Bob Albers of Mandeville, Louisiana sent us this recipe – his 14th contribution to our blog since 2016.*
You don’t have to make your own cream cheese for it, but it’s extra special when you do (and super easy!).
From Bob:
I just finished eating some of my smoked tuna with cream cheese and thought I should share this delight with you and other cheese makers.
First, make a batch of cream cheese. I used the recipe by Jim Wallace on the cheesemaking.com website because all the heavy cream, light cream and half & half available in my local markets is ultra-pasteurized.
I have found the right dryness happens when I let it drain for 24 hours. I open the draining bag at 8 hour intervals to mix the cheese from the center of the ball to the outside, near the cloth.
Note: If you want a kid friendly recipe from Home Cheese Making here’s one of the 5 cream cheese recipes in the new edition:
Cream Cheese: Uncooked Curd Method
Yield: About 1 pound
Ingredients:
2 quarts light cream or half & half
1/4 teaspoon calcium chloride diluted in 1/4 cup cool, non-chlorinated water
1 packet direct-set mesophilic starter culture
1/2 teaspoon cheese salt (optional)
Directions:
Heat the cream to 86F (30C).
Add the calcium chloride solution and stir well to combine. Sprinkle the starter over the surface of the milk, wait 2 minutes for the powder to rehydrate, then stir well.
Cover and let set at 86F for 8-12 hours, or until a solid curd forms.
Gently ladle the curd into a colander lined with butter muslin. Tie the corners of the muslin into a knot and hang the bag to drain at 72-86F (22-30C) for 8-12 hours, or until the cheese reaches your desired consistency. Scraping the sides of the bag once or twice will speed the draining process.
Place the cheese in a bowl and add salt to taste.
If you would like to shape your cheese, place it into two or three individual small molds and chill in the refrigerator for 3 hours.
Once the cheeses are firm, unmold them and wrap individually in cheese wrap. Store in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
Bob’s Tuna Delight
Ingredients:
6 oz fresh un-refrigerated cream cheese
4 oz. tuna (either dry package or “solid packed in water”)
1 tsp. liquid smoke
1/2 tsp. lemon juice
1/4 tsp. cheese salt, kosher salt or any other non-iodized salt
Directions:
If using canned tuna packed in water, after cutting the can open, leave the tuna in the can and use the cut circle top to squeeze out as much of the water as possible.
Just to be sure of the ratio of tuna to cream cheese, weigh the tuna & adjust the amount of cheese to 1-1/2 times the amount of tuna.
Place all ingredients in a small mixing bowl and mix at low speed until blended smooth.
Taste and adjust liquid smoke, lemon juice & salt to taste.
Refrigerate. Serve on crackers or toast.
Will last for 3 weeks in the refrigerator unless I come to visit.
*About Bob
Bob is a retired electronics engineer who has traveled all around the world, but now lives in Mandeville, Louisiana. He has written 13 articles for us so far (including this one), and we have done one about him (click here). We’re very grateful to him for his contributions to our community of home cheese makers.
These are his previous articles, listed in order with the most recent at top:
Bob’s Homemade Limoncello
An Easy Way to Flip Camembert
Creole Cream Cheese Recipe #2
Calculating Weights for the Dutch Style Press
Be a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA)
Time Keeping Spreadsheet for Making Cheese
Kummelkase (Caraway Cheese)
Cream Cheese Experiment
Bob’s Homemade Curd Cutter – Part 2
Bob’s Homemade Horizontal Curd Cutter
Making a Drying Box
About Cooking Curds
Creole Cream Cheese
