Photo Credit: Drizzle Me Skinny.
Get ready to impress your friends and family with the ultimate smoked cream cheese appetizer thatโs taking the internet by storm! This dish is the perfect combination of simplicity and indulgence, using just three basic ingredientsโcream cheese, olive oil, and your favorite rubโto create a flavor explosion. Whether you’re a seasoned pitmaster or a beginner, this recipe is incredibly easy to prepare and smoke, delivering rich, smoky, and creamy goodness every time. Your guests will be blown away by the taste and presentation, making it the star of your next gathering. Letโs fire up that smoker and create a viral sensation that everyone will be talking about!
Ingredients For Offset Smoker Smoked Cream Cheese
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- One 8-ounce package of whole-fat cream cheese
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon of your favorite rub
Bring your offset smoker to temperature:
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Maintain a steady temperature of around 250ยฐF throughout the smoking process.
Prepare the cream cheese:
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Place a whole block of cream cheese in a small cast iron skillet or on a wire oven rack lined with aluminum foil. Score the top in a crisscross pattern, careful not to cut all the way through.
Apply the olive oil and rub:
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Brush the cream cheese with olive oil using a kitchen brush, then generously coat the top and sides with your chosen rub.
Place the cream cheese onto the smoker:
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Set the cream cheese on the offset smoker and smoke for about two hours, or until the cream cheese looks slightly melty and the scored sections have pulled away from each other.
Remove and serve:
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Transfer the cream cheese to a serving platter, add any desired condiments, toppings, and dippers, and serve it whole, encouraging guests to dig in!
Variations and Substitutions for Offset Smoker Smoked Cream Cheese:
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This smoked cream cheese recipe offers endless ways to enhance flavors. Here’s how you can switch things up across rubs, toppings, and dippers.
Rubs and Seasonings โ Experiment with any store-bought rub, from pork to rib or chicken rubs. Flavorful alternatives include Everything Bagel, Cajun, Creole, garlic and onion, parmesan, Old Bay, taco seasoning, or even cinnamon and sugar for a sweet twist. The possibilities are endless!
Toppings and Condiments โ Add crunch with almonds, walnuts, pistachios, or crumbled bacon. Sauces and salsas, like mango salsa, pico de gallo, sriracha, or balsamic vinegar, create bold layers of flavor.
Dippers โ Crackers, crusty bread, garlic toast, tortilla chips, pretzels, or even veggies and stone fruits make excellent dippers.
Tips and Tricks for Offset Smoker Smoked Cream Cheese
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- Keep the Cream Cheese Cold: Ensure the cream cheese is cold when placing it on the offset smoker. If it’s too warm, it may start melting before it fully absorbs the smoky flavor. If your smoker isnโt up to temperature yet, keep the cream cheese in the fridge until ready to smoke.
- Use an Aluminum Drip Pan: Place a disposable aluminum drip pan filled with about an inch of water on the ash grate beneath the cream cheese. This helps maintain moisture and keeps the cream cheese from drying out during smoking.
- Maximize Your Smokerโs Space: Offset smokers have ample space, so make the most of it. Since cream cheese doesnโt take long to smoke, add other items like corn-on-the-cob, chicken wings, or any other foods that also take up to two hours to smoke. This way, youโll maximize the effort and time spent smoking.
