Simple Reverse Sear Prime Rib Technique

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Ingredients:

  • 7 lb Beef Prime Rib, you can use larger or smaller roasts

  • ¼ cup of Olive Oil

  • ½ cup of Three Little Pig’s Memphis BBQ Rub

  • ½ cup of Three Little Pig’s All Purpose Rub

Instructions:

Smoke/Grill until the thermometer registers:
115-120˚F for Rare
125-130˚F for Medium Rare
135-140 for Medium
145-150 for Medium Well

Start with bone-in or out, well-marbled beef. Bones don’t add flavor, but they do regulate temperature, increasing the amount of tender, medium-rare beef you’ll get in your finished roast. And, of course, you get to gnaw on those bones when you’re done. Marbling is intramuscular fat that appears as a white, pattern within the meat. The more marbling, the richer and more tender your beef will be. Though most guides recommend a pound per person when you’re shopping for prime rib, this is for very hungry eaters: You’ll most likely get away with three-quarters of a pound per person, or about one rib for every three people. The Prime Rib to the Right is a 16 lb CAB (Certified Angus Beef) roast.

Season it well, and season it early if you’ve got time. Prime rib has plenty of flavor on its own, so there’s no real need to add much more than a good heavy sprinkling of Three Little Pig’s Memphis and All Purpose BBQ Rubs. If you’re able to plan, it’s best to season your prime rib with the rubs at least the day before.  Letting it sit on a rack in your fridge uncovered. This will allow time for the rubs to penetrate and season more deeply while also drying out the surface, which will lead to better crusting during smoking and grilling.

Start it in the Smoker. Here’s where the “reverse sear” part kicks in. Traditional prime rib recipes will have you start your meat in a very hot oven, based on the premise that searing meat can “lock in juices.” This has been proven time and again to be false. If you want the juiciest, tenderest prime rib, your best bet is to do the opposite: Start your prime rib  in the smoker at 250 degrees, while applying your favorite flavor wood once the roast is set on to the smoker, I prefer  couple of pieces of Pecan , let it reach about 120-125°F measured in the center of the roast for medium rare.

Finish on the Grill. Remove the roast, from the smoker and move down to the charcoal grill of the smoker, set the beef back inside for just a few minutes to crisp up the exterior, while rotating top and bottom every 2 minutes.  Do have a good set of heat gloves to move the roast. The result is prime rib that is measurably juicier and tenderer, with a crackling crust and the biggest expanse of rosy interior.