Some call it Prime Rib...I call it the 7-Bone Whole Beef Rib: Q-View

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forluvofsmoke

Smoking Guru
Original poster
OTBS Member
Aug 27, 2008
5,170
409
Hey again, everyone!!! Nothing says Christmas dinner quite like a massive beef rib roast, cooked to perfection.

Thought I'd share a little ride in the smoke today for others who may be on the fence on whether to do a beef rib roast for Christmas dinner, or, for those needing ideas on how they'd like to cook it. Today, mine will be smoked, of course, with a little twist from the normal treatment...yet, simple and easy to prepare with a great looking finished whole beef rib. Some may think that these are hard to cook...they are anything but...they're one of the easiest things to cook on the planet earth. Just use your meat thermometer and cook to temp...even if cooking in the oven...it's all about temp, not time.

I had a bit of a surprise this morning when I transported my gear and meat to my daughter's house for cooking dinner...actually 2 surprises. We ordered a 16-18lb rib roast. I didn't bother to look at the label very close when I dropped it in the fridge a couple days ago after my better half brought it home...it's a 21.5lbr, not 18 or under. The second surprise is that my son in law's immediate family could not attend, so I was planning for 11 adults...now there will be 8, with a possibility that one of my daughter's friends will stop by this evening so we can share more of this goodness in the form of PR and twice-baked potatoes (one of my daughter's sides for today).

So, on with the whole beef rib, shall we?

The typical wet-aged 7-bone whole beef rib:


Helluva price, especially around here...can't go wrong, right?:


I lightly trimmed the fat-cap and cross-hatch scored the cap down through the silver skin and in places, into the meat just a bit. This helps keep the cap over the meat when shrinkage starts, instead of pulling away from the edges of the roast, or, towards one side, etc. It also allows more surface area for pre-cook treatments, and more smoke penetration through the fat-cap, as well as allowing the rendered fat to cling to the meat longer:


Rubbed with sea salt, then minced dried garlic, then fine ground black pepper...simple...this cut of beef doesn't need much done to it to taste great, IMHO. I've used complex dry rubs in the past, and couldn't really taste it, except around the outside of the slice, of course. But, hey if you're doing Au Jus (and we are today), does it really matter?:


Wait...what?...AP Flour...why?...it grabs hold of some rendering beef fat and keeps it on the surface to crisp it up a bit...the  more the better!!! The flour creates a fantastic, golden brown, caramelized crust that is just beautiful, and offers a bit of texture variation to the dining experience as well...think chicken-fried steak, only MUCH BETTER, because it's crispy fat...hmm, yeah, you drooling , too? I used about 1/3 cup on this 21.5lbr:


Work it into the cross-hatch scored fat-cap, press it into every nook & cranny, just like the dry rub...don't be shy:



10:15am and ready for smoke...hickory chunks in the Weber OTG 26.75" with briquettes in baskets for indirect heat will do the job just fine on this balmy mid-30's Christmas Eve day. BTW, yes, this is beautiful weather...less than 2 weeks ago it was -23*. This beef rib is too far big for the WSM 18, anyway. I started out cold, as usual, and let the temp build up over the first 30-45 minutes. Cold start = GREAT smoke reaction up front:



2-1/4hrs in @ ~235 grate temps (meat probe installed after pics)...110* I/T...just getting ready to stoke the fire a bit. Now you're starting to get a glimps of what the flour crust and cross-hatch scoring can do for your masterpiece:



Getting some nice pull-back from the bone already...it's got a bit to go before resting time:


It is now 1:30pm and dinner is slated for 5:00ish, depending on when the rest of the family arrives. So, today's creation may be resting for an hour or so...but in any case, it will be worth the wait. I/T is now 133*...cooking a bit on the fast side, but it may hit a stall before much longer...hope so, anyway. I don't smoke these often enough to know exactly how long at what temp, and if I had to guess I'd say this is the 1st one I've smoked in the Weber OTG 26...so, smoke & learn.

