Prime Rib Roast help?


 
A

Adam L

New member
Im pretty new to using a smoker.. as in did first smoke yesterday. I have the wsm 22.5 and a cyberq wifi setup.

My girlfriend wants me to cook a prime rib for her family for xmas and she thinks itll have too much smokey flavor if i cook it on the smoker. She keeps saying she wants me to do it on my gas grill with the rotisserie.

If i do it on the smoker and just dont put any wood with the coals.. i wont have much smokey flavor right?

Any suggestions?
 
I recommend you build a clean burning fire and either put one piece of wood for smoke or none at all. A common mistake is applying to much smoke so you get the ashtray effect. From the sounds of the complaint you may have too much smoke. I assure you, once you make the prime rib on the WSM cooker you won't heat the house up with the oven again. Besides, oven use is a premium on big holidays for other goodies. If you want pointers on how to build a proper fire please see this http://virtualweberbullet.com/fireup1.html. I personnaly do it differently and would be glad to help -- if required send me an email.
 
Ive only done ribs on the smoker and they were great, she didnt even have any of it. She just thinks the smoker will take away from the meat flavor. Im assuming i should probably inject it too right?
 
Adam, I would just try one of the recipes shown on the link posted by Dwain, but without any smoke wood added. You'll get just the slightest wood flavor from the burning charcoal. And I never inject a standing rib roast. It's good as-is.

Good luck,
Chris
 
I made prime rib on my WSM for Thanksgiving, and I was kind of disappointed in it. Too much smoke and ash flavor. I used several small pieces of apple wood.

Next time will be on the gas grill I think.

Chad
 
My family was a bit concerned about the smoke but they insist I make it for new years and some birthdays now. I use a very neutral lump charcoal (wicked good) and a little bit of apple wood. This is with the salt and pepper rub. I cook at 225, let it rest for 20 minutes after I pull it, then pop it into a 500 degree oven to sear the outside a bit (just a few minutes, watch it carefully), then another 10 minute rest.
 
By the way, it never hurts to do a test run. This time of year it's pretty easy to get a two-bone prime rib at Costco and that'll be good enough for your girlfriend to guess if her family will be OK with it or not. Prime rib makes good leftovers (hint: sandwiches) so there's no waste or anything. Or if her family is big I'd just get a full 7 bone roast a little early, cut off 2 bones worth and cook that part as a test a couple of days before. Last year I bought a 7 bone roast and did a 3 bone for Christmas Eve, and froze two 2 bone roasts for later.
 
Out of all the rib roasts I've done on my BDS, I've never had a problem w/ it being oversmoked even when I used mesquite as it's not in the smoke long enough to become oversmoked unless you do it low & slow. I converted a oven recipe to smoke doing the cook at approx 325-350 for a couple of hrs till done at 130ish. I've used lump as well as charcoal & normally use a couple of fist sized chunks of hickory or oak as most of my family don't care for mesquite like I do. My favorite way is to season it w/ Pensey's Prime Rib Rub & some Worchestshire then onto smoker.
 
My wife would be very unhappy if I did not put wood on while doing a rib roast. I've done three. I usually keep one piece of hickory and one piece of apple in it for the first 2/3's off the smoke, instead of my normal three pieces. I thought that the smoke flavor was too light on the last one that I made. My wife said the smoke flavor was perfect. We took it over to my mother's house. My mother and stepfather make prime ribs in the oven at least once a year. They couldn't stop raving about mine. I think the combination of hickory and fruit wood keeps the flavor a little more mild.
 
I usually do my rib roasts on a Weber Kettle with Kingsford and a couple of wood chunks. I think the key to doing it on the WSM would be cooking at roasting temps, not barbecuing temps. Cook it at 325* for 12 minutes per pound and it won't get too smokey. And you'll get a nice crust to boot.

Bill
 
The problem with cooking it at 325 is that it doesn't end up all at the same doneness. If you're shooting for medium rare you'll get maybe half of it medium rare and a big area around the outside that's overcooked. If you cook it at 225 you'll get it evenly pink all the way across, but won't get that browning on the exterior (it will look brown because of the smoke, but it won't taste the same). If you cook at 225 and then sear you get the best of both worlds. When you cut it, it will be the same color all the way across because the brown ring around the outside will be so thin it will be obscured by the smoke ring.
 
I guess the only way to find out for sure is to try doing it several ways... I convinced her that she has to buy one to do a test run...maybe I can convince her I need to do 3 test runs! I do like the idea of it being the same pinkness throughout. But I'm assuming like some of the guys mentioned the longer it cooks the more smokey flavor. I'm assuming you guys all take the meat out and let it keep cooking itself to go up the 5 to 10 degrees to the desired temp?
 
I'm also not sure how rare or done her family likes the meat... I should just say screw it and make it ... I'm not gonna be there to eat it lol
 
The longer it cooks the more smokey... sort of, maybe. If you're using something with a pretty neutral flavor it shouldn't be a problem. I don't notice any difference in smokiness with, say, Wicked Good charcoal. If I were using something with a lot of Oak in it I might not include any wood chunks, figuring the Oak in the charcoal would cover it. It can take 4-5 hours to cook a prime rib at 225, just to warn you.

You definitely need to rest the prime rib before cutting and yes, the center will get a bit hotter as it rests. It does it much less with a 225 degree cook than 325 because it's more all the same temps, but at 325 the hot outer part will continue to raise the temps of the center. I pull at 125 but if I were cooking at 325 I'd pull at more like 120 and do a longer rest.
 
I cook these all the time at 325 and I pull the roast to rest when it hits between 115 and 120. I've been very happy doing it that way and I think it turns out well.

Bill
 
another question about the rib roasts... rib roast vs ribeye roast... one thing i read is that the ribeye roast wont really continue to cook after you take it out of the smoker? im assuming it really just depends on how big the ribeye roast is.. to determine if it will continue to cook after i take it out??
 
If you cook over charcoal, you will always have a charcoal/wood flavor. I would just skip using any wood.

My favorite piece of gear along side all of my other Weber products...is my wireless thermometer. It is perfect for expensive cuts of meat. When I bought mine, the lady at the hardware store (who was selling it to me) actually said...who spends $30 on a meat thermometer. My response...if it helps me make this $50 roast cook to perfection, its paid for itself.

My $30 thermometer has paid for itself several times!
 
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