Smoked Cream Cheese
Smoked cream cheese is the simplest pellet grill appetizer you'll ever make! One block of full-fat cream cheese, one teaspoon of seasoning, and 90 minutes at 225°F produces warm, smoky, gloriously creamy dip that will disappear from the table before anything else. And don't skip the toppings - that's where this smoked app goes from good to legendary.
Servings: 8 people
Equipment
- 1 small sheet tray, grill-safe plank, or disposable foil pan
Ingredients
- 1 block full-fat cream cheese 8 oz
- 1 tsp dry rub or seasoning of choice BBQ rub, Tajín, jalapeño seasoning, everything bagel, etc.
- Toppings of choice see Topping Options below
Instructions
- Preheat pellet grill or smoker to 225°F with your choice of pellets. *We recommend Smokin' Pecan pellets (pecan shell), but apple, cherry, or pecan wood pellets work also.
- Optional - Score the top of the cream cheese about quarter-way down in a crosshatch pattern. Use a hot, sharp knife for clean cuts.
- Place the block of cream cheese on a small sheet tray, grill-safe plank, or in a small cast iron skillet or disposable aluminum pan.
- Sprinkle approximately 1 tsp of your chosen seasoning evenly over the top of the cream cheese block.
- Smoke at 225°F for 90 minutes. Done when the top is light tan, puffs open and cracks, and the edges begin to pull away from the bottom of the pan.
- Add toppings immediately while warm. Serve warm with crackers, chips, bread, or your favorite dippers.
Video
Notes
- For the Candied Jalapeños Topping: Make the candied jalapeños 1-2 days ahead, and store in the refrigerator until ready to use. Season the block of cream cheese with all-purpose seasoning, jalapeno-flavored seasoning, or BBQ rub before smoking. Immediately after smoking, top the smoked cream cheese with a few generous spoonfuls of candied jalapeños. Candied jalapeños recipe available at pelletsandpits.com
- For the Bacon Onion Jam Topping: Season the block of cream cheese with 1 teaspoon of barbecue rub (not overly salty) before smoking at 225°F for 90 minutes. Then top with 2-3 generous spoonfuls of bacon jam. You can make the bacon jam a day or two ahead and store in the refrigerator until ready to use. Add the cold jam to the top of the warm cream cheese, or reheat the bacon jam in a skillet on low before using. Get our bacon onion jam recipe here - https://theflattopking.com/bacon-onion-jam/
- For the Mexican Street Corn Topping: Add about 1 teaspoon of Tajin seasoning to the top of the cream cheese block before smoking. Make the Mexican street corn while the cream cheese is smoking on the pellet grill. Simply heat 19 ounces of frozen (thawed) corn kernels in a skillet with 1 tablespoon of butter until the corn is slightly charred. Season with a pinch of salt. Then add the warm corn to a mixing bowl with these ingredients:
- 3 tablespoons mayonnaise
- 3 tablespoons chopped cilantro
- 2 teaspoons Tajin seasoning
- juice of 1 lime
- 1/4 cup Cotija cheese, grated
- Other Topping Options: We prefer smoked cream cheese with sweeter toppings. More options include a generous drizzle of hot honey, jarred jalapeno pepper jelly, or apricot preserves.