This smoked cream cheese appetizer is unique and over-the-top, yet super simple and satisfying. And it is so easy to prepare and smoke, but incredibly delicious and indulgent. With just three ingredients, cream cheese, olive oil, and your favorite rub, this remarkable and mouthwatering dish requires minimal prep time. Your family and guests will rave about your unique creation and ask for it again and again, wondering, “How did you think this up?” So let’s get the offset smoker fired up and make this outstanding soft, creamy, cheesy, savory smoked cream cheese dish.
Why You Should Try This Offset Smoker Smoked Cream Cheese
- The most important reason to try this recipe is – the incredible cream cheesy smokey flavor! The combination of cream cheese and rub is satisfying on its own, but adding the essence of wood smoke creates an unparalleled, flavorful fusion. Add some condiments and a topping if you want to, and you have an over-the-top, winning appetizer.
- Easy to prepare – With only three ingredients: cream cheese, olive oil, and your favorite rub (see rubs in the Variations and Substitutions section below), this is one of the most simple appetizers to prepare, yet the flavors produced from just these three simple ingredients is amazingly superb.
- Easy to smoke – You thought we had offered easy-to-smoke recipes before, but this one really takes the cake (pun intended!). Score the cream cheese, brush on the olive oil, sprinkle on the rub, smoke, serve, and eat! Can it get any easier than that? I don’t think so!
Ingredients For Offset Smoker Smoked Cream Cheese
- One 8-ounce package of whole-fat cream cheese
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon of your favorite rub
Directions For Making Offset Smoker Smoked Cream Cheese
1. Bring your offset smoker to temperature – You will want to maintain a temperature of roughly 250 degrees throughout the entire smoking process.
2. Prepare the cream cheese – Place one whole block of cream cheese in a small cast iron skillet or on a wire oven rack lined with aluminum foil. Score the top of the cream cheese in a wide crisscross pattern, being careful not to cut all the way through.
3. Apply the olive oil and the rub – With a kitchen brush, gently brush the olive oil over the surface of the cream cheese. Liberally sprinkle and coat the top and sides of the cream cheese with the rub.
4. Place the cream cheese onto the smoker – Immediately place the cream cheese on the offset smoker. Smoke for roughly two hours. You will know when the cream cheese is done when it looks slightly melty, and the scored top sections have pulled away from each other.
5. Remove the cream cheese from the smoker – Place the cream cheese on a serving platter, and add any condiments, topping, and dippers as you wish (see below). Serve whole and encourage your guests to dig in!
Variations And Substitutions For Offset Smoker Smoked Cream Cheese
This offset smoker smoked cream cheese recipe allows for many excellent and savory substitutions and additions after smoking to enhance flavors and seasonings. We will break up these substitutions and additions into three categories: rubs and seasonings, condiments, and dippers.
Rubs And Seasonings– Any of your favorite store-bought rubs will do just fine. It can be a saltless rub, a pork rub, a rib rub, a meat rub, chicken rub, or a chicken wing rub. Try different seasonings, too, like Everything Bagel, Cajun, Creole, garlic and onion or parmesan, Old Bay, taco seasoning, and even cinnamon and sugar. Be creative and see how many variations you can come up with!
Toppings And Condiments – The same holds true for toppings and condiments, both crumbled on top of the smoked cream cheese or poured on top. Any nut like almonds, walnuts, pistachios, or cashews will be a perfect addition. Grilled bacon or sausage and honey take it over the top. Try salsas and sauces like mango salsa, pico de gallo, tomato chutney, sriracha, teriyaki sauce, wing sauce, and even balsamic vinegar and jalapenos. The sky’s the limit!
Dippers – Anything to dip into the smoked cream cheese or spread it on with a knife adds another level of flavor to this incredible treat. Try using crackers, crusty bread, toast points, garlic bread, bread sticks, tortilla chips, corn chips, pretzels, and even vegetables and stone fruit.
Tips And Tricks For Offset Smoker Smoked Cream Cheese
Be sure the cream cheese is cold – Be sure to place the cream cheese onto the offset smoker while the cream cheese is cold. If the cream cheese is too warm and soft, it will start to melt before it gets fully smoked. So, if your offset smoker has not reached your desired temperature yet, simply place the prepared cream cheese in the refrigerator until you’re ready to put it on the offset smoker.
Use an aluminum drip pan – Place a disposable aluminum drip pan filled with one inch of water on the ash grate underneath the smoking cream cheese. This helps ensure that your cream cheese will stay moist and cheesy during the smoking process.
The “real estate” of an offset smoker – As an offset smoker is large, and the cream cheese is small, there will be tons of leftover space or “real estate” on your offset smoker. And if you’re going to the effort and time of setting up and smoking with your offset smoker, then by all means, be sure to fill up that excess real estate. Smoke anything you like that also takes up to two hours to smoke. I like adding corn-on-the-cob and chicken wings!
Smoked Cream Cheese
Equipment
- 1 Offset smoker
- 1 Charcoal Chimney Fire Starter
- 1 Cast Iron Skillet
- 1 Disposable Aluminum Drip Pan
- 1 Wire Oven Rack
- 1 Aluminum Foil
Ingredients
- One 8-ounce package of whole-fat cream cheese
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon of your favorite rub
Instructions
- Bring your offset smoker to temperature – You will want to maintain a temperature of roughly 250 degrees throughout the entire smoking process.
- Prepare the cream cheese – Place one whole block of cream cheese in a small cast iron skillet or on a wire oven rack lined with aluminum foil. Score the top of the cream cheese in a wide crisscross pattern, being careful not to cut all the way through.
- Apply the olive oil and the rub – With a kitchen brush, gently brush the olive oil over the surface of the cream cheese. Liberally sprinkle and coat the top and sides of the cream cheese with the rub.
- Place the cream cheese onto the smoker – Immediately place the cream cheese on the offset smoker. Smoke for roughly two hours. You will know when the cream cheese is done when it looks slightly melty, and the scored top sections have pulled away from each other.
- Remove the cream cheese from the smoker – Place the cream cheese on a serving platter, and add any condiments, topping, and dippers as you wish (see below). Serve whole and encourage your guests to dig in!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
