Anytime we fire up the offset smoker at the house, it’s almost a guarantee that I’ll be tossing on a block or two of cream cheese to snack on while we wait for whatever else is cooking to be done. This is one of my favorite appetizers—and the best part is, it’s one of the easiest to make, especially if you already have the smoker running.
I’ve seen a lot of recipes for smoked cheeses that say you need a high-temp cheese or a cold smoker. While that might be a more forgiving way to make smoked cream cheese, it’s by no means necessary. You don’t even need it to be cold outside—though that certainly helps.
The first trick to smoking cream cheese is to make sure the cheese is cold before you put it on the smoker—ideally, just slightly above freezing. However, don’t let the cream cheese freeze, as that will give it a grainy texture. I usually keep my cream cheese in the top part of the refrigerator since it tends to be the coldest. I’ll take the cheese out, prepare it, then put it back in the fridge for an hour or two until right before it goes on the smoker to keep it cold.
The second trick is fire management with an offset smoker. You really don’t want a large fire in your firebox for this. The smaller the fire, the lower the temperature in your smoker. I start with a charcoal chimney, let it burn most of the way down, then add the smallest pieces of applewood I have. These pieces burn fairly quickly, which means you’ll need to open the firebox more often to add more fuel—but this actually helps keep the temperature down. I try to keep the temp low enough that the thermometer in the lid doesn’t move at all.
Once the cheese is cold and the fire is “hot,” the next step is to add the cheese. I recommend placing it on one of those cheap disposable veggie grilling trays—or, as you can see in the photos, I use the racks from my dehydrator. The smaller gaps between the wires help keep the cheese from melting through and ending up on the bottom of the smoker. It’s extremely helpful to have two of these racks so you can sandwich the cheese and flip it once the bottom becomes a nice golden brown.
Apple-Smoked Cream Cheese
Ingredients
- 1 lb Cream cheese
- Everything Bagel Seasoning
Instructions
- Start the Fire: Get your offset smoker going. Use a small fire to keep the temperature as low as possible—this helps prevent the cream cheese from melting too quickly.
- Prepare the Cream Cheese: Remove the cream cheese from its packaging. Using a sharp knife, score the top and bottom in a crosshatch pattern. This helps the seasoning stick and allows more smoke flavor to penetrate the cheese.
- Season the Cream Cheese: Coat the top, bottom, and sides of the cream cheese generously with Everything Bagel Seasoning. Make sure it’s well covered.
- Chill the Cheese: Place the seasoned cream cheese on a wire rack—preferably one with a fine mesh or small gaps to prevent it from falling through. Put the rack and cheese back in the refrigerator for 1–2 hours to chill. This helps the cheese hold its shape when it hits the smoker.
- Smoke the Cheese: Once your smoker is ready and maintaining a low temperature, place the rack with the chilled cream cheese into the smoker. Monitor the temperature and maintain a small, clean-burning fire.
- Flip the Cheese: When the bottom of the cream cheese develops a nice golden brown crust, carefully flip it using a second wire rack or spatula.
- Finish Smoking: Continue smoking until the newly exposed side also turns a golden brown and the cheese has a firm, smoky outer layer.
- Serve: Remove from the smoker and let it rest for a few minutes. Serve warm with crackers or toasted bread.
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