Hate to leave you hangin' on the edge of the cliff with no rope like this, but I'll be back later with finished, sliced and plated pics for your drooling enjoyment!!!

Thanks for peekin'!!!

Eric
 
ROTF.gif
Thanks, fellas!!! Just finished dinner and getting ready ready to play a card game. I'll slip in pic uploads along the way and try to get this out tonight.

BTW, EVERYTHING about this dinner was fantastic...simple and few sides, but none were lacking in goodness. We'll let our bellies settle before desert, later. I can't believe it but we polished off all but approx 2.5lbs. AMAZING!!! I figured we'd leave nearly 1/2 of this beast...was I ever WRONG!!! Good stuff!!!

Finished pics to follow, ASAP!!!

Eric
 
The grande finally at last!!!

This bad boy was holding @ the 142* mark for nearly 2.5 hours as I throttle the kettle down into coast-mode...around 165-170*  grate temps. I jacked it back up to ~250* with fresh hot coals about 30 minutes before serving time:





Almost ready...let it rest about 10 minutes while everyone got a plate ready for fresh slices:






I'm still figuring out this new camera with some pics...I didn't do the sliced meat grain color any justice...trust me, it was rare...max temp was 147*:



The first round of plates took 3 bones, I sliced about 3/4" thick and some of the guys were offered 2, while 1 took 3 slices...who wants seconds?:


My 2 plates...I didn't want Au Jus soaked garden salad...hah-hah!!!:






The crust on the roast had nice crispy spots from the fat and flour mingling with heat.

All was good, all are full, a plate was sent home with one guest for her husband who just got home from work...we're still waiting on desert, which there is excessive amounts.

Anyone on the fence about PR, don't be. It's hard to mess it up. There are just 2 simple rules to follow: 1) use your meat thermometer and cook to your desired temp; 2) ENJOY!!!

Great smokes to all and to all a good night!!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS, EVERYONE!!!

Eric
 
Har! It is a good thing I'm so far away. I might crash this dinner! Definitely point worthy!

Disco
 
 
Har! It is a good thing I'm so far away. I might crash this dinner! Definitely point worthy!

Disco
Hey, brother, I would have welcomed any fellow smoker to join us for dinner. Can't call that crashing...what would that be...accepting an invitation from a not so stranger to share a meal...yeah, that.

I'm still trying to figure out how we demolished so much of this beef!!! I think it was a combination of everyone bringing their big appetites due to the anticipation...(everyone knew for weeks what was for dinner)...and a good, solid preparation and a watchful eye over the cooking process once it was time to start monitoring I/T. I smoke these every Christmas for the past...umm...can't say for sure how long now, but maybe 8 years...ever since my wife said she fired herself from prime rib dinners after I convinced her to let me smoke one for my birthday dinner a while back. It was a very similar preparation to this one we just enjoyed...just a more complex dry rub and smoked over a propane flame instead of coals.

I did have one I flopped back about 5-6 years ago...wasn't a holiday meal, just one for "what if"...ended up coming out med-well...the chef wasn't as attentive as was needed that day. It was still juicy and fairly tender, but I had no doubt that it wasn't quite what it could have been. Lesson learned...watch those temps.

Thanks again, Disco!!!

Eric
 
Hey again, everyone!!! Nothing says Christmas dinner quite like a massive beef rib roast, cooked to perfection.

Thought I'd share a little ride in the smoke today for others who may be on the fence on whether to do a beef rib roast for Christmas dinner, or, for those needing ideas on how they'd like to cook it. Today, mine will be smoked, of course, with a little twist from the normal treatment...yet, simple and easy to prepare with a great looking finished whole beef rib. Some may think that these are hard to cook...they are anything but...they're one of the easiest things to cook on the planet earth. Just use your meat thermometer and cook to temp...even if cooking in the oven...it's all about temp, not time.

