What's a sure fire way to cook a Prime Rib and have success on my XL???

RickyBobby · December 2014

Let me hear it! How do you do up a Prime Rib on your Egg? What size Prime Rib?

SGH · December 2014

You can reverse sear it or forward sear it. I prefer to sear first then roast when it comes to prime rib. It's much easier to stop at the exact temp if you get the sear out of the way first. Over a medium direct flame I roll it around until I get the desired color that I'm shooting for all over. Then drop temp and roast indirect. For the roasting you can use a wide range of temps and attain excellent results. Anywhere from 225-400 degrees indirect is fine. I usually stay in the low 200's just because it gives me plenty of catch time. After I sear it I give it a coating of salt and pepper and then let it roast to a internal of 120 degrees for rare. You can adjust your pull temp to the level of doneness that you are shooting far. Some folks prefer to debone or have them deboned. I myself do not. I love seeing ribs 6-12 standing up in my smoker. It's almost magical to look at.

nolaegghead · December 2014

SGH's answer gets NOLA's seal of approval (graphic pending). That's how I do it. I cooked hundreds of prime ribs in my youth and the slower the better. Add your color at the beginning and let the cooking happen in slow motion.

SGH · December 2014

nolaegghead said:

SGH's answer gets NOLA's seal of approval (graphic pending). That's how I do it. I cooked hundreds of prime ribs in my youth and the slower the better. Add your color at the beginning and let the cooking happen in slow motion.

Preach it brother Nola.

Ladeback69 · December 2014

I agree with @SGH, but I have only done a full beef tenderloin and I took it to an internal temp of 135 then pulled. I didn't sear it and it was great. I want to try a Prime Rib. I did an 8 pounder raised indirect and still had room. 10 -12 pounds no problem.

DICKSONUNC · December 2014

I'm new to the forum here but am in love with my BGE. I want to do a Prime Rib for Christmas but the pressure is on with the inlaws coming so timing will be important.

My question is this-- my BGE is easiest to maintain around 250 degrees so about how many hours per pound at 250 degrees am I looking at for a bone in prime rib if I want to smoke it to 120 degrees inside (med rare to rare)? Thanks!!!!

Foghorn · December 2014

DICKSONUNC said:

I'm new to the forum here but am in love with my BGE. I want to do a Prime Rib for Christmas but the pressure is on with the inlaws coming so timing will be important.

My question is this-- my BGE is easiest to maintain around 250 degrees so about how many hours per pound at 250 degrees am I looking at for a bone in prime rib if I want to smoke it to 120 degrees inside (med rare to rare)? Thanks!!!!

Welcome aboard.

It will probably take 1.5 - 2.5 hours but could go out to 3 hours at that temp. It isn't so much about minutes or hours per pound as it is about the thickness of the roast. Making it longer (more pounds of meat usually means they just slice it further down the rib cage - for example a 3 rib roast with the bones on might weigh 6 pounds and a 4 rib roast might weigh 8) doesn't really add much to the cook time once you get to where it is longer than it is thick (about 3 ribs worth).

The challenge with searing first is that it takes the egg a while to cool down after the initial sear. You can actually do the sear on any grill (obviously charcoal is perferred, but in my pre-egg days I seared one on gas then put it in a smoker) and then put it on your egg that is stabilized at 250 if you kept whatever you used before you got your egg. With that being said, on my XL, if I sear around 500 degrees, then take the roast off and shut the egg down to the settings I need to get it in the 250 range, then wait about 10 minutes, then (very quickly before the fire rekindles) put my platesetter in, and wait another 10 minutes, the temp gets down to around 300 and I can put the roast back on the grill at that point and it will keep settling down.

I've got a wife and some friends that like their prime rib truly rare so I pull it off when the center hits 115. It is usually done early so then I FTC (foil, towel, cooler) it until it is time to slice it. The center temp will rise about 10 degrees in the cooler as the temps of the outer (therefore warmer) parts of the meat equilibrate with the inner portion. About 1/3 of it is truly rare and the ends are medium and the rest is medium rare. That's what works for my crowd. Your crowd may be different so adjust accordingly. Good luck.

Ragtop99 · December 2014

Allowing the charcoal to come up to temp and doing the sear with the lid open helps keep the egg from becoming real hot.

The coals can take longer to heat up with the lid open as it doesn't have the chimney draft effect. 2 minutes of forced air from a hair dryer, heat gun, or good old fashion bellows will stoke the fire quickly and not give the ceramics much time to heat up.

lousubcap · December 2014

I go low&slow (around 250-260*F on the dome) all the way to the finish-line. Here's great read on prime rib cooks:

http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1996/03/beef-standing-rib-roast-prime-rib.html Enjoy the eats.

RickyBobby · December 2014

Lots of good info .... thanks folks!

abpgwolf · December 2014

I did a prime rib for the family last Christmas using this recipe: http://amazingribs.com/recipes/beef/prime_rib_roast.html

As recommended in the recipe, we had the bones removed and used those for gravy. I dry brined the meat the night before and made a rub using the recipe from the same website. Smoked at 225-240, seared when the temp hit 120 and pulled it at just below 135. It was done a little early, so I FTC for about 45 minutes.

I turned out Great! We bought a larger cut, expecting to have leftovers for sandwiches - there wasn't a slice left!

Good luck with your prime rib!

