Whole Ribeye on a WSM 18.5


 
R

Ray - rayallday

New member
Hello All

I want to smoke prime rib for my family. I typically buy a 2-3 bone rib roast and smoke it at 350 degrees for 2 hours until I reach an internal temperature of 119 and let it rest for 30 minutes. The final product is medium rare. It typically feeds 4-5 people.

But this time I want to serve 14 people. I have a couple questions.

1. Can you use a whole ribeye (both loin and chuck end) for prime rib? Will it fit in the WSM 18.5?

2. If not, should I cut the whole rib eye in half?

3. I've read that whole ribeye takes approximately 4 hours to smoke. If I cut it in half and smoke both halves at the same time, will it take 4 hours to smoke? Or will the smoke time be reduced?

4. Lastly, if the smoke finishes earlier than I anticipate, how do I keep the meet medium rare for an hour?

I appreciate all your help!!!
 
Welcome, Ray.

It'd probably be a little more expensive but how about cooking 3 3-bone roasts of the same cut and size? This way you're working with a known entity and not venturing into uncharted waters. And as a bonus you could even cook them to different donenesses so that everybody gets what they like.
 
Ray - rayallday said:
Hello All

I want to smoke prime rib for my family. I typically buy a 2-3 bone rib roast and smoke it at 350 degrees for 2 hours until I reach an internal temperature of 119 and let it rest for 30 minutes. The final product is medium rare. It typically feeds 4-5 people.

But this time I want to serve 14 people. I have a couple questions.

1. Can you use a whole ribeye (both loin and chuck end) for prime rib? Will it fit in the WSM 18.5?

2. If not, should I cut the whole rib eye in half?

3. I've read that whole ribeye takes approximately 4 hours to smoke. If I cut it in half and smoke both halves at the same time, will it take 4 hours to smoke? Or will the smoke time be reduced?

4. Lastly, if the smoke finishes earlier than I anticipate, how do I keep the meet medium rare for an hour?

I appreciate all your help!!!
Click to expand...



Whether the whole ribeye will fit kind of depends on which ribeye you pick. Some are shorter and fatter, while others are longer. Worst case scenario, just slice a little off the end and make it fit.

As for cook times, they are determined by the thickness of the loin, not by it's weight. Cutting in half will not shorten the cook time. The one exception to this rule is if the length of the loin is the shortest dimension.

I'd recommend cooking in the 225-250 range. This will give you a nice consistent edge to edge color on the prime rib.

As for holding, the prime rib will hold just fine sitting on the counter for 1 hour. You can tent with foil if you want, though I wouldn't actually wrap it. You can also place it in a cooler to hold temp.
 
Hello all!

The smoke was great! I bought a 17lb whole ribeye and cut off 2 rib eye steaks to grill.

I smoked the roast at about 350 for 2.5 hours to reach an internal temp of about 130. I served it an hour later and it was fabulous!

THANK YOU!!
https://www.dropbox.com/s/3s3mvk76wm9u7ra/2014-08-09 13.40.09.jpg
https://www.dropbox.com/s/7b5k52qvwj2ngeb/2014-08-09 13.44.55.jpg
https://www.dropbox.com/s/ai55euu8sxmkl92/2014-08-09 15.26.15.jpg
https://www.dropbox.com/s/wjv8x42sgfst12g/2014-08-09 18.22.24.jpg
 
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