In the United States, the temperatures are mild, and everyone is anticipating a long weekend to acknowledge Memorial Day. This means that this is the first time in the year that the BBQ smoker will get some use. People will be cleaning grates, buying proteins, and wondering what to cook for their family and friends. My choices are always between brisket and pulled pork. But, this year, I am asking, “Why not both?”
A brisket takes a long time to smoke but only takes up one rack in a Weber Smokey Mountain smoker. That means that you can smoke other things at the same time. I try to take advantage of the extended session and smoke a few things while the brisket is doing its thing, turning into magic.
I keep the brisket on the top grate of the WSM, leaving the bottom grate for more things to smoke. I also do this because I have friends who do not eat pork.
On the bottom grate, we can get creative. For one, you do have enough time for a pork shoulder or a Boston butt.
Smoked Queso and Cream Cheese are crowd-pleasers. It’s funny. I can put a day into a brisket, tending a fire and meticulously crafting the culinary experience, and people will rave about the cream cheese. If they were left alone, they would like the pan clean. They love it because its simple, flavorful, and novel.
Smoked Cream Cheese is pretty straightforward. You take out two bricks of cream cheese, place them in an aluminum pan, and score their tops… You know for extra surface area to house that smoke flavor. Season them with a sweet BBQ rub. I like pecan rubs like Meat Church Deez Nuts Honey Pecan rub. You can easily make your own with brown sugar, black pepper, salt, and toasted pecan flavoring. Anything sweet is going to work with the cream cheese. Smoke for an hour or so. Serve with crackers. I like to double down and use the pecan crackers from Blue Diamond.
So, have a fun weekend. I hope you smoke something awesome as well as try something new. Let me know how it goes. See you on the BBQ forums.