Oven-roasted whole standing rib roast - doneness across the whole roast

[Dan Wicker]

Hello all,

My wife and I are having several folks over this coming Saturday and picked up a 16.07 pound Choice rib roast yesterday at $5.99/lb. With 14 people to serve, I went with the whole Cryovac'd 7-rib roast.

My family has always done whole standing rib roasts at 350 degrees until 120 degrees internal. Since we all eat rare beef, doneness is never an issue, and my dad can't remember if there are any problems with outer pieces being more done than the center of the roast. Unfortunately (for those of us who campaign against leather-like beef), some of our guests prefer their meat to be scorched. For one particular guest, I was thinking about slicing off a 3/4" portion before the cook and letting it roast on its own, riding shotgun with the rest of the roast. If she wants more, I can slice more off and reheat it on the grill. Does this sound like a logical idea?

Anyways, at what temp should I cook so that I have varying degrees of doneness across the roast? And for planning purposes, what kind of time am I looking at per pound?

Oh, and why oven-roasted? Mainly because I've never done one before on the smoker. It's such an expensive cut of meat that I'd rather test a small, 3-rib smoked roast on ourselves before trying it on others at a party.

Much thanks!

-Dan

 

[Jay Rogers]

Try starting the roast off at 200. It'll be a great shade of pink across with no gray edges.

Crank it up for the last 20 minutes of the cook for a nice crust.

As for those who like it more done, I say cut their slice off, then throw them on the griddle until they're done.

 

[Dan Wicker]

Jay, thanks for the tip. I'm pretty sure only one or two of our guests like shoe leather beef.

I gotta think that 200 degrees is a really low temp, though. How long do you think will it take 16 pounds of meat (starting at room temp) to get to 115-120 internal?

 

[K Kruger]

You'll likely want a higher internal if you are looking for rare and cooking at 200. Rare, med-rare, etc., really aren't specific temps, they are appearance names. They often do correspond to internal temps when cooking at conventional temps, but when cooking at low temps you'll often want a bit more higher on the internal.

200 with a high heat finish, or searing first in a pan then cooking at 200 will get you even doneness thoughout. Cooking at 350 start-to-finish will get you a range of doneness.

It is always hard to figure times with any specificity as several variable come into play, not the least of which are the internal temp of the roast when beginning and its relative size, especially its thickness. Couple those with temp variations during cooking and times can change, sometimes dramatically. Generally, cooking slow (with or without pre-searing, or using a finishing sear), larger roasts of mine have come in at roughly 40 min/lb, though I've had some near 30. Beard suggests ~23 min/lb to hit 125 (iirc) but I've not had them come to that temp that quickly.

 

[Dan Wicker]

Thanks for the heads-up, Kevin.

So far, we've got two guests who like it rare, six guests who like medium rare, four guests who like medium, and two guests who like well done. So I still haven't made up my mind in how I want to do this for the best results. I think high heat is in order, as well as starting with a cold roast.

 

[Jay Rogers]

I'm gonna say 5 hours including rest. I've not done a 16 pounder, mostly 12-13 and they're done in 4-4.5 hours with rest.

You can try 250-275- you'll end up with about an inch of more done around the edges. I wouldn't go any higher then that for more red/pink meat.

Finish at 450-500.

 

[r benash]

What Jay says for 7 rib roasts I've done at 350. If you want a range of done for different tastes that's your best bet.

As Kevin states, you'll get more range throughout. If you pull about 130 center temp you will have a nice range IMHO, favoring more medium rare.

You can also consider splitting into two roasts to shorten cook time, but you may need to adjust "pull temp" to keep to the range you are looking for. You could also then concentrate on cooking each roast to a certain temp to give you a more exact result in terms of range for your party.

 

[Todd Randall]

I'm faced with the same challenge on a bit smaller scale. I'm working with a 3-4 bone roast for 6-8 people, at least half who like it well done. I'm toying with the idea of 300 until 135 center. This will be done on a gasser and if people really want them more done after slicing, I can toss them on the grill for a minute or two a side just like a steak. Or is that blasphemy?

Todd

 

[Bryan S]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Dan Wicker:
Oh, and why oven-roasted? Mainly because I've never done one before on the smoker. It's such an expensive cut of meat that I'd rather test a small, 3-rib smoked roast on ourselves before trying it on others at a party.

