Prime Rib Where did I go wrong

kolbdriver-disabled · January 2007

Hi All, This is my frist post. Been lurking on the list every since I got my BGE about 10 months ago. Got lots of good ideas and every thing I have cooked has been just wonderful, until now.. I cooked a prime rib roast, indirect,grid temp about225 - 250 till a internal temp of 137, pulled it wraped in foil and into the ice chest for 1.5 hours. Worst piece of meat I have every tried to eat.I need some help before I try to cook the next one thats already in the fridge.
Thanks

mad max beyond eggdome · January 2007

Kolbdriver,
before i try to offer any help, what exactly was wrong with it? . ..[p]too smokey? .. .too dry? . .. too done?. . .what did you treat it with before cooking? . .how big was it? . ..bone in or bone out? . ..

uncbbq · January 2007

Kolbdriver,
I'm no expert, but I think most folks cook the more tender pieces of meat such as prime rib hotter and quicker. From what I gather, 325 or so, with either a front-end or back-end sear at 500-600 to crust it. Still cook to temp, though. There are several recent threads about prime rib, and the link below give you Mad Max's take. Thirdeye has a recipe posted using the slow method at http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1996/03/beef-standing-rib-roast-prime-rib.html
[ul][li]Max's Prime Rib[/ul]

Morro Bay Rich · January 2007

Kolbdriver,
If you pulled it at 137 and then wrapped it in foil and stuck it in an ice chest it was certainly well done by the time you ate it.
I cook at 250 indirect, pull at 118 and let it set on the counter during which time the internal temp goes to 133. Then it is back in the Egg at 450 -500 for 11 min to crisp up the outside. Let it set for 15 min and eat. Gives perfect medium-rare.
Hope this helps. Remember there are three levels of done-ness, rare, medium-rare and ruined (to quote a previous post on this forum).

stike · January 2007

Kolbdriver,
maybe 225-250 is ok til you hit about 135/138. then jack temps and finish it at high heatto develop a crust.[p]as others have said, sitting ion foil that long will just let it cook until it's way beyond what you want.[p]why a cooler? were you taking it somewhere?[p]anyway. aside from allowing the temp to run over, wrapping in foil and putting it in a cooler will dissolve anything that may have been desirable in the way of a crust.[p]first time i try something on the egg, i follow a tried-and-true recipe to the 'T". that gives me a predictable result, and edu-ma-cates me as to what's going on.[p]later on i might showboat and experiment, but not the first time, and certainly not with a nice chunk of meat.[p]in short, you shouldn't cook that thing any different than you would have in your oven. [p]hmmm.i'm thinking maybe you put it in the ice chest because some do that with pulled pork? if so, don't confuse lo-and-slo with roasting. it's not a direct swap. you won't always get great results trying to 'smoke' (or barbecue) everything at low temps exclusively. witness the dude that tried a steak at low temps, indirect. yuck.

RobMonctonNB · January 2007

I prepared a Prime Rib just a few days ago...250-275 degrees for 5 hours and it came out beautifully. Like mentioned before, we need more details. Grade of meat, marinating, etc, etc... Check out my link...

[ul][li]Prime Rib[/ul]

wobin · January 2007

Kolbdriver,
Take Rich's advice, sounds like you overcooked it. Pull it at a lower temp and let it rest for just a few minutes.[p]Cheers, Glenn.[p]Morrow Bay Rich, The king of tri-tips.

kolbdriver-disabled · January 2007

mad max beyond eggdome,
It is tough as as a boot. Great flavor Just tough.. It was about 5.5 pounds boneless.. I lathered it with musturd and a good coating of DP Dizzy dust. Let sit a few hours and put it in the egg.

wobin · January 2007

wobin,
Sorry Rich I meant to type Morro.

mad max beyond eggdome · January 2007

kolbdriver,
next time, try roasting it at 325 degrees indirect, 15 minutes per pound for medium rare. . .sear it either at the begining or the end (i sear first, but others like to sear to finish) ...let rest for 15 minutes, then slice and serve. ..

