Prime Rib/Standing Rib Roast Help

Atl_Buckeye

So, I'm thinking about doing a prime rib/standing rib roast for Christmas. I usually do a lot of reading/research prior to cooking something new as I am still pretty much a newbie to the egg. However, I still seem to inevitably hit an unexpected snag (meat stalls, or Thanksgiving turkey where breast cooked faster than the thigh and dried out my breast). So, I thought I would post to get some advice going in and see what snags to look for.

As for advice:
 - Which cut of meat? Boneless or Bone in? Is there anything specific to ask the butcher to do?
 - What temp to cook at? I have seen everything from 180 - 300+ deg
 - What internal temp to cook the meat to? I have seen most say 125 but others seem to say up to 140-150 (We are a medium rare house but some guests could be turned off by a totally red piece of meat)
 - I definitely like a crust. Do I need to reverse sear?
 - Any recipes are welcome

As for pitfalls:
Meat stalls are something that I have seemed to run into with the egg that I haven't experienced before (from my reading this is common with a convection cooker like egg) with other cookers. I would expect that since the IT of a prime rib will be done at a lower temp than the ~150 where my stalls usually occur, that this won't be an issue with this cook. Any other pitfalls to lookout for would be appreciated

GrillSgt

With bone. Ask butcher to remove the bone cap and then tie back on. Whatever you are going to rub with can go under the bone cap and then bones tied back on. Cook low and slow until 125-130 and then remove the bone cap again. Now ready to sear. You will not see a stall. 

Lot's of ways to cook this meat, and many are excellent. Good luck and have fun.

Atl_Buckeye

BTW....Will be 6-8 of us. What size roast should I be looking for?

GrillSgt

4 ribs will be more than enough. However I usually go 7 ribs and freeze the leftovers.

GrillSgt

The bones make some hellacious broth. Great for Texas style chile or burgoo.

lousubcap

Here's a recent thread that has a few links that will be of help;
  Prime Rib @ 180  

Eggcelsior

Buy a roast and let it sit out in the fridge for as long as possible. You can slow roast it and still get a crust since the surface will be nice and dry.

JRWhitee

Welcome from a fellow Atlanta Buckeye. I have done quite a few both bone in and boneless I prefer bone in. Like said above have the butcher remove them and tie them on. I do them at 250 indirect and pull at 120 as we are a medium rare house as well. This one was a boneless I trimmed myself. It turned out eggcellent. If it is too rare for anyone you can have a pan with au jus simmering and put a slice in the juice turning once to have a fuller cooked slice

Foghorn

JRWhitee said:

Welcome from a fellow Atlanta Buckeye. I have done quite a few both bone in and boneless I prefer bone in. Like said above have the butcher remove them and tie them on. I do them at 250 indirect and pull at 120 as we are a medium rare house as well. This one was a boneless I trimmed myself. It turned out eggcellent. If it is too rare for anyone you can have a pan with au jus simmering and put a slice in the juice turning once to have a fuller cooked slice

This.

IF you want to sear it (I quit doing that because the crust is great just from the roast), pull it at 110 or so to avoid overcooking.

And the folks that don't want red meat can have the end slices.  They'll be brown on one side and pink on the cut surface.  The next slice in from each end will be pink on one side an red on the other.  Plate them with the pink or red side up as needed to meet requests.  All the rest will be red.  So, if you have more than 4 people that won't eat red meat, go with the "warm it in au jus" plan as outlined above.

Atl_Buckeye

I love the Au Jus idea for those afraid of red. Are you guys making your au jus from pan drippings or another recipe?

johnnyp

http://eggheadforum.com/discussion/1201639/prime-rib-how-to/p1

fishlessman

we like end pieces here, i cut the roast into 2 bone sections, heavy on the salt, sear, then roast to 122 internal

fishlessman

also, a fan of choice with this cut, a true prime grade just has way too much fat

Wowens

I've done a bone in the last 2 Christmases.  The first year I pulled at 115 and reverse seared, but the middle was to rare for about half the table.  I didn't have any au jus, so I tossed slices in the skillet with a little butter and it made them happy.  
Last year I pulled at 125, and the ends were medium well, and the center was med rare, so it worked out well for every one.

My favorite part is the next night we made philly cheese steaks with the left overs, and it was slap yo momma good.

If you don't have a local butcher like I don't, Kroger normally puts them on sale for 6.99 a lb around Christmas.

northGAcock

Atl_Buckeye said:

So, I'm thinking about doing a prime rib/standing rib roast for Christmas. I usually do a lot of reading/research prior to cooking something new as I am still pretty much a newbie to the egg. However, I still seem to inevitably hit an unexpected snag (meat stalls, or Thanksgiving turkey where breast cooked faster than the thigh and dried out my breast). So, I thought I would post to get some advice going in and see what snags to look for.

As for advice:
 - Which cut of meat? Boneless or Bone in? Is there anything specific to ask the butcher to do?
 - What temp to cook at? I have seen everything from 180 - 300+ deg
 - What internal temp to cook the meat to? I have seen most say 125 but others seem to say up to 140-150 (We are a medium rare house but some guests could be turned off by a totally red piece of meat)
 - I definitely like a crust. Do I need to reverse sear?
 - Any recipes are welcome

As for pitfalls:
Meat stalls are something that I have seemed to run into with the egg that I haven't experienced before (from my reading this is common with a convection cooker like egg) with other cookers. I would expect that since the IT of a prime rib will be done at a lower temp than the ~150 where my stalls usually occur, that this won't be an issue with this cook. Any other pitfalls to lookout for would be appreciated

Good advice above, a couple points to add...as I climb on my soap box. You buy the bone in roast because there is an awesome meal awaiting you later....if you don’t naw on dem bones during this event. Secondly, you must have horseradish sauce or prepared raw (I serve with both). Purchase yourself a fresh bottle and don’t use the one that’s been sitting in the fridge for a month. Third, this cook can be done as low as you can go on your egg. It obviously impacts the length of you cook the higher you go...but be warned...regardless this cook will go shorter than you would think. Keep a close eye on it. It will not hurt to have an hour or more rest. Finally, no wood smoke is required. Let your lump do the work stand alone.

