Prime rib cooked too fast

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geno2265

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Original poster
Dec 24, 2023
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I read online that it would take 35 minutes per pound at 225 Degrees to smoke a rime rib. I have a 20 lbs prime rib so that translates to 11.6 hours. To my shock it was at 120 degrees in 4 hours. My meal is not for another 11 hours. Am I complete screwed. Right now it is double wrapped in foil and towels sitting in a yeti cooler. I am worried about the meat spoiling and making everyone sick. What else can I do since I have so long to wait?
 
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Sounds like your meat thermometer is either off, or you cooked it at a higher temp than you thought you did. I know folks hold brisket in a cooler for extended lengths of time, but I don't recall hearing about a prime rib. Prime rib is usually served rare to med-rare. Did you check the meat temp in a couple of places? Maybe you got a false reading.

I think if I were in your situation and I was sure it was fully cooked. Then I might put it into the fridge and either reheat it slowly at dinner time or serve it cold with a good hot gravy. Someone else will hopefully chime in with a better/proven idea.

Chris
 
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One more thought on a 20 pound prime rib. Did you stick your therm in the thru the ends of the meat or thru one of the middle section?
 
Sounds like your meat thermometer is either off, or you cooked it at a higher temp than you thought you did. I know folks hold brisket in a cooler for extended lengths of time, but I don't recall hearing about a prime rib. Prime rib is usually served rare to med-rare. Did you check the meat temp in a couple of places? Maybe you got a false reading.

I think if I were in your situation and I was sure it was fully cooked. Then I might put it into the fridge and either reheat it slowly at dinner time or serve it cold with a good hot gravy. Someone else will hopefully chime in with a better/proven idea.

Chris
I ended up putting it in the frig until 1pm and then slowly raising the temp back up. In the end it turned out perfect and was the best prime rib I’ve cooked according to all my guest. Thanks for your help..
 
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I read online that it would take 35 minutes per pound at 225 Degrees to smoke a rime rib. I have a 20 lbs prime rib so that translates to 11.6 hours. To my shock it was at 120 degrees in 4 hours. My meal is not for another 11 hours. Am I complete screwed. Right now it is double wrapped in foil and towels sitting in a yeti cooler. I am worried about the meat spoiling and making everyone sick. What else can I do since I have so long to wait?
I think if you dig a bit deeper you’ll find your 35minutes/lb guideline is intended for roasts up to about 8-10lbs. Beyond that, PRs typically get longer but not appreciably larger in circumference. As such, it won’t require substantially more cook time than a much lighter roast but with similar girth. Think of two pork tenderloins, one 6” in length; the other 16” - both have similar cook times.
For example, to cook a 20 pounder use your guideline for 8-10lbs x 35minutes/lb = 5-6hours, which is roughly in line with your report of 4hours. It also gives a bit of ‘wiggle room’ in case things go awry. Sure beats delivering dinner late to disgruntled guests!
The extra time resting IMHO is not a bad thing. If you’re concerned with food safety, put a heating pad under a towel in the cooler beneath the roast, leave the probe in and keep an eye on it.

Hope this helps!
-fraser
 
I read online that it would take 35 minutes per pound at 225 Degrees to smoke a rime rib. I have a 20 lbs prime rib so that translates to 11.6 hours. To my shock it was at 120 degrees in 4 hours. My meal is not for another 11 hours. Am I complete screwed. Right now it is double wrapped in foil and towels sitting in a yeti cooler. I am worried about the meat spoiling and making everyone sick. What else can I do since I have so long to wait?
I did a smaller one on rotisserie. I used a new Inkbirdbbq Inkbirdbbq INT-11P-b wireless job that I inserted before the spit. I lso chcked periodiclly with a a proven instant read thermometer. Depending on pobe plsacment of the instant read, temps were all over the place. I pulled when theinkbird hit 200. crevices in the roast all had different temps. The cook was a lot faster than I expected. I only used the rear infrared burner. sorry not much help.
 
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