Rib Roast Rookie needs a little help...

Ok, my wife REALLY loves Prime Rib, but because of my allergies (not to mention the cost) we rarely ever go out for it. So a rib roast has been on my list of things to try for a while now.

After seeing MakDaddy-Bob & Big Poppa's recent posts, I couldn't stand it anymore! I picked this up yesterday from the butcher.


Now I'm a Rib-Roast-Rookie... we're talking serious rib-roast-virginity here. This thing wasn't cheap so I want to be sure I'm doing this right!

Based on the Perfect Prime Rib article that Big Poppa posted, and other posts here in the forum, I plan to smoke this rascal at around 225°-250° until an internal temp of around 128° - 130° to make it a just little more than medium rare.

Here's my first question: How long should I expect this to take... My guess is around 4 hours???


Then I'll let it rest for the 20 minutes or so it will take to get the pit temp up to around
450 - 500 degrees, put it back in for 8 - 10 minutes to give it a nice crust. The equivalent of a reverse sear for a roast.

Does this plan sound about right?



P.S. of course I'll be posting pics...

It sounds close, but I pull mine at 118-120F

It will rise to 124F or so during the rest.

Season with salt, pepper, garlic.
cook at 225 until 140IT for med to med rare. You will get anywhere from 1-10 degree push during rest period
boneless: allow 3.5 to 4.5 hours
bonein: allow 4.5 to 5.5 hours
Rest loosely tented with foil (not sealed) for at least 45 mins or until your meat probe registers a decrease in temp
Do your quick hot sear
Take to the table and carve at the table with or without the bones. With bones makes for a more dramatic presentation, IMO. Frenching the bones prior to cooking the roast makes for an even MORE dramatic presentation at the table and a nice slice of rib roast on the plate with the frenched bone attached looks even better!

PS: If you decide to go the frenched bones approach, cover the exposed bones with foil caps for about half the cook so they don't get real dark with smoke stains.

Bones frenched


Was cooked at 225 and pulled at 140IT. Temp only rose 3F during rest period to top out at 143IT (took 45 mins to go the 3F). I believe it only rose 3F because this time I put the cooked roast on a cooling rack then tented. Normally I put the roast in a baking sheet then tent and get 5-10F push during rest period.
The bones turned out to dark for me. After one hour tented rest and one hour FTC's until right before dinner time, then did rocket sear for about 20 seconds a side to crisp up then took it right to the table and carved in front of the guests. (I had taken all the fat that I trimmed off the roast during the prep stage and rendered it down then took that rendered fat and lightly brushed it on the roast prior to rocket searing.)


Carved at the table off the bones for the wow factor. This was 143F and was med rare

This is the meat temperature reference chart I use:

Meat Temperature Cooking Chart, Seafood Temperature Cooking Chart, Cooking Temperatures, Internal Temperature of Beef, Steak Cooking Temperatures, Pork Temperature, How To Use A Meat Thermometer

what scooter says but i do mine at 250

FLB, that chart seems a little low to me. I go with 130 rare, 140 med rare, 150 med, 160 well done. A lot depends on how hot the roast is cooked at and how big the roast is. It's a mass plus energy thing. A large roast cooked hot needs to come off at a lower IT than what I pull my roasts at when cooking at 225. Cooked lower temp like 200-250 and you pull it at a higher IT because you will get a small push in temps will resting.

I use a freight train as an anology to the temp push during the rest period of a roast. If the brakes are applied to a speeding (high heat/energy) freight train (mass), it takes quite a while to come to a full stop. If that same freight train (mass) is moving along slowly (low heat/energy) and the brakes are applied, it will take a shorter distance to come to a full stop.
Add foil wrapping, tight, loose, tented or FTC and it will change the equation appropriately, taking longer for the train to come to a stop.

I've has sucess useing this method. Doing one tommorrow!
Perfect Prime Rib | Serious Eats : Recipes

Silver I love that Serious eats link I posted it too! it really addresses the sear first vs sear after argument well

Thanks to everyone for the very timely advice!

OK here's where it stands... I ended up slathering it with a nice thick coating of spicy brown mustard then made a rub of very course sea salt (almost like pretzel salt), a little pickling salt, a lot of fresh cracked black pepper, and a little each of red pepper flakes, onion & garlic powders, paprika & crushed rosemary.

Its about 2/3 through the initial cook now. Pit temp has been cruising for almost 3 hours between at 225 - 250° (cold raining off and on a little making it a little tougher to control, but doing ok). Pit temp was starting to drop so I just added a little more already lit briquettes and another packet of Jack Daniels Oak Pellets.

Here's a pick I just took of the charcoal in the chimney starter... (I'm such a pyro )


I plan to pull it at around 128 - 130. by time it peeks it should be just on the high side of medium rare just how we like it. The back yard smells so good right now I am getting hungrier by the minute!


No worries about tenting... With my username... this roast will definitely be getting "Tent-ed" He he.

Big Poppa said:

Silver I love that Serious eats link I posted it too! it really addresses the sear first vs sear after argument well

Click to expand...

Yepper... That's the article I referenced earlier and what a truly great article it is! Lots of insight.