Recipe - Smoked Prime Rib

Prime Rib is delicious . . . boring, predictable, but delicious! I thought I would try to spice (and smoke) it up to add another dimension of flavour. Here are the steps I took and my thoughts at the end . . .

Step 1. Take your prime rib and cut the bone off the roast - this will make it easier for carving after the fact. DON'T THROW THE BONE AWAY - Bone, like Fat, adds flavour. Instead we will tie the bone back on so the roast cooks with the bone. In the picture below, the prime rib I used was 2 lbs 12 oz - My family are not big eaters, but I found this was enough for my Wife, Myself, 3 small kids and enough for 2 sandwiches the next day.


Step 2. Rub the roast with an appropriate rub - check out my Recipe Blog on Beef Rub. It's basic and contains only 4 ingredients. Also, not in the picture how the rib bone is tied back onto the roast and a bit of fat was removed from the top - you need some fat, but not that much.

Step 3. Let the meat rest for 30 mins - any longer will cause the salt to pull out too much of the juices. Also, use this time to prepare your BBQ. Here, I'm using my gas grill - on the left I have a cast-iron smoke box filled with Wet Hickory Chips. On the Right side, I have a drip tray underneath the grill. I used indirect heat on the left side and tried to keep an average of 350 degrees f.
Step 4. Place the roast on the grill and use an internal thermometer. My target temp was 150f. I like it Med Rare, but my wife likes it well done - I thought this would be a happy medium and that the Right Side of the roast might be a little cooler since it was further away from the heat . . . it wasn't :( See my thoughts below.
Step 5. Once the roast reached target temp remove from heat. Then cover with foil and let rest for 30 mins.
Step 6. Take the drip tray and deglaze the tray with red wine. I then used this mixture and added it to the pre-packed gravy I bought - it added a wonderful flavour! (I know I should have made my gravy from scratch, but I was busy).
Step 7. After 30 mins, unwrap the roast and add the juices to your gravy.
Step 8. Carve - here we see the roast turned out Medium-Well. I was a little disappointed as I like it pink, however the flavour was amazing.
Here is the finished product with Garlic Mashed Potatoes (I roasted a head of garlic with the beef - why not!) and some Broccoli, Horse Radish and gravy - tasty!
Final thoughts - The concept was solid, the taste was great, but it cooked too long. I would pull it out at 140 - 145 next time and let it rest only 20 mins - I do like the pink look better! The "Bark" on the roast was full of flavour and you could get hints of smokiness too. The amount of smoke was just right - too much would have been a waste. I used one handful of woodchips and I wouldn't change that at all.

If you try this out, let me know what you think.

Happy Smoking!

Seb