Smoked Cream Cheese Questions

[jfmorris]

I've got some guys coming over tomorrow night for a beer brewer's club meeting, and thought I would throw out some snacks for the meeting, and on a whim picked up two blocks of cream cheese and two jars of pepper jelly - Tabasco regular pepper jelly (red) and jalapeño pepper jelly (green). I also picked up some Conecuh spicy sausage to smoke for an hour or two and slice up on a platter.

It came to my mind that I could smoke the cream cheese too, but I am wondering if putting smoke and a rub on cream cheese fits with dumping pepper jelly over it and serving with crackers.

Any thoughts or advice on how long and what temp to smoke the cheese at are appreciated. I've seen 225F for 2 hours online, and 200F for 1 hour. So I don't know what to think. Or do I skip it and just go with the pepper jellies. And I assume you want to cool it back down after the smoking? Or do you serve it warm?

Thanks!

Jim

[WayneT]

Never done it but would like to hear about the outcome. Bon apetit!

[mnavarre]

I did as close to 225 as I could get (more like 235-250, really) for about two hours with apple for smoke. then refrigerated for a while to cool it down and served room temp. I think it'd bet great with the pepper jelly, but think about how the rub is going to go with it, since the rub doesn't cook the same way it does on meat.

[RickyBobby]

I’ve never smoked cream cheese, so I wouldn’t have a guess for times/temps, but I feel like the smoke would pair very well with the pepper jelly. Probably give it some awesome depth of flavor! I’m anxious to hear your results!!!

[Bad Hat BBQ]

I do not know BUT
Cream cheese w/ pepper jelly is good stuff

Shrimp cocktail sauce and baby shrimp dumped on Cream Cheese runs a close 2nd

[bbqLuv]

"Shrimp cocktail sauce and baby shrimp dumped on Cream Cheese" Now that sounds really good. You know I have to give that a try.

[Murdy]

"Shrimp cocktail sauce and baby shrimp dumped on Cream Cheese"

That was a pot-luck staple when I was growing up in northern Wisconsin. Spread cream cheese on a cookie sheet, spread cocktail sauce over that, scatter baby shrimp over the top, serve with Ritz or Saltine crackers.

Similar to the old Taco Spread, also a pot-luck staple. Mix taco seasoning into cream cheese, spread out cream cheese as above, top with lettuce, onion, tomato, salsa, and shredded cheese, serve with tortilla chips

[Bad Hat BBQ]

Oldies but goodies

[RickyBobby]

I’ve been thinking about this some. Again, I have never done this, so I don’t know, but 225 sounds high to me. Wouldn’t the cream cheese melt? I know when I made my first batch of smoked cheese back in December, I had to keep the chamber below like 80 degrees to prevent the blocks from melting. I absolutely can’t wait to hear how it goes for you and then try it myself!

[mnavarre]

Nope, it doesn't melt that low, it doesn't even deform. It's actually pretty much emulsified, whereas with regular cheese too much heat will cause the fat to separate from the protein. That's why most queso dip recipes have cream cheese or Velveeta or something in 'em, they're there to keep everything from turning into a glumpy, oily mess.

[RickyBobby]

Thanks for the education mnavarre ! That makes a lot of sense now that you’ve explained it……. Now I need a block of cream cheese.

[hoovarmin]

Cream cheese and pepper jelly is one of the greatest pairings of all time. Grew up eating that on wheat thins. I'm not sure I would smoke the cream cheese, to be honest. It tends to dry even when covered up with bacon in a popper. But you never know til you try.

[mnavarre]

It gets a bit of pellicle or bark on the outside, the inside is just... cream cheese. If you let it hang in the fridge far a day or two the smoke flavor does tend to permeate the whole block, or at least it seems stronger. It's really good.

[Michael_in_TX]

I really like smoked cream cheese. The color it imparts on the cheese block is gorgeous. (Of course, if you're covering that up with something...) I always put some deep diagonal cuts in the cheese. The cheese will expand slightly, letting the color get in those grooves.

I've always done mine on my pellet smoker, 225 F for two hours. I'm sure you could probably get away with half that time. I put everything bagel seasoning on it before it goes in. Really good on lox!

[Smoked Transistors]

Have not tried this Trager recipe for Smoked Cream Cheese but it lays out the steps and temp , it may be helpful to you.

https://www.orwhateveryoudo.com/2021/08/traeger-smoked-cream-cheese.html

[radiodome21]

I’ve probably done a dozen bricks of cream cheese on my pellet smokers (Traeger and Grilla). Love it. So easy and tastes great. I usually smoke 2 bricks at a time in an aluminum pan and then add the chips and pretzel chips when I serve them. I also will put different rubs on them, with Gibson’s seasoning salt the most liked. I’ve also done them at different temps from 180-225 but nothing higher. I’ve also gone as long as 3 hours and was still amazing. The real stamp of approval came from my in laws who gave me the what the hell is that look the first time I put it on the table. And they devoured it.