Unknown · January 2007

Kolbdriver,[p]Sounds like the 1 1/2 hrs in foil in the cooler you were trying to mimic a brisket or boston butt cook. I agree with everyone else that a tender piece of meat, be it a roast or steak, would rest for about 15 minutes to let the juices settle down before cutting. Next time will be better....you were 90% there.....[p]Howard

Dimple's Mom · January 2007

Kolbdriver,[p]Is it possible you just flat out got a lousy piece of meat?[p]Gwen

Morro Bay Rich · January 2007

wobin,
No offense taken "robin". Hope to see you on our next West Coast get together.

Darnoc · January 2007

Kolbdriver,
The cooler killed it.Temp no doubt raised 10 degrees or more.

Whitetail · January 2007

Kolbdriver,
For what it’s worth I disagree with the others that say resting in a cooler for 1.5 hours is a problem. I did a 10lb boneless prime rib for Christmas dinner. I cooked it indirect at 240 until the internal temp got to 125. At that point I pulled off the Egg wrapped in foil and put it in a cooler with towels. I left the prob in the meat to monitor the temperature. It rose to 133. The rest of the dinner was not ready so it sat in the cooler for 1 hour and 15 minutes at which point it was still at 125 internal. I seared all four sides at about 60 seconds a side. Let it rest 10 minutes on a plate, sliced and served. Perfect medium rare. I had 20 adults and 10 kids for dinner. They all raved about the rib. For me that is on of the strengths of the reverse sear, it allows a lot more flexibility in the timing of the meal.[p]I bet your roast went to over 150…way over cooked. Even at that temperature I wouldn’t think it would be tuff. Sounds like a bad piece of meat to me.

fishlessman · January 2007

Kolbdriver,
sounds like you didnt plan on carry over temps where the internal meat temps keep climbing after cooking. its a little bit of a guess where you have to look at the size of the meat, the quality of the meat, and the temp your cooking at. for me i get medium rare with these things cooking to 122/123 internal with a roasting temp of 325. cooking to 127/128 internal cooking at 275 to 300.

thirdeye · January 2007

Whitetail,[p]I would have to agree with you about the quality of the meat here. That cut of meat should be tender right out of the butcher paper. [p]A gentleman much wiser than I told me years ago that in theory you treat a prime rib like a lobster. You never really cook it, you just warm it up to your level of doneness.[p]~thirdeye~

stike · January 2007

Whitetail,
i think what everyone meant was that putting it in a cooler at the temp he did was a problem. you pulled yours off at 125.
his was at 137, and the carryover from that will overcook it (as you said).[p]yours brought you to 133, i bet he was 145-150.

EddieMac · January 2007

I cook 2 - 4 Prime Ribs per month....I cook them indirect.....350 - 375.....with NO problems whatsoever.....I'm a believer in cooking beef at higher temps for shorter times....and that gives me a great crust......225 - 250 is just way too cool....and the meat won't likely continue to cook much at all after you take it off when wrapped and placed in coolers......I cook these Prime Ribs for my wife's catering company and we've had very, very solid results....and most importantly re-orders.....[p]Ed McLean
Ft. Pierce, Fl

Whitetail · January 2007

eddiemac,
You obviously have way more experience at this then I do but when I cook them as you describe I end up with way too much well to medium well on the outside to get to the medium rare on the inside. I researched this all I could on this forum a while back. Someone posted that they have a son-in-law that will only eat meat that is still red so this is his technique. It worked great for me as well. For me it produces a much more uniform doneness through out the whole cut of meat.

EddieMac · January 2007

In my successes and failures with beef.....I find that it's all about middle internal temp.....If I'm doing a Prime Rib....and middle internal temp is 135...I'm taking it off the BGE....letting sit...and slicing in 20 - 30 minutes....I find that middle internal temp rises 5 - 7 degrees during that 20 - 30 minute rest....and that has the meat at 140 - 142....that's rare meat in the middle and slightly more done towards the outer areas of the meat.....And that usually gives a small or large crowd varying degrees of doneness and according to their likes....[p]If you find that there's going to be an extended time between cooking the Prime Rib and serving it...Then I'm inclined to ramp up the dome temp to 375 - 400 and take off at 125 - 130....That way the meat will continue to cook from the outside in.....And still end up with a nice piece of meat.....[p]Another trick is let rest for 15 - 20 minutes in open air....then foil....and then put in cooler....that way the meat will cool...not so much...and still give you a very edible piece of meat....[p]Alot of different ways to skin the cat..err...steer....[p]Ed McLean
Ft. Pierce, FL

Prime Rib Where did I go wrong

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