Smoked Cream Cheese

Smoked cream cheese is one of my favorite party and gameday appetizers. It’s also perfect for throwing on the smoker when I’ve already got it fired up on a long smoking session. It’s simple, tasty, and can be adapted however you like!

Prep Time: 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour hour

Total Time: 1 hour hour 30 minutes minutes

Course: Appetizer

Cuisine: American

Keyword: smoked cream cheese

Servings: 10

Calories: 4kcal

Smoked Cream Cheese

Ingredients

• 1 8oz Blocks of cream cheese
• 1 tbsn Our Kansas City-style dry rub

Equipment

• Smoker or Pellet Grill (I’ve used my Camp Chef Apex pellet grill a lot for this but any pellet grill or smoker will do)
• Small disposable aluminum foil pans (You can also make little boats out of aluminum foil which I have done before as well)
• Knife

Instructions

• Preheat Your Smoker top 225ºF
  
• Unwrap Cream Cheese And Place In Foil Pan. Simply take your blocks of cream cheese out of the box/wrapper and place them in the middle of the pans.
  
• Cross-Hatch The Surface Of The Cream Cheese. Use the knife to score a cross-hatch pattern in the top surface of the cream cheese. I find this allows the smoke to penetrate further into the cream cheese.
  
• Season The Cream Cheese. Then cover the top and sides with your preferred seasoning. You want a nice layer of the seasoning. Shake any excess, loose seasoning gently into the pan. I find that tilting the pan slightly to season the sides of the cream cheese works best.
  
• Smoke The Cream Cheese. Place the pans with the cream cheese on the pre-heated smoker. Let them smoke for at least one hour (one and a half hours works even better, especially on a pellet smoker).
  
• Remove And Enjoy! After the cream cheese has turned a nice golden color, remove it from the smoker. Serve with crackers and enjoy!
  

Nutrition

Calories: 4kcal | Carbohydrates: 1g | Protein: 0.1g | Fat: 0.1g | Saturated Fat: 0.02g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.02g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.01g | Cholesterol: 0.01mg | Sodium: 1mg | Potassium: 19mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 0.1g | Vitamin A: 25IU | Vitamin C: 0.03mg | Calcium: 24mg | Iron: 1mg

A lot of iconic barbecue dishes take a lot of time and care. And I personally love spending that time and energy on briskets and pork butts. But sometimes, I enjoy something quick and easy. And that’s where smoked cream cheese comes in.

Substitutes

• Your favorite seasoning (I also like Garlic & Herb as well as Fire & Smoke Society’s Sweet Preacher rub)

What To Serve With Smoked Cream Cheese

1. Smoked Mashed Potatoes

So this may technically be cheating, but that’s allowed here. When making mashed potatoes, I love to smoke some cream cheese and add it to the potatoes for an extra boost of flavor! This is perfect for using roasted garlic and herb seasoning.

2. Smoked Pig Shots

As I said earlier, smoked cream cheese is a perfect party appetizer. So if you’re planning a game day party, serve smoked cream cheese and crackers next to these amazing smoked pig shots!

FAQs: 

Question: Does Cream Cheese Melt When You Smoke It?

Answer: If you smoke cream cheese at a temperature that is too high, yes. But as long as you stay around 225°-250°F and don’t smoke it for hours on end, you’ll be fine! It’ll be nice and soft which makes it easily scooped onto a cracker but won’t melt all over the place. And if you accidentally forget about it, the pan will help catch any mess.

Question: How Long Can Smoked Cream Cheese Sit Out?

Answer: Like most food, you’ll only want to let smoked cream cheese sit out for two hours or so. Any longer and you’ll run the risk of food-borne bacteria multiplying and ruining your hard work.