</div></BLOCKQUOTE>
The WSM is nothing more than a charcoal fired oven. You can add smoke wood if you want, or leave it out and just get the flavor from the charoal (LUMP) if you wish. Either way what ever you cook/bake in an oven can be done in the WSM. Same end results, just a different heat source.

 

[r benash]

Yep - what Bryan says, it ain't nothin' but an oven. Just like they used to cook on years ago. As long as you are reasonably confident that you can regulate the temperature you should have no problem. You really don't even need added smokewood for a prime rib or standing rib roast IMHO. I like it just fine with a good lump for fuel. Nice flavor add just from that.

 

[Dan Wicker]

Right, I totally understand. It's hard to deviate from a family tradition, though.

I'll try it sometime on my wife only to see what she thinks. Smoked meats are not necessarily her favorite, but she's enjoyed everything I've smoked so far. Drippings are a little more difficult on the smoker, but I guess a foil pan and roasting rack would be the way to go.

Todd, that's my plan, I think, except I'll probably use a pan instead of a grill. I would think the grill would take the flavor more into steak territory than standing rib roast. As far as temp, I think I can get the varying range of doneness by going with a higher temp and starting with a cold roast. Really wish that Santa was bringing my Thermapen a week early..

 

[Bryan S]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Dan Wicker:
Right, I totally understand. It's hard to deviate from a family tradition, though.

I'll try it sometime on my wife only to see what she thinks. Smoked meats are not necessarily her favorite, but she's enjoyed everything I've smoked so far. Drippings are a little more difficult on the smoker, but I guess a foil pan and roasting rack would be the way to go. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Dan, I'm not giving up on you just yet.

No smoke wood is fine, if using lump, it really does add a nice touch to the beef. I usually just add one nice chunk of Red Oak for a rib roast. Yep a foil pan on the lower grate under the roast to catch the drippings. Use the water pan foiled, but empty if going high heat. For go the foil and use water if going low heat. Stick your probe in the roast dead center and cook till 8-10º shy of target internal temp and let it rest with the probe left in for 20-30 min. Slice it up and enjoy!

Either way remember about that carry over heat thing.

 

[Dan Wicker]

Didn't say I wouldn't try it at all, just not this weekend.

Temp controls are easy on the WSM, but super easy in the oven.

Plus, smoked Yorkshire puddings sound a bit odd to me. I'll report back with smoked results next time they go on sale.

 

[r benash]

I hear you Dan. Make a 3 rib choice roast later in the WSM over lump, no smokewood or very little and see what she thinks. Sounds like you have to much at risk

And don't particularly want to experiment during the main event.

It's a confidence thing, and I've been there. There's enough going on without risking something you know everyone likes and always comes out great using the standard method you've always used.

Once you try it though I think both of you will like it. Not only because I think it taste considerably better - also because it frees up the oven for other things. It also makes for good conversation over a beer while your out checking on it

 

[Dan Wicker]

Well, we ended up having several people drop out (illness, minor emergency surgery, etc) so we cooked for 7 yesterday. Those that wanted well done meat were not in attendance, so medium rare was had by all.

I actually cut the roast in half yesterday morning and reserved a 3-rib portion for smoking in the next couple of weeks.

I let the 4-rib roast come up to room temperature over the course of about 2.5 hours. Rubbed it with plenty of kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper and olive oil. I decided to do a pre-sear because I knew things were going to be hectic towards the end of the cook. So I seared it at 500 for 15 minutes and the house was already smelling like Heaven. Brought the temp down to 325 and let it roast in the pan for about 2 hours, 15 minutes. It got up to 125 and I pulled it as I was making batter for Yorkshire puddings. Due to unforeseen circumstances (my wife needing the oven for sweet potato casserole), I was unable to bake the Yorkshire puddings immediately, so I was forced to hold the roast for a good 90 minutes. That kinda sucked.

Loosely tented with foil, the temp rose to 135 over about 45 minutes, and I wrapped it in foil to hold the heat in. It only rose 5 more degrees to 140 and held steady until I carved it.

Perfect result. All were happy. The Yorkshire puddings got a little burnt, probably since I wasn't able to use as much beef drippings as I wanted. But they rose properly and that's the tricky part of Yorkies.

Thanks to all for the tips! I think starting room temperature is the key to a roast done evenly throughout.