I'll have to start adding more cream to my pepper jack!

[@athenaformosa799]

I just realize it’s teaspoon chili flake not tablespoon😂 Hope the cream i added ease the spice Btw I made ricotta cheese with the whey and it was spicy so I mixed with some dream cheese and herb . It turn out really yummy

[@jmilkslinger]

@@athenaformosa799 Haha, that's gonna be some SPICY cheese. You're gonna have smoke coming out your ears! (That spicy ricotta sounds delicious, though...)

[@athenaformosa799]

May be I should call that cheese red dragon pepper 🌶️

[@jmilkslinger]

@@athenaformosa799 Yes!!! THAT'S PERFECT.

[@soulbrother1143]

Is the water you used out the faucett tap water or well water...just curious

[@jmilkslinger]

It's untreated, paper-filtered well water.

[@angelikanykolyn3152]

sorry for my question: are the temperatures in °C or in fahrenheid? Sorry, my English is not very well 🥴

[@jmilkslinger]

Fahrenheit! (The written recipes I am developing will have both F and C, though...)

[@heidisnow]

Would you have pressed at 40lbs if you had a smaller batch? Like a cheese made from 2 gallons of milk? For some reason, this cheese has different times in the 100F whey and different weights/times in the press with every recipe I find. So, I'm trying to piece together everyone's recipes to come up with something for myself. So, I'm curious about your 40lbs pressing.

[@jmilkslinger]

The amount of pressure is the same regardless of the size of the cheese. I'm not exact with how much pressure I use: I think of it more as low, medium, and high pressure. And I watch the color of the whey to make sure I'm not expressing the milk along with they whey --- a sign of too much pressure. So it's not an exact science (for me) and I make mistakes here and there, too. I know this is vague and probably not the clear guidance you were hoping for, sorry!

[@soulbrother1143]

I made this cheese yesterday and didnt mill in salt..i dont know where the hell i was at that part of the video but nevermind that part. Will brining the cheese add the proper salt content and how long( 3.17lbs) or should i dry salt

[@jmilkslinger]

Absolutely you can add the salt now, no problem! Either brine it (about 4 hours per pound of cheese; err on the longer side) or dry salt it. Both should work fine!

[@soulbrother1143]

@@jmilkslinger thank you much..

[@abundantlife888]

Where did you get a pot that big?!

[@jmilkslinger]

8-gallon soup pot: bit.ly/3zONbAq (Webstaurant)

[@UpTheHoodoo]

Please make a Bel Paese

[@jmilkslinger]

Noted!

[@heatherclower3444]

Can you use goats milk in place of cow milk?

[@jmilkslinger]

Yes! But there are some differences, I think, with temperature and how much rennet is added. You might want to check out the Biegel Family's KZbin channel --- they make all their cheeses from goats milk.

[@kriscaldwell2057]

I have a pig named Petunia also! hahahaha

[@jmilkslinger]

Haha! That's awesome!

[@lawrencekellie]

At approximately kzbin.info/www/bejne/aZbClWSspMR3i5Y you mention that your kettle is an excellent soup kettle. Can you provide the make/model (do kettles have make/models?) for it, maybe even a link? Thank you

[@jmilkslinger]

Sure thing! I got it from Webstaurant (and got to skip the shipping fees because I was able to order it through the restaurant where I work): bit.ly/3zONbAq

[@lawrencekellie]

@@jmilkslinger I am very familiar with Webrestaurant. I purchased a number of items this last February. Even with their onerous shipping charges!!!! those items were cheaper than buying from Amazon or Walmart. But with their shipping charges..... :( :( Thank you, however, for the response.

[@boksteve]

I've only tried this once with so so results. I opened it when some friends were over and one remarked I should name it "Old Gym Sock". Granted, it was my third make ever so I've learned much since then. One question - my biggest challenge is getting a consistent curd set. Too often, I think I'm good and the curds immediately break down to cottage cheese size. I don't have access to raw milk but use a local dairy sourced non ultra high pasteurized milk. Am I cutting too soon? I'm using the New England Cheese animal rennet. Any guidance is appreciated.

[@jmilkslinger]

A couple questions: 1. What's your cheese per gallon yield? Are you getting about a pound of cheese per gallon of milk? 2. Are you using Calcium Chloride? 3. Are you stirring really slowly in the beginning (and letting the curds heal before stirring)? I'm not sure what to say --- the animal rennet is my favorite --- except: I sometimes think my curds break down pretty fast, too. Maybe you could try cutting the curds in 2-inch blocks, waiting five minutes, cutting them in 1-inch blocks, and then so on. Perhaps that would help them keep their shape better? On the other hand, if you're getting a proper yield of cheese, then maybe the breaking curds aren't too much of a problem?

[@boksteve]

@@jmilkslinger yes, forgot to mention I'm using calcium chloride. Yield is at least 1lb per gallon. I'll try stirring methods you mentioned. Thanks!

[@jmilkslinger]

@@boksteve If you have a 1 pound to 1 gallon yield, then I wouldn't worry about the curds breaking down. You're still getting the expected yield. Cheese handles differently in the home, and the more you work with it, the better you'll get a feel for all the variations and nuances.

[@Julia-en9xq]

I wonder if you are aware of any changes needed to use your recipe with raw goat milk? I am aware that rennet should be reduced by 25%, but that’s the extent of my knowledge there…

[@jmilkslinger]

I haven't worked with goats milk, but you should check out the Biegel Family on KZbin: www.youtube.com/@fourseasonsnorth/videos They make all their cheeses from goats milk!

[@Julia-en9xq]

@@jmilkslinger thanks, I will!!! Just found your channel, and I am mesmerized!!! We are in our first year with dairy goats, and I am learning sooooo much from your videos..💜💜