Smoked Prime Rib Roast
On February 21, 2023 (Updated October 24, 2023)
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Smoked prime rib is always the crowning glory of every holiday table. Slow-smoked for amazing flavor and then flash-roasted for a rich exterior crust, my method for smoked prime rib ensures perfect results every time!
What is a Prime Rib Roast?
A rib roast is a large cut of beef that comes from the primal rib of the cow. The entire cut contains 7 rib bones and a lot of marbled, tender muscle and can weigh up to 30 pounds.
The label “prime” rib roast refers to the fact that this cut comes from a whole primal muscle, not necessarily the grade of the meat. Prime is typically the highest grade available at your butcher or big box warehouse. Most grocery store butchers carry the next grade down, which is Choice, and below that, you will see Select grade beef. These lower grades are still technically “prime rib” and most recipes you’ll see treat them the same.
What Grade Prime Rib Should I Buy?
The grade of beef makes a BIG difference in your final product, with Prime grade having additional marbling which means more flavor, tenderness, and moisture from that rendering fat. It also means a big difference in the final price of your roast. If you’ve got a big budget and are willing to pay the extra cash, go for the Prime grade and treat yourself!
If you purchase a Choice grade roast, you will still have outstanding results, so don’t fret or overthink it. The magic of this recipe is in the method and the final product will still be amazingly delicious and tender. Choice-grade prime rib will still give you a delicious roast and not cost you (as much of) an arm and a leg as Prime grade beef.
I usually stick with Prime and Choice grade beef when I’m cooking a fancy roast like this, but if your budget is on the lower end, a Select grade roast will work just fine, though it may not be as tender or flavorful as the other grades.
How Much Prime Rib Per Person?
When preparing prime rib for a sit-down dinner, plan on 1 pound of prime rib per person.
By planning on 1 pound of uncooked prime rib per person, you’ll ensure you have enough meat after any necessary trimming and volume lost during the cooking process. It will also leave you with enough meat left over for sandwiches the next day.
If this amount seems like a lot for each person, that’s because it is. Prime rib is an indulgence, and you want your guests to feel well-fed when they leave the table. If you have kids you are counting when calculating how much prime rib per person, you can decrease the total amount you buy knowing that children will likely eat a bit less.
Ingredients for Smokes Prime Rib
Here’s what you’ll need to make this smoked prime rib roast. This recipe is very simple.
- 10-pound prime rib roast
- 1/2 cup horseradish mustard
- 2 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 4 cloves minced garlic
- 1 Tablespoon coarse kosher salt
- 1 Tablespoon freshly cracked black pepper
Quick note: Adjust the amount of salt and pepper in this recipe as needed to fully cover the roast on all sides.
How to Smoke a Prime Rib
Now that you have your prime rib roast selected and your ingredients are ready to go, let’s get this beef in the heat! Here’s how to smoke a prime rib.
- Preheat. Fire up your favorite smoker and preheat to 225 degrees F with your favorite hardwood for beef.
- Trim and season. Combine mustard, Worcestershire sauce, and garlic in a small bowl. Slather the entire roast with the mixture then season liberally with salt and pepper.
- Smoke. Place the seasoned roast on the grill grates of the smoker. Close the lid, and smoke until the meat reaches 120 degrees F for Rare, 125 degrees F for Medium Rare, or 130 degrees F for Medium.
- Rest. Remove the roast to a cutting board, cover it with aluminum foil, and rest for 20 minutes. Increase the temperature on your grill to 400 degrees F.
- Sear. As soon as your smoker reaches 400 degrees F, place the prime rib back on the smoker and smoke until the meat reaches your preferred doneness (130 degrees F for Rare, 135 degrees F for Medium Rare, or 140 degrees F for Medium).
- Rest and enjoy. Remove the prime rib from the smoker and allow the meat to rest for around 15 minutes before serving.
How Long to Smoke Prime Rib
It takes approximately 35 minutes per pound to smoke prime rib to Rare doneness with the smoker running steady at 225 degrees F.
If you like your prime rib closer to Medium doneness, plan on 40 minutes per pound at 225 degrees F.
It is key to track the temperature of the meat while it cooks on the smoker so you can remove it when it hits that perfect juicy doneness. I like to use an instant-read meat thermometer to check my temperatures as the meat cooks. You’ll also want to allow at least 30 minutes of rest time and another 15 minutes for the high-heat sear before serving when calculating how long it will take to smoke prime rib from start to finish.
More Prime Rib Recipes
If you’re looking for other delicious prime rib recipes to try out this holiday season, I cannot recommend these more. Both are extremely flavorful and juicy. Click on the links below to head straight to the recipes.
Smoked Prime Rib Recipe
Follow the recipe, and let’s make some really good food! If you loved this recipe, please leave it a 5-star review and sound off in the comments section below!
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This post was originally published in December 2017. We recently updated it with more information and helpful tips. The recipe remains the same.
Smoked Prime Rib
Ingredients
- 1 8-10 pound bone-in prime rib roast
- 1 Tablespoon coarse Kosher salt adjust amount as needed to fully cover the roast
- 1 Tablespoon cracked black pepper adjust the amount as needed to fully cover the roast
Garlic Mustard Slather
- ½ cup Dijon mustard with horseradish
- 2 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 4 cloves garlic minced
Instructions
- Preheat. Fire up the smoker and allow it to preheat to 225 degrees F while you prepare the prime rib.
