Slice the garlic head across the top of the garlic cloves. Drizzle the garlic with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Wrap in aluminum foil and roast for 30-40 minutes until the garlic cloves are soft and golden brown.
Combine:
Add the room-temperature cheeses into a large mixing bowl with the onion, roasted garlic, Worcestershire sauce, jalapeno, pork rub, and cayenne pepper. Add them to the bowl of an electric mixer. Mix with the paddle attachment until well blended, about 3-5 minutes. Stir in milk a tablespoon at a time to help smooth out the cheese mixture.
Roll and Coat In Nuts:
Shape the cheese ball into one large ball or several equal cheese balls. Refrigerate for 1 hour to firm the cheeses back up, then roll in the chopped pecans until well-coated. (see notes)
Serve:
Serve with crackers, crusty bread, pretzels, or veggies.
Notes
Bring the cheeses up to room temperature before combining the ingredients.
It’s best to hand-chop the pecans. I have found that a food processor or electric chopper can easily make the nuts too fine and dusty.
Mince the jalapenos as fine as possible to avoid obnoxious pieces within the cheese ball.
Use plastic wrap to help shape the cheese mixture into a ball.
To save time, wrap the cheese ball in plastic wrap and place the cheese ball in the freezer for 20 minutes before rolling in the nuts.
Freezer paper or parchment paper works very well for coating the cheese ball with pecans. The flexibility of the paper makes it easy to keep the pecans centered on the workspace.
If making too far ahead, the nuts can soften. You may want to hold off on the nuts until closer to the time you want to serve it. Personally, I do not mind the nuts being a little softer. It’s all up to you.
If you can’t find smoked cheddar cheese, you could always throw in a ¼ cup chopped bacon bits or smoked paprika instead.
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