I was in Wisconsin last weekend, and brought home some everyday mild Brick cheese, and some AUTHENTIC STINKY RIPE Brick cheese.
God help me, I’m of good North European stock, I should be RELISHING that shit. I went out and got the best rye bread Brooklyn has on offer, spread it with strong horseradish mustard, spread on the Authentic Stinky Ripe Brick, and topped it with rounds of sliced white onion. Poured a pint of good German beer.
Augh…too much ammonia! Is the cheese wrong, or am I doing it wrong?
Ooo…That sounds awesome. I’ve had regular brick cheese a million times, but I’ve never heard of the stinky, ripe version. I’ll have to keep an eye out for it next time I’m up in Wisconsin. How is it labeled?
I posted about my love of aged Brick in the “favorite cheeses” thread a couple of weeks ago.
You can tell a good Brick because the package will be inflated with the stinky outgasses, and that might be part of your problem, the cheese needs to rest for a while (probably outside) after being unwrapped.
If it still has a strong ammonia odor, it probably wasn’t aged properly. My experience is that there can be a slight ammonia smell when first unwrapped, but it quickly goes away.
By the way, your sandwich sounds great, except use red onion!
Yeah, in cheeses, a strong ammonia scent is usually indicative of an over-ripe cheese. I just assumed the OP wasn’t used to ammonia scents in cheese. I find that Limburger often has a bit of an ammonia funk to it. But it shouldn’t be overwhelming. Still, I need to find these ripe brick cheeses. Looking it up on Wikipedia, it seems they are inoculated with the same bacterium that is partly responsible for Limburger’s funky smell and taste. I had no idea. All the bricks I’ve ever had were mild, somewhat bland cheeses.
Yeah, 99.9% of Americans think Brick cheese is bland, like a Muenster. So did I, until a couple of years ago, when I tried the Authentic Stinky Ripe Brick. It’s Wisconsin German thing. My Bohunk grandparents in Northeastern Ohio knew about it, but they called it “Beer Cheese.” I remember them getting it in the '60s, and as a kid, I thought it smelled to high heaven.
https://www.widmerscheese.com/products/Foil-Pack-Half-Aged-Brick-2.5-lb.html
Nah, I’m used to ammonia smell in most soft-ripened cheeses, like Camembert or Brie. That’s why I grab the center cuts, away from the edge rind. Was not expecting it in Brick, though.
Ach du lieber!
You have just described my granddad’s favorite lunch. lol
Did that. Prepared by cutting off a quarter-pound chunk and letting it sit on a plate in the kitchen out in the late-May NYC heat and humidity. For about an hour. It was…pungent.