SMITTYtheSMOKER · December 2014

I prefer the reverse sear myself. I like having the crusty char of the sear being fresh on the plate, as opposed to having seared it an hour ago. I cook indirect at 315/320 until I get a 120 internal temp, take out roast and convert Egg to sear direct at 476/500. Go back and now you simply have to char each side, it will go fast. Total process is about 5 minutes. Take off again and rest. Slice and enjoy.

tarheelmatt · December 2014

I did a reverse sear on my last one and it was fantastic.

http://eggheadforum.com/discussion/1170618/prime-rib#latest

SmokeyPitt · December 2014

I am also partial to the reverse sear, however I think whether you sear first or last the key point is a "sear" and "slow roast" combination. I cook mine a little more on the medium side of medium rare...target a finish around 130.

I based mine on the Amazing Ribs recipe/method (here) last year and it turned out great. I just used a boneless roast (didn't trim it "round" and everything).

tarheelmatt · December 2014

I think the reverse method works better for the egg as you go as slow as you want (to near temp) then open the vents WFO for the sear. Once the ceramics are heated it is hard to get it down from 500°+ going standard sear then roast. This is just my opinion and mythology though.

tksmoke · December 2014

Isn't that why we own multiple eggs - one for the sear, and one for the smoke...

tarheelmatt · December 2014

tksmoke said:
Isn't that why we own multiple eggs - one for the sear, and one for the smoke...

Unless you know something I don't, we (actually me) only have one egg.

Cookinbob · December 2014

I did one last year reverse sear and was totally pleased with the results. With that said, @SGH and @nolaegghead, know what they are doing. I think i will try the sear first method for this years Christmas prime rib, though I guess either way works if you cook to temp.

SGH · December 2014

@Cookinbob‌
It does work just the same. Which ever way is the easiest and most convieant is the way I recommend. I do like to sear first but I have several smokers on hand so it's not a issue for me. They both work great in my estimate. Can't go wrong with either method.

Durangler · December 2014

I can only assume that SGH uses the "small worn out & broken down Weber kettle" to forward sear his prime roasts. :-j

I did the amazingribs reverse sear method last year & everyone was satisfied.... even me!

RickyBobby · December 2014

.... Maybe this gives me reason enough to go get that 2nd Egg! In fact, I called my local dealer couple days back and asked about the Mini Max. Was told they won't have them available until this spring. :-( So I'll be waiting sometime before accomplishing owning 2 Eggs. For now, I guess I'll go the reverse sear route. Unless I may be able to forward sear with my gasser then plop the prime rib on my Egg for the slow roast ... not sure I like that idea.

SGH · December 2014

Durangler said:

I can only assume that SGH uses the "small worn out & broken down Weber kettle" to forward sear his prime roasts. :-j

I did the amazingribs reverse sear method last year & everyone was satisfied.... even me!

That ole a Weber has served me well my friend :>

Durangler · December 2014

I still use my Weber SGH. The gasser hasn't seen any use for a looooong time.

I was thinking to forward sear the prime roast on the Weber & transfer to the 250ish XL

SGH · December 2014

Durangler said:

I still use my Weber SGH. The gasser hasn't seen any use for a looooong time.
I was thinking to forward sear the prime roast on the Weber & transfer to the 250ish XL

I honestly still use my Weber kettle to this day. Sometimes it's just not justifiable to fire up one of the offsets or verticals. The Weber kettle is actually a very good cooker to have in your arsenal. Your plan sounds great, sear on the Weber and transfer to the egg to finish. Good luck, and will be standing by.

SmokeyPitt · December 2014

RickyBobby said:

.... Maybe this gives me reason enough to go get that 2nd Egg! In fact, I called my local dealer couple days back and asked about the Mini Max. Was told they won't have them available until this spring. :-( So I'll be waiting sometime before accomplishing owning 2 Eggs. For now, I guess I'll go the reverse sear route. Unless I may be able to forward sear with my gasser then plop the prime rib on my Egg for the slow roast ... not sure I like that idea.

If your gasser will get hot enough to sear then I honestly don't think you would be able to tell the difference. It will get plenty of flavor from the slow roast.

fusionhq · December 2014

I am doing one for Christmas, so this thread really helped! Thanks!

fishlessman · December 2014

my family likes end pieces so i cook them 2bone trex.

perfect end pieces every time

fishlessman · December 2014

another thing, i dont like the grease smoke from a fatty prime piece, i like the choice cut alot better. sometimes prime pieces are just too fatty

robnybbq · December 2014

My problem is my wife will not eat steak/meat if its pink/red at all. She likes it well done. How do I cook a rib roast and have part of it well done while the rest is medium-rare/medium? I dont want to cut a piece off as that will be just a steak and will be dried out.

If we are cooking for 8 adults and a few kids I am guessing ~6 lber. ~$100-150? I have failed in the past to make a prime rib tasty and very tender like you would get at a good restaurant. $150 is allot of dough to throw out if it comes out like crap.

tarheelmatt · December 2014

Here is the recipe I used as reference....

http://www.nibblemethis.com/2011/12/reverse-seared-prime-rib-roast.html

Eggcelsior · December 2014

robnybbq said:

My problem is my wife will not eat steak/meat if its pink/red at all. She likes it well done. How do I cook a rib roast and have part of it well done while the rest is medium-rare/medium? I dont want to cut a piece off as that will be just a steak and will be dried out.

If we are cooking for 8 adults and a few kids I am guessing ~6 lber. ~$100-150? I have failed in the past to make a prime rib tasty and very tender like you would get at a good restaurant. $150 is allot of dough to throw out if it comes out like crap.

Cook it like you want it then slice a piece off and bring it to your wife's temp in a pan of au jus on the stove.

What's a sure fire way to cook a Prime Rib and have success on my XL???

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