prime rib

How much prime rib per person? How hungry are they? I know I can eat a lot of prime rib when I'm hungry.

When I grill large cuts of meat I cook to temperature. I haven't done this on a BGE yet, but I'm sure it will be delicious when I get around to it.

I figure about an inch per person and I cook mine indirect on a V rack for about 20 minutes per pound at 350 or until the internal temp is 135.

The rough answer to amount is: 1 bone for every 2 people, I use that as a minimum.

I can dial you in pretty close to cook times using barbecue temperatures. Several years ago on my Prime Rib Page, I asked folks to send me their cook times as a reference for other folks. Well, I still get e-mails and as a result have a very complete list that goes from #4 to #15 Here it is:

When using these estimates, you must consider the carry over temperature, which is the amount of temperature rise once a piece of meat is removed from the cooker. The reason internal temperature continues to rise even after the meat is removed from the pit is because the outside of the meat is hotter than the inside. This heat continues to be conducted into the meat until the heat is equalized throughout the roast. Carry over can be affected by weight and shape of the roast, thickness of fat cap (fat acts like an insulator), whether it's bone-in or an eye of the rib roast, pit temp, and of course the internal temp you pull it. A larger roast will rise more during the rest than a smaller one, bones are a conductor of heat and a fat cap will add mass and contribute to the rise. Likewise a roast cooked with a higher pit temp will rise more than barbecuing one with a lower pit temp.

Using the 220°-250°pit temps, and a smaller boneless roast, you can expect a 5° to 8° rise in the internal temperature stated below while the roast is resting. A larger bone-in roast might rise 8° to 12°. All the temperatures reported below are when the roast is still in the cooker, so take into account the rise.

4 pound roast - 220°-228° pit temp - 2 hours to reach 125°
5-1/2 pound roast - 230° pit temp - 3 hours to reach 125°
6-3/4 pound bone-in roast - 250° pit temp - 4 hours to reach 125°
7 pound roast - 250° pit temp - 3 hours 40 minutes to reach 123°
7 pound roast - 220°-228° pit temp - 3 hours 30 minutes to reach 125°
8 pound roast - 250° - 275° pit temp - 4 hours to reach 122°
10 pound roast - 220°-228° pit temp - 3 hours to reach 120°
11 pound roast (4 bones) - 215° average pit temp - 4 hours 54 minutes to reach 125°
14 pound roast - 220°-250° pit temp - 4 hours 30 minutes to reach 125°
15 pound roast - 220°-250° pit temp - 4 hrs 50 min to reach 127°

For Example.... if I had a 4 pound roast that I wanted on the high end of medium rare, I would remove it from the cooker at 125° expecting that it may rise to around 132° during the rest. I would pull it off the cooker closer to 120° if I wanted it on the lower end of medium rare. This is what look for when I mention medium rare. The center is warm and mostly pink to red. The texture is firm on the outside, soft and juicy on the inside.

The temperature ranges I use when discussing doneness in beef roasts or steaks are listed below. These are final "cutting board" temperatures, and they have taken into account the carry over (rise) I mentioned above.

115°-120° very rare
121°-127° rare
128°-135° medium rare
140°-150° medium
150°-155° medium well
>160° well done