Christmas Dinner -- USDA Prime, Prime Rib...

[shush]

So, it was a bit on the heavy side of 5 bones. Weighed in at 12lbs before trimming, about 8-9 after trimming, bone removal. I took the words verbatim from this site. The butcher cut the bones off, and re-tied them on. The rib cap was easily removed. I started dry brining it this morning. I mixed up some Cow Crust and I am currently planning on a 5-5 1/2 hour cook. *please, since this is my first Prime Rib on the RecTec, if this is too long, or too short for this (@225F) please let me know* The cut is beautiful with great marbling. I payed a bit much for it, but it is gorgeous. I will try to get photos before, during, and after tomorrow. I am planning on a longer cook because the weather here in Northern Virginia has been really odd, and although I hope not to have to use it, I have a faux cambro at the ready. *crosses fingers*

I wasn't sure what to do with the bones... so, I put some BBBR on them and smoked them for ~5 hours to get them to 203F. First time doing beef ribs too BTW. Let me just say... O M G! They were beautiful. No photos here either because they were gone in a flash. Thank you Meathead and Dr. Blonder (and all you other gurus) for this site, this book, and the sharing of your knowledge.

As a side note, we snacked on left over brisket sandwiches. My wife toasted up some french bread, put some thinly sliced brisket on them, topped with a bit of cheese, and broiled them for about 3 minutes. So tasty!

[RonB]

You should be cooking to temp, not time. I say this just to make sure. So cook it to the internal temp you want - about 130* for med rare. Maybe a bit lower if you plan on a reverse sear.

[shush]

Roger that. I am looking for ~130-140 final internal. What I am trying to find is an estimate so I can plan for a rough finish time.

[shush]

Alright... here is my write up and photos.

So, I started with a 5 bone, roughly 12lb, USDA Prime Rib. I paid $21.99/lb (but it is Christmas and the Family is in town. May as well splurge). I used MeatHead's line almost verbatim -- "I am looking for One beef rib roast, bone in, chine removed, top choice, 5-6 bones, never frozen, aging not necessary. It can be ready for pick up any time next week. Is this something you have. Depending on pricing, I would do USDA Prime, but I feel that is going to get to be a very expensive cut of meat." But my (newly found) butcher up-sold me with minimal effort. Ended up with 28 day, dry aged, USDA Prime. Again, time of the year, scarcity of the meat, impress the family, ego, etc...

I removed the bones, trimmed it up, and tied it to be as close to a cylinder as I could get. I think with more string, I may have gotten closer to round, but it didn't appear to be that necessary. The roast was slightly tapered, but I could live with it.

I was really unsure how long to cook and given the way Christmas day was scheduled, I was really apprehensive. But, ever forward!
On Saturday, I dry brined it, separating the ribs/fat and keeping them in another roll... Then chose to make au jus with some of the trimmings and smoke the 5 rib bones on Saturday. What a treat!

Sunday morning, I put on the Cow Crust about 8:45am, and I fired up the smoker around 10:45 (shooting for a 4pm seating). Smoker got to temp, with water pan, about 11:05. I put the roast on, hooked it up to the Smoke, and closed the lid. I went about my business checking temperature along the way and trying to gauge when it would be done. I had to run an errand that was going to take about 45 minutes, but wasn't sure what the best course of action was given the rate of temperature rise. So, instead of shooting for 130F, I took it out at 120F, wrapped it in foil and a beach towel, and dropped that bad boy into my RTIC "faux cambro" cooler. I ran my errand and when I came back, I checked the Smoke... viola! 130.1F... I fired up my grill (different than my smoker because, well, why not?) and put the roast on for ~5 minutes/side. The tongs are there so it doesn't roll around. I didn't check the internal temp when I pulled it off the grill, but the first cut let me know everything was just fine.


Thank you MeatHead for the awesome write up. Thank you contributors and supporters that help people get over the "scared" and into the "confident". Everyone raved at the taste, but I am a cynic and mostly think they are being nice... Although, I must say it was probably the tastiest I had ever had. Now if I can only cook brisket!

[EdF]

How long had it cooked when you pulled it at 120?

[shush]

I pulled it off around 3:15... so roughly 4 hours. I had read elsewhere to expect between 20-30 minutes/lb as a gauge, and that was pretty close.

[DWCowles]

Beautiful!

[HawkerXP]

Looks great!

[Nate]

Looks Good... I like that board's ability to really catch the juice.

[shush]

It is a Pampered Chef board. the grooves are tapered too, so everything it catches, it sends down to the basin. There is also a pour spout built in so you don't have too big a mess when you drain it.

[Nate]

Thanks shush , they have some decent stuff. The wife and I order from them every once in a while. I will have to tell her to look into one for me next time.

[Paul299]

That looks amazing, well done!!

[Jerod Broussard]

When I do another Prime Rib I am definitely cleaning it up by removing all connective tissue/sliver skin and cooking just the eye intact with the rest getting grilled like sirloin tip steaks.