Smoked Cheetos® Puffs
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On a mere whim, I decided to try smoking Cheetos® Puffs so I ran to my local grocery store and picked up a large bag.
Abi, who is not a huge fan of putting smoke on literally everything like I am, was blown away by the smoked Cheetos® Puffs and the smoked potato chips. I must caution you that these are addictive and if you dare to go down this road, well, there is no returning to the way things used to be.
Are y'all ready for this? Let's do it!
- Prep Time: 3 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Smoker Temp: 180°F
- Recommended Wood: A mix of mesquite and cherry*
*I used the REC TEC Bull for this project and this is the blend I chose to use for all of them. It was a great choice!
- 1 or more bags and/or flavors of Cheetos® Puffs
Open the bag of Cheetos® Puffs and pour them into a large sheet pan. Something like a Weber grill pan would also work well.
Pour the little puffs of goodness into the pan(s) making sure the smoke can get to all of them.
I used Weber grill pans for these and they worked perfectly. Made of heavy duty stainless steel and they have narrow slots in the bottom that let the smoke come through but don't let smaller pieces of food fall through.
Setup your smoker to maintain indirect heat of around 180°F or lower if possible. You do NOT need heat, only smoke, however, a little heat will not hurt them.
Once the smoke is going, place the pan(s) of Puffs into the smoker and close the lid.
Leave them alone for 30 minutes and try to not raise the lid until they are finished for maximum smoke flavor.
When the time has expired, remove them from the smoker and bring them into the house to cool.
These can be devoured in any way that you see fit.. enjoy the smoke flavor!
Once they are cooled down, you can store them in zipper bags.
Share with your friends and family knowing full well that they will be begging you to make these every time you get together from henceforth and forevermore!
Smoked Cheetos® Puffs
Ingredients
- 1 or more bags and/or flavors of Cheetos® Puffs
Instructions
Step 1: Into the Pan
- Open the bag of Cheetos® Puffs and pour them into a large sheet pan. Something like a Weber grill pan would also work well.
- Pour the little puffs of goodness into the pan(s) making sure the smoke can get to all of them.
Step 2: Smoke
- Setup your smoker to maintain indirect heat of around 180°F or lower if possible. You do NOT need heat, only smoke, however, a little heat will not hurt them.
- Once the smoke is going, place the pan(s) of Puffs into the smoker and close the lid.
- Leave them alone for 30 minutes and try to not raise the lid until they are finished for maximum smoke flavor.
- When the time has expired, remove them from the smoker and bring them into the house to cool.
Step 3: Devour
- These can be devoured in any way that you see fit.. enjoy the smoke flavor!
- Once they are cooled down, you can store them in zipper bags.
I have done the Cheetos several times and they are always Awesome
Gonna have to give this a try give me a good reason to break out the old Amazin tray and use some of that dust Ive got still
Is there a recommended wood for this? I saw cherry listed below but not a big fan.
I like a pretty heavy smoke flavor on these but you can use different woods to give you a different profile or a bolder or more mild flavor.
The most common smoke woods are hickory, mesquite, pecan and oak which are all on the stronger flavored side of things. Fruit woods are generally milder with the most common ones being apple and cherry. The mildest smoke flavor is alder and is often used on fish for that reason.
If you don’t care for cherry, try pecan. In my opinion, it is one of the most well-rounded smoke flavors and goes great with everything.
I’m new to cold smoking but is this essentially what I would be trying to achieve? I have an electric smoker (smoke hollow) with a cold smoke setting I could use to keep the cheetos from getting too hot. Thanks!
I think a good cool smoke would be great on those.. because smokers differ, you might put them in there and then just taste one and stir every 10 minutes or so to see how it goes. Once they are smoky enough, you can remove them and you now have the magic number of minutes for smoked Cheetos in that smoker.
Love, love, LOVE this recipe!!!! I have an electric smoker and I used all cherry wood for these. I let them smoke with the vent halfway open and lager in my smoking bowl for 45 minutes simply because I lost track of time. They were fantasmic!!! After they cooled, I threw them back in the Cheetos puffs bag and they tasted even better the next day!!! These will be my new go to snack food!!! Thanks sooooo much for this recipe!!!! Love it!!!
You have great recipes I use your stuff all the time
Maybe the best thing about smoked cheese puffs is this: you can make a lot at one time. Put them in zip lock bags and put them in the freezer. You can get them out 6 months later and they still have the same texture and flavor!
I’ve never tried to freeze them so that’s great information… Thanks!