Now since I don’t know what pepper jelly is I guess I can’t comment on that. But Ive kind started to take the approach of smoke first then ask questions later approach. After swearing off smoking chuck roasts after some recent struggles….guess what I just bought.

[Dadof3Illinois]

I’ve had pepper jelly over cream cheese and it’s great IMO but never over the cream cheese after smoking. We use a pellet grill at 200F for 2 hours and coat the block of cheese with a good coating of your favorite rub. If I were to put jelly over it after smoking I may hold off on the rub or make sure I’m using something that will complement the flavor of jelly I’m using?
Please make sure to take pictures and keep us posted on the outcome!!

[Flat Rocker]

After all the great advice you've given when I've asked a question in the Pit, it's my turn to maybe help you.
I've only done cream cheese once on the pellet smoker and it was good, but my notes say that it needed more time in the smoke and more rub. I did them in a 1/2 pan on the 2nd shelf of my Grid Iron at 225 for 2 hours. I used a different rub on the 4 blocks of cheese, just to see what they were like, I should have been a little more liberal with the rubs.
The cream cheese doesn't melt as mentioned above and I thought it was good warm as well as later on out of the fridge. I didn't use any pepper jelly, but how bad can that be? I don't know how many guys you're expecting, but I'm wondering if 2 blocks are going to be enough? Let us know what you did and how it turned out. Cheers.

[jfmorris]

Thanks for all the advice folks! I expect 15 guys or so, and there will be other snacks aside from the cream cheese and wheat thins - I was just looking for something to set out. The purpose of the meeting is beer tasting and critique of the various home-brew being brought, not so much eating, but usually the host has a few snacks sitting out, and others might bring bags of pretzels and such.

I think right now my plan is to light the leftover lump in the kamado mid afternoon, toss in a couple new wood chunks, and have the PartyQ bring it up to 200 or 225. Since folks say it is good hot or cold, I'll probably just put it on several hours before, and pull it after 2 hours and let it cool down for about an hour before the meeting. I may put it in a cast iron skillet for the smoke and for serving. I'll also drop the Conecuh sausage on for a couple of hours too.

I'm still gonna top it all with pepper jelly, and hope for the best. These guys are not picky, except when it comes to being beer snobs....

[RickyBobby]

Beer and smoked deliciousness?? What time is the meeting? Asking for a friend………

[jfmorris]

RickyBobby 7pm in Huntsville! I'll be sure to use 10 pounds of wood chunks on those blocks of cream cheese too, while I'm at it...

[jfmorris]

Well, got things going on the kamado. I was a little cautious, and for now used my PartyQ to set the temp to 200F, and its staying there right on the nose, with a nice little plume of smoke coming from the barely open top vent...

The block in the foreground got Hank's KC Royale as the rub, with a mustard binder. The one in the background got olive oil for the binder, and a jerk rub my son gave me. I'll top both with pepper jelly in a couple hours, and report back.

As I look at the picture, I realize I did not score like I see folks do on the Interwebs. Oh well! I'm not going and doing it now.

[SmokingSteve]

jfmorris I did 4 blocks of cream cheese for the last Super Bowl. I did the cross hatching with a knife first, then put a different rub on each. I do them on my WW36 pellet Smoker at 200 for 2 hours. I place them on a sheet of heavy duty aluminum foil with the edges turned up just slightly. I do not use a binder because the blocks sit out while I am cross-hatching them, so they are sticky soft when the rub goes on all surfaces. Then I put them on the foil and stick them back in the fridge for about 30 minutes. That firms them up nicely and "grabs" the rub. Then they go on the preheated smoker for the two hours. I have done these multiple times, always with great/popular results. Now that is the thing most requested when I go to a party for something. HeyGrillHey has a nice video on YouTube and the "recipe" on her site, HeyGrillHey.com . If storing leftovers or just resting them, wrap tightly in plastic wrap and keep in fridge. Mine have lasted as long as two weeks, and they do seem to get smokier penetration over time. https://www.youtube.com/redirect?eve...&v=4UbR6f2Y_LU

Pics added as a separate post, not hijacking the thread.

[jfmorris]

I've not had ANYTHING bad using a HeyGrillHey recipe.

I looked there yesterday but didn't find anything about smoked cream cheese. Do you have a link you can share?