I had a bit of a surprise this morning when I transported my gear and meat to my daughter's house for cooking dinner...actually 2 surprises. We ordered a 16-18lb rib roast. I didn't bother to look at the label very close when I dropped it in the fridge a couple days ago after my better half brought it home...it's a 21.5lbr, not 18 or under. The second surprise is that my son in law's immediate family could not attend, so I was planning for 11 adults...now there will be 8, with a possibility that one of my daughter's friends will stop by this evening so we can share more of this goodness in the form of PR and twice-baked potatoes (one of my daughter's sides for today).

So, on with the whole beef rib, shall we?

The typical wet-aged 7-bone whole beef rib:


Helluva price, especially around here...can't go wrong, right?:


I lightly trimmed the fat-cap and cross-hatch scored the cap down through the silver skin and in places, into the meat just a bit. This helps keep the cap over the meat when shrinkage starts, instead of pulling away from the edges of the roast, or, towards one side, etc. It also allows more surface area for pre-cook treatments, and more smoke penetration through the fat-cap, as well as allowing the rendered fat to cling to the meat longer:


Rubbed with sea salt, then minced dried garlic, then fine ground black pepper...simple...this cut of beef doesn't need much done to it to taste great, IMHO. I've used complex dry rubs in the past, and couldn't really taste it, except around the outside of the slice, of course. But, hey if you're doing Au Jus (and we are today), does it really matter?:


Wait...what?...AP Flour...why?...it grabs hold of some rendering beef fat and keeps it on the surface to crisp it up a bit...the more the better!!! The flour creates a fantastic, golden brown, caramelized crust that is just beautiful, and offers a bit of texture variation to the dining experience as well...think chicken-fried steak, only MUCH BETTER, because it's crispy fat...hmm, yeah, you drooling , too? I used about 1/3 cup on this 21.5lbr:


Work it into the cross-hatch scored fat-cap, press it into every nook & cranny, just like the dry rub...don't be shy:



10:15am and ready for smoke...hickory chunks in the Weber OTG 26.75" with briquettes in baskets for indirect heat will do the job just fine on this balmy mid-30's Christmas Eve day. BTW, yes, this is beautiful weather...less than 2 weeks ago it was -23*. This beef rib is too far big for the WSM 18, anyway. I started out cold, as usual, and let the temp build up over the first 30-45 minutes. Cold start = GREAT smoke reaction up front:



2-1/4hrs in @ ~235 grate temps (meat probe installed after pics)...110* I/T...just getting ready to stoke the fire a bit. Now you're starting to get a glimps of what the flour crust and cross-hatch scoring can do for your masterpiece:



Getting some nice pull-back from the bone already...it's got a bit to go before resting time:


It is now 1:30pm and dinner is slated for 5:00ish, depending on when the rest of the family arrives. So, today's creation may be resting for an hour or so...but in any case, it will be worth the wait. I/T is now 133*...cooking a bit on the fast side, but it may hit a stall before much longer...hope so, anyway. I don't smoke these often enough to know exactly how long at what temp, and if I had to guess I'd say this is the 1st one I've smoked in the Weber OTG 26...so, smoke & learn.

Hate to leave you hangin' on the edge of the cliff with no rope like this, but I'll be back later with finished, sliced and plated pics for your drooling enjoyment!!!

Thanks for peekin'!!!

Eric
 
First time I bought this cut of meeat from the butcher, a six pounder, looked good but I was a little leery smoking it as I have never done anything from the "chuck" family on my Kamado Joe. Followed the instructions but set my temp at 250 and used some mesquite blocks for the smoke flavor. The method I was following told me to pull the meat at 130 degrees. Was nervous as I have members in my family who turn their nose when the meat is rare. So I let it go to 145 before pulliing (about 3.5 hours).
Wrapped it in foil and let it rest for about an hour. What I ended up with was fantastic. Not only was it tender and tasty but the ends were more on the well done side to appease my non-rare to medium rare guests. I will definitelly being doing this cut again experimenting with some different rubs and marinades. Now I see why some call it the "poor mans prime rib". Turned out to be a very simple and delicious smoke.
 
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