Thanksgiving Prime Rib questions...

[bgaviator]

Planning on smoking a 6 lb boneless prime rib tomorrow over cherry wood. I did one of these back in 2021, and it turned out well. I typically make a butter rub that has chopped herbs, garlic, and salt and pepper in it and I smear it all over the meat. With that being said, the last time I did this, I noticed that any outside areas that had fat left on, you couldn't really taste the herb butter seasoning in those sections. The sections where there was no fat on the outside seemed more flavorful from the herbs. Since I am smoking this meat at a low temp, would it do any harm to trim off most of the fat on the outside for this cook? I want to be able to taste the herb butter on the outside.

Second question, would there be any flavor advantage to rubbing the meat with the herb butter the night before? Or should I just rub it before I put it on tomorrow? Last time I think I just rubbed it on before the smoke.

 

[DRKsmoking]

Not having done a butter rub before , I think that an over night sit in fridge with the herb butter on the roast would be a good thing. No different then a good coat of black pepper and spice on the exterior, is very nice to let sit on the meat to help absorb in some and make a good cooked crust/bark.

As for the fat if it is the out side crust you are really trying to get a good flavour on with your herb butter ,
then yes trim off any big hard pieces of the fat. I like some fat around the out side in places as I really like the rendered down fat with my spices on the outside of a slow cooked roast.

But that is me.

David

 

[JLeonard]

I'm with David. The prime rib will have a good bit of internal fat. Trim the hard fat off. Butter and spice the night before. Wrap in plastic wrap in the fridge. And go to smoking the next morning. DM me your address and the time I need to be there fork in hand.....

Jim

 

[thirdeye]

Trim to your heart's desire. Boneless is easier to cook because the shape is more consistent, an you can tie it to make even more uniform. Here are some estimated cook times from my database of prime rib cook times. But trust your internal thermometer before trusting the clock. Also allow for some carry-over temps. Most of these cooks were in ceramic cookers (BGE or Primo Oval).

4 pound roast - 220°-228° pit temp - 2 hours to reach 125°

5-1/2 pound roast - 230° pit temp - 3 hours to reach 125°

5-3/4 pound roast - 245° average pit temp - 3 hours 45 minutes to reach 127°

6-3/4 pound bone-in roast - 250° pit temp - 4 hours to reach 125°

7 pound roast - 250° pit temp - 3 hours 40 minutes to reach 123°

7 pound roast - 220°-228° pit temp - 3 hours 30 minutes to reach 125°