Smoking Prime Rib With Bones or Without -- Which Do You Prefer


 
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Wesley M

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I do a 6 bone PR for Christmas dinner for about a dozen family members and continue to evolve my technique each year.
I began with Chris's Montreal Rub recipe on my WSM, then last year followed the low and slow technique with the S&P recipe.
The low/slow was definitely an improvement and offered a roast that was more evenly done, without the overdone outer edges.

This year I'm considering whether leaving the bones intact is the best method... or the roast can be improved by removing the bones before cooking.
Proponents of removing the bone maintain the bones act like an insulator and tying with twine gives a more cylindrical shape for even cooking and removing the bones provides more surface area for browning and better flavor. This all makes logical sense to me, but Christmas dinner is not the right time for experimenting.

So, what has been your experience with cooking PR -- have you cooked with bones and without and what do you recommend. And if you do remove the bones, what do you end up doing with and how are you preparing the bone section?
 
I do it with bones. That way, when you cut the bones off before serving, there is always some meat left on them for the cook to nibble on while doing the rest of the cutting. I just don't know why there is always so much meat left on those bones after the first cut ;) though.

PLUS, you just have to re-tie it again anyways, so why bother.
 
Much of my enjoyment of a rib roast is the Maillard Reaction crust so I leave bones off to get more bark. The bones get cooked later for stock.
 
I leave the bones on for the same reasons cited by Len. I do, however, slice down between the bones and roast. Not all the way. I leave a "hinge" at the bottom so it's not completely severed, pull back the bones and season as desired. Then re-tie and continue prepping the roast.
 
I cut the bones off neatly leaving all bones connected, then rest the meat back on the bones while cooking almost like a rack. Best of both worlds
 
I leave the bones on for the same reasons cited by Len. I do, however, slice down between the bones and roast. Not all the way. I leave a "hinge" at the bottom so it's not completely severed, pull back the bones and season as desired. Then re-tie and continue prepping the roast.
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This is what I've been doing as well. However, the more I read it seems like the purpose of tying the meat to the bones is to shield the meat from direct heat and promote more even cooking. However, on the WSM, doesn't the water plan accomplish this, so does the indirect cooking of WSM eliminate the need to tie the bones back on the roast?
 
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I take the bones off and put them in a drip pan on the lower grate along with some onions,carrots, water, wine etc., it makes a great beef stock. I pretty much gook mine like Meathead from Amazing Ribs suggests. http://amazingribs.com/recipes/beef/...rib_roast.html
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Thanks for the link, this is a good article. I'm seriously considering following his guidelines and cooking the PR without the bones.
If I have enough meat on them, I'll smoke the bones another day.
 
Other than removing some fat, I leave my standing rib "unmolested" (aka: I don't mess with the ribs at all, pre-cook.) I consider the ribs to be one of the cook's privileges like Len, and will leave some good meat on them when I do remove after the roast is done. Once removed, I usually season the top of them, and fire them under the broiler to crisp up the top. At that point, I make sure there is one on my plate and my mom's.....they are available for anyone else who wants them after that! :) Funny thing, though, usually nobody else grabs one.......which is fine by me!

Oddly, though, for all the time I spend with my WSM, I prefer my standing rib cooked in the oven. I find that a really nice piece of meat is not enhanced by smoke flavor (IMHO), so, with this particular family tradition, I let the WSM have the day off (which is good, as it cooks all the ribs for Xmas Eve every year!)

......I'm already eagerly anticipating my trip to CostCo to dig through the meat case..... Is that weird? :)

Rich
 
FWIW If I recall correctly, on Steven Raichlen's White Glove episode he spinned one to 107*ish, then pulled it, separated it, and grilled the individual pieces resulting in some nice-looking charring. If I ever did one I'd consider that method because the wife and kids like their meat at 170 and like it even better at 180, lol.
 
Wesley M said:
Thanks for the link, this is a good article. I'm seriously considering following his guidelines and cooking the PR without the bones.
If I have enough meat on them, I'll smoke the bones another day.
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Your welcome, there's a lot of good recipes/information on Meatheads website. I like how he explains the science behind his methods. I've learned a lot from it.
 
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