Prime Rib: Rotisserie or Kamado?

[Attjack]

I'm going to cook my first Prime Rib for Christmas Eve dinner. Which cooker should I use?

[tbob4]

That is a great question. I won’t be doing one this year. I love them on my smoker or Vision Kamado. They don’t take on smoke as much as other roasts so I would chose whichever you feels gives you the most even cook by temp. I do not have a rotisserie so I can’t give you a this or that comparison

[Attjack]

Yeah, the cool factor was mostly what was tempting me to use the rotisserie. I'm just having my sister and nephew over for a backyard feast. My neighbor was pushing me to do it after he saw a video online. At the time I told him I might have to go with charcoal.

[Mojo0209]

U might need to get a charcoal grill with a rotisserie

[Attjack]

I know you're right Mojo0209 but I'm waiting to see about the pending release of the Primo XL rotisserie.

[RonB]

I love smoke on beef, so I'd use the Kamado.

[smokin fool]

Agreed, never done a prime rib but any other roast of beef I've done has turned out great.
Really good smoky taste.

[smokin fool]

My brother did a prime rib on his Weber gasser and loved it.
He did find it hard to keep the temps below 300 had to be constantly monitored and his meat probe gave conflicting inside temps.
He said next time he would pull it earlier than 130 inside temp as his family likes it rarer.
Also would use the rotisserie , he put on later in the day as it was.

[Jfrosty27]

smokin fool Kamado. Remember, the rotisseire rod gets very very hot and will cook that roast some from the inside/out too. As noted above it will give some inconsistent temp readings. Ok for a chicken but too risky for a prime rib.

[smokin fool]

Good point, never thought of It, I'll mention that to him.

[BBQPhil]

Also a prime rib is not going to be well balanced on a rotisserie as it rotates

[Bkhuna]

I've never seen any indication of that and I've been cooking large rib roasts on my Weber kettle rotisserie for many years. I suppose it might have something to do with how hot a fire your cooking with in the grill. I tend to cook this cut at low temps.

[Oak Smoke]

I used the Kamado to do one last year. It was basically a reverse sear. I put it on at 225F with some apple wood until I hit 125 internal. I pulled and wrapped it until I could get the Kamado up to 450 then I unwrapped it put it on to sear. By the time I finished the pit temp was pushing 600. It was just beautiful! That was when I discovered that our guests didn't care for pink meat. I ended up browning slices of prime rib in a CI skillet. No one should ever have to do that. Use the Kamado, be very selective when it comes to who you invite.

[tbob4]

I have that issue at home and it doesn’t bother me. My kids love the pink prime rib, my wife likes well done and my mom likes "pink in the middle, char on the outside." I cook it rare, fire up the Santa Maria and give my wife and mom what they want. For mom, it is rub, butter and 45 seconds per side right above the fire. For my wife, they are end cuts cooking at the same time Mom’s is cooking. The rest of the roast is in foil in the Cambro.

[Attjack]

This is what I will have to do. My girlfriend wants beef well done. I thought I was making progress but I think I'm back to square 1 after last night. So I'll probably go low on the kamado and then switch to the gas sear burner. I figure I'll slice an end piece off first and that one can be hers and cooked to well done.

[Attjack]

It was weird, last night I cooked a flank steak that I had divided in 2. I took my bigger piece off at 130 and continued to cook hers until 155. I noticed later that she hadn't eaten a lot of the steak and that it was indeed bright red. But I was sure it should have been well done.

[Mosca]

I have both. Kamado, no smoke. Get the lump burning clear and away you go.

[Attjack]

Why no smoke?

[Mosca]

I guess it’s just my preference for rib roasts. "Smoke "em if you got ‘em!”

[EdF]

I'm sort of a "hint of smoke" guy for that cut. Probably pretty much in line with Mosca.

[Red Man]

I agree with little or no smoke, at most one chunk right at the beginning. I usually do a small chunk of something mild like pecan or oak just in the beginning. Prime rib takes on a lot of smoke flavor and it doesn’t take much to over do it in my opinion. One good trick for people who like more well done is to put a slice in a simmering pot of jus. It won’t cook it much, but will take away the redness.

[EdF]

Psychological warfare! ;-)

It really is the name of the game with the "I want mine cooked" vs "I can't ruin that piece of meat" conflict.

[HuskerDave]

I have a related question. I am planning on doing a top loin (NY Strip Roast) on Christmas. Was thinking of reverse searing it on my pellet grill first, taking it off at about 115 and then finishing it on a gas rotisserie. Any thoughts? Lid open or closed on the rotisserie? It is supposed to be around 40 degrees outside.

[EdF]

Since I think you're aiming for minimum additional cooking and a nice crust, go as hot and fast as possible. No experience with the rotisserie so can't offer any advice.