Rib Roast FAIL.....or Maybe I Just Don't Like Smoked Beef


 
J

J Golden

New member
I made an attempt at a standing rib roast and used the following process:

- brushed lightly with olive oil
- generously coasted with kosher salt and black pepper

Cooking method:

- Placed chimney full of unlit coals in bottom of smoker along with two chunks of pecan wood.
- Lit 40 coals and poured evenly over unlit coals

I think this was the first mistake. The roast was around 4 1/2lbs, I think for one that small I should have just used a full chimney full of lit coals, at least according to the "15 minutes per pound rule". I'm not sure who came up with that because that definitely was not the case

It took approximately 3 and a half hours at around 230-340 degrees to just barely get to medium rare. By that time I was starving so I took it off the smoker and put it in the oven at 500 degrees for 5 minutes. Then took it out of the oven and loosely wrapped in aluminum foil for 15 minutes.

When I carved it was just barely medium rare and tasted like it had been sitting over burning pine straw for 3 hours. Had to add a lot of salt. I guess I will stick to the local country club when it comes to prime rib. Very disappointed but I'm sure it was user error or I just don't like smoked beef. At least I got the chunk of flesh on sale.
 
Others will chime in, but I let (if this was what you were using) KBB burn for at least an hour to achieve thin blue smoke. This is before I put any meat on. I am not a fan of a strong smokey taste and this method serves me well for my cooks. Any other charcoal, I let burn until the thin blue smoke appearance is achieved before the meat goes on. I also use smoke wood sparingly, I am trying to achieve a "light" smoke taste.
 
To let you know, I'm not a fan of smoked prime rib either. It may be due to the fact that I've only ever had it sans smoke (ie in the oven) and you have certain expectations of what it is supposed to taste like, to get it smoked is well, different.

Not to say that it's not a good idea to smoke it, it's just different.

BTW, I don't think you used too much wood in doing your cook.

Nothing wrong with doing it the old fashioned (oven) way and leave the smoking for pork and chicken.
 
I agree, nothing wrong with the original methods in ovens.
Now, I will say that I've done the "Cooks Illustrated" grilled standing rib roast method and it was just amazing!
It may not be for everyone but, I really liked it!
 
I have found for me that there are just some meats that do not do good in a low and slow approach. Pretty much all "steak" type cuts; porterhouse, prime rib, sirloin, tenderloin, etc. I find work better with a "grilling" vs a smoking. Now a prime rib grilled with a chunk or three of hickory, or in my case a split, is damn good. I just wouldn't smoke it. I feel these meats need the heat to have a maillard reaction rather than long cooking to "tenderize" the fibers.
 
I always let my smoker come up mostly to temp before putting my meat on. A lot of people say it doesn't matter, but the only time I've over-smoked anything, it was a chuck roast and I put it on right away. It could just be that you don't like smoke on beef for some reason. Low and slow is fine on rib roast but it's a good idea to sear it afterwards or do like you did and finish the cook at 500 to get a crust.
 
I have done prime rib on the WSM and kettle with success. I used the snake method on the kettle. On the WSM I removed the waterpan but had a foil pan on the bottom rack to allow greater heat. Both were excellent.
 
Couple of points. First, slow smoked PR is freaking AWESOME! Tender, mouthwatering, succulent beef kissed with some nice hickory (and charcoal.) It will almost melt in your mouth. As Tom said, fire up the smoker and let it settle in before putting the meat on. You want clean smoke. Top vent should be wide open. I have no idea who came up with the X-mins per pound thing. Cook time is based on the thickness of the loin. A full 7 bone 18lb ribeye loin that is 5 inches thick will take the same amount of time to cook as a 4 bone 1/2 loin that is also 5 inches thick, even though the 7bone weighs close to twice as much. Reason for this is that the heat penetrates from the outside of the meat towards the center, so, shortest distance to the center, (not the weight or the length) determines cook time.

An easy way to visualize this is to picture a 1/4lb foot long hot dog. Does it cook any faster if you chop it in half and make 2 6in long 1/8th lb dogs? Nope, because both of those 6 inch long dogs are still the same thickness as the foot long dog.

The cook time you experienced was right on for the most part. It usually takes me around 4 hrs give or take to get to about 127 degrees IT trying to run between 225 and 250ish. At this low a temp, 15 - 25 degrees in chamber temp makes a big difference. If you run stable closer to 225 it might take 5 hours.
 
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I am not sure how a thread about how a ribroast came out tasting like raw straw makes me want smoke prime rib, BUT IT DOES...

Couple nice pecan chunks in the WSM at about 255* for about 4 or 5 hours (the thermo will tell me when shes done)........ NOW THATS LIVING!!!

Better luck next time on this one J.

rb
 
Figured that!

Just slathered and rubbed my first WSM butt for tomorrow's smoking.
I think I will drop some hot Italians on at some point, kind of thinking about some thighs too, just because.
This is addict to addict!
 
On New Years Eve I did about a 10lb prime rib for me and the wife, and 2 other couples that came over. In the morning, I got the smoke rolling and meat put on. Sat down for breakfast, was eating eggs and bacon with my wife, half way through the meal I bite down and snap...that doesnt feel right...hey honey look at me tooth. AHHAHHH OMG the tooth to the left from my front tooth was now a fang. Old dental work decided to give out at the worse time. 1. because I was having company over that night, 2. because its hard to eat prime rib with out good teeth, 3. if it would have happened a week earlier it would be on 2016's dental insurance but nooo 2 days in to 2017 I would be maxing out my insurance already. 4. good luck finding a dentist open on nye, or new years day
Needles to say the prime rib came out amazing and I just had to be careful eating. It was the first time cooking one on my WSM and I think it might be time to try again soon
 
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