Perfectly Smoked Prime Rib

There is nothing better than a beautifully smoked prime rib with a side of mashed potatoes along with some creamy horseradish and au jus for dipping. It's time to fire up those smokers and make this succulent master piece!

Jump to:

• Why this recipe is AMAZING
• Buying the meat
• Prepping the prime rib
• The smoker
• Smoking the rib roast
• What goes with prime rib?
• FAQ
• Old Pro Tips
• Smoked Prime Rib

Why this recipe is AMAZING

Prime rib is delicious when baked in the oven, but add natural smoke flavor to that meat and it takes this prime rib roast to the next level. By keeping it simple with the seasonings, the meat has a chance to really shine through. Let's get to it!

Buying the meat

Prime rib roast is a cut of meat that comes from the ribs of the cow. A rib roast is where the popular rib eye steak is cut. You are essentially buying several rib eye steaks that have not been cut yet.

When buying prime rib roast, don't let the word 'prime' at the beginning fool you into thinking every cut for sale is of Prime beef rating. It is possible to buy a rib roast with a beef rating of choice or select which will have less marbling of fat.

Most local grocery stores or butchers will carry rib roast and are commonly cut to order when it comes to weight. It is also possible to buy prime rib roast bone in or boneless. Either way produces a great finished roast and bones are easily trimmed before or after cooking if you buy a bone in rib roast.

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How much to buy?

Having a dinner party and trying to figure out how big of a prime rib roast to buy? Figure about 1lb of uncooked prime rib per person. So if you are having a dinner with 8 people total, buy an 8lb prime rib roast.

Prepping the prime rib

Most prime rib will come already trimmed to about ¼" of fat along the outside of the roast. If not, you will want to use a sharp filet knife to trim the fat. Don't cut off all the fat, that is where great flavor resides! You don't want too much though, so trim to ¼" thick.

I like to keep it simple when it comes to seasoning prime rib. Rub a light coating of olive oil or mustard as a base and then sprinkle liberally with a 50:50 mixture of kosher salt and coarse black pepper. Adding a little thyme also gives a nice flavor and look to the finished roast.

The smoker

I use a RT-590 Recteq pellet smoker when smoking prime rib, but any stick burner (traditional wood burning smoker) or pellet smoker will do. Traeger also provides several different pellet smoker models to choose from. Pre-heat your smoker to 225°F and clean the grates.

Smoking the rib roast

Maintaining 225°F in your smoker is the perfect temperature to get a great smoke flavor into the meat. Expect about 40 minutes a pound when smoking, so a 6lb prime rib roast will take about 4 hours to smoke.

The next step is to choose whether you want to sear or reverse sear your prime rib. Either way is fine, a reverse sear will give you more of a smoke flavor to the finished prime rib.

Sear

For this prime rib I seared the roast in my oven BEFORE smoking for 15 minutes at 450°F. Simply line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and stand the rib roast, bones down, on the tray. 15 minutes will give it a nice crust. Then transfer to your smoker to finish.

Reverse Sear

A reverse sear is when you smoke the meat first and then perform the high heat treatment at the end of the cooking. This will add more smoke flavor to the meat as you don't have the crust from a regular sear encapsulating the meat from the smoke of the fire.

Once the meat reaches 10°F below your desired doneness, pull from the smoker and increase the temperature to 450°F. Once temp is reached, place the rib roast back on the grill and finish cooking for several minutes until the desired internal temperature is reached.

Most pellet smokers will come with thermometers that will plug into the smoker and can be placed into the meat for a constant temperature reading. If you don't have one of these, an inexpensive digital meat thermometer is a great investment. I use these for just about everything I smoke. I highly recommend adding one to your grilling arsenal.

I like to pull the roast from the smoker at 130°F IT if I sear before smoking or 120°F if I am going to reverse sear. Allow to rest on a cutting board for 20-30 minutes for the juices to redistribute before carving. Simply carve 1" - 1.5" thick cuts from the roast and plate.

What goes with prime rib?

There are some staple condiments that are a MUST when eating prime rib. The first of those is horseradish. Oh yeah, that little spice that's strong enough to clear your sinus. I love it! It can be bought in either creamy horseradish (most popular) or you can go with straight raw horseradish (very strong).

The second MUST is a great flavored au jus (thin gravy that accompanies meat). The easiest way is to buy a packet, just like a gravy packet, and prepare it that way. You will always have enough for everyone and it's great tasting. Easily found in the gravy isle of your local grocery store.

What about side dishes?

Mashed potatoes! Nothing goes better with prime rib than some creamy great tasting mashed potatoes. Cree from Cooking With Bliss has a great Herb Garlic Mashed Potatoes recipe that will pair perfectly with this smoked prime rib.

The other side dish I love to pair with this great tasting roast is asparagus. Check out this roasted asparagus recipe from Jo-Anna from A Pretty Life, it will definitely round out this meal with some healthy greens.

FAQ

Old Pro Tips

• Place a water pan in the smoker if using a stick burner. It is not necessary when using a pellet smoker
• Rest the meat for 20 - 30 minutes before slicing to allow the juices in the meat to redistribute.
• Remove the bones before smoking and tie back to the roast with twine for aesthetics, remove and discard before smoking, or leave them in and remove before serving. Either way can be done and will not affect the final result of the roast.