- Trim the meat. Trim any excess fat from the top of the roast down to 1/4 inch thick.
- Season. In a small bowl combine the mustard, Worcestershire sauce, and garlic. Slather the entire roast with the mustard mixture and season liberally with salt and pepper.
- Smoke. Place the roast on the grill and close the lid. Smoke until the internal temperature of the roast reaches 120 degrees F for Rare or 130 degrees F for Medium. For a rare, bone-in roast, plan on 35 minutes per pound of prime rib.
- Rest. Remove the roast to a cutting board, cover the roast with foil, and allow it to rest for 20 minutes.
- Increase temp in smoker. While the roast is resting, increase the temperature of your grill to 400 degrees F.
- Sear. Once the grill is up to temperature, return the roast to the grill and sear until you reach your desired internal temperature. Pull the roast off at 130 degrees F for rare, 135 degrees F for medium rare, or 140 degrees for medium. This process should go quickly, so keep an eye on your temperature.
- Rest, slice, and serve. Remove your roast to the cutting board and let the meat rest for at least 15 minutes before slicing and serving.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I tried this set up for prime rib, I did a 5# boneless with hickory blocks at 225-250 for smoker temp pulled it off at 120 let it sit for a while and seared it on the Webber grill at 450 till the IT was 135 let it rest for 20 minutes best I’ve done, and one person said they won’t buy prime rib from a restraint again
That’s fantastic! Way to go!
Big fan here! Your smoked salmon recipe changed my life 🙂
I’m getting ready to smoke my first prime rib. I got a massive 16lb USDA prime bone-in rib eye roast I’m doing for a party this weekend. As you know these are longer (8 bone) than what you show here, but not necessarily thicker. Will it really take 8-9 hours at 225 on a Big Green Egg XL?
Thanks for the help, and for all of the wonderfulness you share here!
Wonderful! Yes, it will take about that long. Make sure you allow for plenty of extra time just in case!
Thanks! I’ll let you know how it goes after Sunday night!
So just getting into the serious smoking and I have used your website Everytime. Not once have you steered me wrong. The prime rib I have done twice because it was such a huge hit. I have also done the beef ribs, and the Texas brisket. Don’t worry you guys get all the credit.
Keep these recipes coming ????
Heck yeah! Thank you so much for being here and for the killer review! We have big plans this year, so stay tuned!
Is it possible to let it rest for too long? We have 2 7lb bone in roasts for Fathers Day Sunday and are trying to figure out the timing as we’ll have to be gone for several hours during the day. So if we smoke it in the morning then take it out and wrap and put in a cooler with towels to keep warm will that mess it up?
It’ll rest and stay hot wrapped in towels in a cooler for hours. You’ll be just fine!
I have a GMG. I don’t have a sear box. I have a 15 pounder prime rib to cook for Easter Sunday. How could I sear it? I know it’s better to sear but is it necessary? And also it’s a boneless so figure 30 per pound? About 7-7.5 hours?
I’ve done them in the oven with the broiler on, works great!
Hello, I have not tried smoked prime rib before. Is it much better than over cooked prime rib?
I am screaming out loud….YES!!! SOOOOOO much better!!
I have cooked many prime ribs in my life. I use this cooking method always low and slow then out to rest then turn the heat up. Before yesterday I had never smoked one and OH MY GAWD! First of all let me tell you the smell was enough to make you want to eat this for the rest of your life. I had to work so I trusted my husband to set it on the grill, which he did, however, he did not place the meat directly on the grill, he left it on the pan I used to bring the roast up to room temp. (Silly boy grills are for girls) anyway, I don’t believe this made a bit of difference. It did however show me that there were less than a tablespoon of drippings which I knew meant all those yummy juices were lock in that beautiful hunk of meat. Here’s what impressed me the most, when i cut the strings off the bones literally fell off the meat! I have never in my life cooked a more perfect piece of meat. It was rare all the way through the smoke flavor was amazing and the rub was so tasty. I can’t wait to do this again. It was absolutely perfect! Thank you for sharing.
Stephanie! Thank you so much for coming back and leaving me a comment!! I’m so happy you made the perfect prime rib!!
Some recipes say to sear the roast first then slow cook it to keep the juices locked inside, why would I want to sear at the end of the cooking process?
Since this roast is cooking at a low temperature, you don’t really need to worry about losing juices during the slow cook. Additionally, if you sear a roast and then place it in the smoker, the smoke won’t influence the meat as much. The external edges of the meat will already be cooked and the smoke won’t penetrate.
I don’t want the prime to be too smokey, will this work for that or should I just do it in the oven then?
This is a smoked prime rib, so it will definitely have a smoked flavor. I’ve never had anybody complain of it being too smoky though.
I am planning on doing 3 hunks of boneless prime rib that are 5 lbs each, should I still plan on 35 minutes per per pound ( 175 min) or should I adjust that since there will be 3 pieces on at the same time?
Thanks
Boneless actually takes a bit less time, I would plan about 25 minutes per pound. Having 3 separate pieces won’t affect the cook time.