Aujus....In a pinch, mix 1 part beef broth with one part beef consome. Add what ever drippings you can and seperate out the fat.  Not authentic but easy if you are well into the cheer. Enjoy your meal and your ride getting there.

Atl_Buckeye

Some great advice on a topic that I'm sure has been addressed a lot times! 

Seems like about an easy of a cook as you possibly do. I think I'll wait to see how the crust looks when done to decide if a searing is needed

Atl_Buckeye

Couple more questions about my rib roast.

I have a 11LB roast bones cut and tied back on.

I like the idea of cooking without ribs in order to get "crust" all the way around.

What should I do with the meat in preparation. I was going to remove the bones put a healthy coating of salt for the next couple days as a dry brine. Yes? No? Any ideas?

Also, I have seen different ideas regarding the fat cap. Should I remove or no?

In my turkey cook for thanksgiving I learned that the orientation of the meat on the grill makes a difference. Is there an orientation on the grill that I should be mindful of this with this cook (understanding that there is a hotter spot on the back side of the grill)?

Was going to do the herb butter coating for the cook (Ray Lampee style) anyone done this style? I see most people seem to just do a dry herb rub

Any advice is certainly welcome

booksw

Hi @Atl_Buckeye see my post on this day about the dry brine I first did about 18 months ago.  I removed the fat cap and was advised in the posted discussion that it was a mistake- I also posted pics of before and after.  It turned out wonderful but nonetheless this time around I am leaving the fat cap on.  There is a long explanation and back and forth on discussion if you have the time and energy to check it out...

northGAcock

You want to cook bone in to about 100-105. Pull and remove the ribs....place both back on the egg ribs and roast. You can cut the ribs individually if you need to to make them fit. Continue to cook. Note that the ribs benefit you on this cook, slow roasting your prize. You remove them for some crust in the absence of the ribs. When you eat it, you really want be thinking about it. The joy is in the meat itself....your outside is really secondary if you ask me. Don’t over think this. It is really a relatively quick cook. Just be careful not to loose track of the temp. I pull at 115 and it will go to 120/122 while resting. Perfect for me. You can rest for several hours before serving with no problem. 

JohnnyTarheel

northGAcock said:

You want to cook bone in to about 100-105. Pull and remove the ribs....place both back on the egg ribs and roast. You can cut the ribs individually if you need to to make them fit. Continue to cook. Note that the ribs benefit you on this cook, slow roasting your prize. You remove them for some crust in the absence of the ribs. When you eat it, you really want be thinking about it. The joy is in the meat itself....your outside is really secondary if you ask me. Don’t over think this. It is really a relatively quick cook. Just be careful not to loose track of the temp. I pull at 115 and it will go to 120/122 while resting. Perfect for me. You can rest for several hours before serving with no problem. 

JohnnyTarheel

@northGAcock   Robin what dome temp do you cook at?   Thanks

northGAcock

JohnnyTarheel said:

@northGAcock   Robin what dome temp do you cook at?   Thanks

Normally about 275. 

SmokingPiney

Bone-in roast rubbed with an olive oil, finely chopped rosemary, minced garlic paste and liberally salted on all sides.  Cooked at 250 indirect to 115 IT. Pulled, loosely tented, and rested while I set the Egg up to sear. Seared at 500 about a minute and change a side, all sides.

End to end perfection. 

Markarm4119

I am doing an 8lb (3 ribs) Sunday. I have cut down the bone to about 1" so they are still attached, going to rub down with beef better than bouillon put back in fridge. I will then use the butter & herb rub. Set the egg up for 275
Indirect on a rack with drip pan on platesetter
Ideas on time ? I'm think 4-6 beers !

SmokingPiney

@Markarm4119, Your prep sounds great. They cook surprisingly fast. To a 125-130 IT .......around 3 hours but YMMV. Just keep an eye on it.  Be sure to loosely tent and rest it for about 30 minutes before slicing. 

Are you making au jus from the drippings?

Have a great cook! 

lousubcap

See linked references ( Prime Rib @ 180  )for advanced reading.  Ball-park figure around 25-30 mins/lb /inch diameter at around 275*F.  FWIW-

jjessup532

Welcome to the BGE Community!  I've cooked several standing rib roasts in the four years since becoming a BGE aficionado.  I've followed the steps outlined in Eric Mitchel's book "Smoke it like a Pro on the BGE" and have been more than pleased.  If you haven't purchased this book you should...having the rub recipes alone is worth the price of admission.  The tiger sauce recipe that accompanies the roast is simply amazing.    Enjoy!!

Markarm4119

I agree on Smoke it like a Pro "

Markarm4119

Gonna try my hand at pan dripping August jus  thanks for bbc.co the encouragement Piney !

lousubcap

With all the "Smoke it like a Pro" references (@jjessup532 and @Markarm4119 )  would anyone like to offer some clues as to the keys to success??  Just thought I would inquire.
Edit:  Marketing campaign?

Atl_Buckeye

on the egg. Photos to follow