Smoked Philadelphia Cream Cheese

Homemade smoked cream cheese and sliced bread on a black plate next to fresh veggie sticks and pepper jelly.

Smoked Philadelphia Cream Cheese

This TikTok craze was no lie! Super simple 3 ingredient recipe that packs a punch with flavor and everyone raves over.

Course Side Dish, Snack

Cuisine American

Prep Time 5

Cook Time 2

Total Time 2 5

Servings servings

Calories 107kcal

Author Jason

Equipment

Aluminum Foil a disposable pan also works
Smoking Chips we used cherry wood
Smoker
Press N Seal or clingfilm (for storing)

Ingredients

Smoked Cream Cheese

8 oz Cream Cheese
1 tbsp BBQ Rub or Seasoning recipe below or use your own favorite
1 tsp Olive Oil

Homemade BBQ Rub

2 tsp Kosher Salt
2 tsp Ground Pepper Coarse, freshly ground
1 tsp Garlic Powder
1 tsp Onion Powder
½ tsp Paprika
Red Pepper Flakes optional for extra kick

OPTIONAL PEPPER JELLY VERSION

½ cup Pepper Jelly
½ Jalapeno Pepper diced small

Instructions

BBQ Rub

Combine all of the spices together in a bowl and stir well. Store in a sealed container.

Smoked Cream Cheese

Create a small aluminum dish by layering two pieces of foil and crimping the edges to form a lip.
Place the unwrapped cream cheese in the center of the foil pan and gently score it with a kitchen knife, cutting about ¼" deep.
Sprinkle with your favorite rub. Use 1-2 tsp, depending on how much flavor you want. Turn the cream cheese over and cover all sides. Pour a little olive oil (or use spray olive oil) on top.
Set up the grill for indirect heat. For the Big Green Egg, add the plate setter. For a gas grill, turn off the center burners. Add some smoking chips of your choice. I prefer to keep the smoke flavor mild and used Cherry.
Let the cream cheese smoke for 2 hours at 250°F. It will have darkened from the smoke and the score marks will open up. Remove it and let it cool.

Optional Pepper Jelly Version

Once the smoked cream cheese comes off of the smoker and cools off, drizzle with your favorite pepper jelly and sprinkle with diced jalapenos before serving with toasts and crackers.

Notes

Texture: The final texture of this will become a bit flaky and drier than what you started with. The heat and smoke will suck some of the moisture out. This is all normal and you won't miss the extra moisture at all.

Scoring the Cheese: Don't forget to score the surface of the cheese. Not only will it separate slightly, it will provide more surface area for the smoke to adhere.

Storage: Use what you need immediately and refrigerate or freeze the rest. For freezing wrap the unused portion in Press-N-Seal and then store in a freezer-safe Ziploc bag. Make sure to label it with the date and the seasoning. It will keep its original taste and texture for 2-3 months.

Nutrition