Smoked Prime Rib

There is nothing better than enjoying a flavorful beef roast perfectly seasoned with rosemary and garlic. This Smoked Prime Rib Roast recipe will easily be the star of your feast. 

Discover the secret to perfectly smoked rib roast. Our recipe guarantees juicy, melt-in-your-mouth goodness that will impress your guests.

As the holiday season approaches, it's time to elevate your traditional feast and add some smoky excitement to the table. Imagine sinking your teeth into tender slices of beef that have been infused with rich smoky flavors from hours of slow smoking. If you want to skip the turkey, go with a succulent beef roast for Thanksgiving or your Christmas dinner party.

The succulent meat melts in your mouth while the intoxicating aroma fills the room, leaving everyone eagerly awaiting their turn at the carving station. In this article, we will share our top-secret smoked prime rib roast recipe that will make you the hero of any gathering. So fire up those smokers and get ready for an unforgettable dining experience!

Ingredients

Prime Rib Roast - This will be approximately a 6-10 lb bone-in roast. You want to figure on about a pound of beef per person. Once you trim the roast and some of the fat renders, the portion for each guest will be closer to about 12 oz of cooked meat.

Horseradish Mayo - Think of this as our glue for the seasoning. Plus, I love the flavor of horseradish with beef. If you want to make your own homemade horseradish sauce, go for it. I am happy with a quality premade sauce. If you don't like horseradish, just use some mayo or a dijon mustard.

Garlic - I prefer fresh garlic finely minced. You can also use garlic powder. Garlic powder will give a more even coating of seasoning, but I like the flavor of cooked garlic. Having those little tasty nuggets of garlic is a treat for me.

Rosemary - Fresh rosemary is best, however dry rosemary is fine. A very rough chop on the rosemary is sufficient. If you don't have rosemary, you can use other herbs. Thyme or Sage would be another great choice. I went with fresh rosemary.

Salt - Kosher salt or a larger coarse salt is my favorite for a big cook. You will want approximately 1 teaspoon of salt per pound of beef. This is all going on the outside of the beef, and some will wash away as the fat melts.

Pepper - Freshly ground black pepper gives a nice earthy spice to this roast.

How to Make Smoked Prime Rib Roast

Step One - After you have removed the prime rib from its packaging, trim off the excess fat. We don't want more than a quarter inch of fat cap. Too much fat will not render enough to allow the smoky flavor to permeate the meat. And no one likes to see undercooked fat on their plate.

Step Two - Once the beef is ready, we will first coat it with a horseradish mayo. I love the flavor of horseradish with beef. If you aren't a fan, then just use mayo. This is to allow our seasoning to adhere to the prime rib roast. After the beef is covered in mayo, combine rosemary, garlic, salt, and black pepper in a small bowl. Then sprinkle over the entire roast to ensure it is thoroughly covered with seasoning.

Step Three - Place the Prime rib, bone side down into your preheated smoker. Be sure to insert a meat thermometer into the thickest part of the roast to monitor the internal temperature. We are going to smoke this for approximately 3 hours or until the internal temperature is 10 degrees less than our desired finished temperature.

Expert Tip: The final temperature for medium-rare is 130°F. If you want your prime rib to be medium, the final temperature will be 140°F. I recommend also using an instant-read probe thermometer to check multiple spots of the roast.

Step Four - Once the internal temperature of the prime rib is 10 degrees less than our desired final temperature, remove it from the smoker. I smoked the beef roast until the internal temperature was 120°F. 

For this cooking process, we will now reverse sear the prime rib. There are a few different ways we can reverse sear; we can crank a conventional oven to 500 degrees F. You can use the broiler or you can reverse sear it over high temperature on a gas grill, we could increase the smoker to 500°F, or you can use a griddle.

I used my Blackstone Griddle to reverse sear the Smoked Prime Rib. Remove the roast from the smoker and place it on the preheated griddle for about 2 to 3 minutes per side. Monitor the internal temperature as you sear it. You want to get a nice crust on the outside of the roast which will give it great texture and an amazing flavor without overcooking the roast. 

I seared the roast on the Blackstone until the internal temperature increased to 125°F. Allowing it to rest will bring the final internal temp up to 130°F for a medium rare doneness. 

Then remove the roast from the griddle and let the roast rest on a cutting board under an aluminum foil tent for at least 20 minutes before slicing and serving.

Store any leftover prime rib in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 day.

Common Questions

What is Prime Rib?

Here, "prime" does not refer to the USDA prime grade of meat. Rather it refers to this primal cut of beef. The whole rib section consists of the sixth rib to the twelfth rib. Most times, the whole standing rib roast will contain up to these seven ribs. This is a large cut of beef. The prime rib is where ribeye steak is cut from.

This cut of beef is well marbled and offers a juicy and flavorful taste. If you are having trouble locating an entire prime rib from grocery stores, you should be able to obtain it from your local butcher. This will be a bit of an expensive cut of meat. Most people enjoy prime rib for a holiday or a special occasion.

How to Cook a Prime Rib?

There are several ways to cook prime rib. The most common way is to roast the prime rib, allowing it to stand on the rib bones in the roasting pan. You can also grill it. You can also sous vide it. Here will smoke the rib roast. For this prime rib recipe, I will be using my Traeger Pellet Grill, but you can use an offset stick burner or a charcoal smoker as well.

What Tools are needed for Smoking a Prime Rib?

Smoker - Obviously. I like to use my Traeger Pellet Smoker for this cook. You can use whatever smoker you have. The key is to make sure you monitor the internal probe temperature of the meat.

Wood - Whether you are using wood logs, wood chips or pellets, you have to decide what flavor wood you want to use. I use a combination of cherry and hickory. These give a great combination of smoke flavor to the prime rib.

Meat Thermometer - It is paramount to monitor the internal temperature of the roast. Not just when it is smoking, but also during the reverse sear. With such a large expensive piece of meat, you want to make sure you arrive at your perfect desired doneness.

What to Serve with Traeger Smoked Prime Rib?

I am a meat and potato guy. Here are some of my favorite potatoes to serve with your prime rib.

Mashed Potatoes and Smoked Sweet Potatoes

If you want a vegetable to accompany your meal, try Smoked Zucchini, Squash Casserole, or Loaded Green Bean Casserole.

Lastly, if you are looking to round out a perfect holiday meal or a special occasion don't forget to add Boxed Wine Sangria or a Christmas Moscow mule for a great cocktail.