Call it thinking outside of the box – or into the box – but we’re going out on a limb. I had a pile of Cheez-It crackers on my last couple flights and thought, “I bet these would be good smoked”.
Naturally, I wasn’t the only one that thought this. A quick Google DuckDuckGo search generated some recipes and we went to work.
The Prep Table
Sunshine/Kellogg already did most of the prep work. We just have to add some seasonings, a binder and put some smoke on it. Obviously we’re not cooking these anymore than they’ve already been cooked.. We’re just imparting some flavor.
My RecTeq’s “Lo” setting puts it at around 180 degrees… aptly titled “Xtreme Smoke”, so that’s what I’m doing.
With autumn in swing and winter coming, I’m looking forward to smoking some cheese, and so is my wife. Not quite there, so she’ll have to settle for the Cheez-It. I’m partial to the white cheddar Cheez-It, so I decided to do both that and the Original for comparison.
The Process
Dump some olive oil and Worcestershire sauce into the bowl and season it with your favorite seasoning. Of course, I went with my blend which has some cayenne, black pepper, brown sugar among other things. Just a touch of spice, but definitely some sweet. Think about what you want your final product to have and use that.
Once you’ve thrown the ingredients together, mix it up pretty well. Put them into half pans and put them in the smoker. If your concern of throwing liquid on the Cheez-It will get rid of the crunch – it’s valid. You do lose some of the crunch, but not all of it. Truth be told, it’s a good sacrifice.
After every 20-30 minutes, I pulled a half-pan out and mixed them up. You get a bit of a sticky product to start – and you want to make sure you’re not smoking a Cheez-It Cheese Ball. Mix it up, shake it around and get her back in the smoke.
I left it on for about 1.5-2 hours, give or take – but it’s real easy to pull it when you want – try them! I opted for the 2 hour mark because the product wasn’t sludgy or sticky anymore. They were mostly dry and I wanted to get at them
The Result
These were actually pretty good! My criticism is that we lose the crunch, but if you’re a fan of smoked goods – you’ll like the smoked Cheez-It. My wood blend was a “competition blend” which I usually chalk up to filler wood – but it was a good smoke flavor – not harsh like a Mesquite would provide.
After eating only a servings-worth (lie) – that smoke flavor stays with you. That’s what I like, and that’s what I got. The brown sugar in the rub wasn’t overpowering, and I didn’t get any unpleasant taste from the rub. When we’re allowed to throw parties and get-togethers again – I will definitely spend 2-2.5 hours to make an otherwise basic product pop.
Which was better? I don’t know – I enjoyed them both. Even if the seasoning wasn’t prevalent on the cracker – you still got great taste. Hope you liked this odd-ball smoker post – keep it interesting and new.
The Recipe
The Smoked Cheez-It Cracker
Ingredients
- 1 Box Cheez-Its
- 1/2 Cup Olive Oil
- 1/4 Cup Worcestershire sauce
- 1/4 Cup Favorite BBQ Rub
Instructions
- Set your RecTeq/Traeger to it's lowest, smokiest setting. Us RecTeq'ers, hit that "LO" "Xtreme Smoke" option.
- Dump your cheez-its into a bowl (or half-pan), put some food service gloves on and get ready to get dirty.
- Dump in the olive oil, Worcestershire and seasoning and mix and incorporate everything. Use your hands so you're not making cracker dust.
- If not already in a half-pan, do it now and throw it in the smoker.
- Check every 20-30 minutes for about an hour and a half to 2 hours. Get back in there and mix it up. They'll clump up, so keep mixing it up.
- Best way to know when it's done is to try them!
Looks great!