Homemade Smoky Bacon Onion Neufchâtel Cheese

I have received several requests for the recipe for the flavored cheese that we gave people for Christmas. So I decided to post it here.
Just a couple of notes: I did not actually use a recipe to flavor the cheese. I just made it up as I went. I tried to remember and write down the ingredients here. So I hope I got it right. If you don't want to attempt actually making the cheese -- store-bought cream cheese will suffice. Although I must say, it probably will not taste nearly as good.

Neufchâtel Cheese

Ingredients:

2 gallons whole milk

½ cup cultured buttermilk
½ tablet Rennet dissolved in ¼ cup cold water
½ teaspoon calcium chloride dissolved in ¼ cup cold water [if using store-bought milk—helps to restore the calcium balance that is destroyed in  pasteurized milk which helps with curd formation]

 

Directions:

1. Sterilize a large stainless steel pot with lid by boiling a small amount of water for five minutes.

2 . Add 2 gallons of whole milk

3. Add dissolved ½ teaspoon calcium chloride-- stir well

4. Add ½ cup cultured buttermilk-- stir well

5. Warm while stirring to 65°F [we usually omit this step because it will be sitting at room temperature all night anyway]

6. Add dissolved ½ tablet Rennet -- stir well using top to bottom motion.

7. Cover and let sit undisturbed overnight at room temperature (65-70°F)

8. The next morning a soft curd should have formed. If not, let sit for another 12 hours. You should get a clean break. Slice into ½ inch cubes.

9. Line a colander with a flour sack towel. Pour the curds and whey into lined colander.

10. Gather the four corners of the cloth. Tie the corners together on a wooden spoon. Place the wooden spoon between #10 cans to suspend curds and allow whey to drip into a bowl. Let hang overnight.

11. Sprinkle approximately 1 Tablespoon of salt, according to taste,  on cheese. mix the salt in thoroughly. Store covered in refrigerator until use.

12. Cheese can be molded before refrigerating. Or, seasonings can be added to make cheese balls.

 

Tammy’s Smoky Bacon Onion Cheese

Ingredients:

Freshly made cheese from recipe above [store-bought cream cheese can be substituted]

1 teaspoon powdered smoke flavoring
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion salt
1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 Tablespoon dried chives
¼ cup dried onions
One package bacon cooked and crumbled

Directions:

Combine all ingredients. Mix thoroughly. Refrigerate. Enjoy!

*if making cheese for the first time, I suggest cutting this recipe in half.