Smoked Ribeye Cap Steak
On July 27, 2020 (Updated October 25, 2023)
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This Smoked Ribeye Cap Steak is a glorious steak when you want something beefy, delicious, and a bit out of the ordinary. Tender, juicy, and full of the most amazing beef flavor, the ribeye cap is likely to become your new favorite cut of meat.
What is a Ribeye Cap Steak?
The cap steak just so happens to be one of my favorite steaks. It comes from the outer rim of the prime rib roast, a muscle known as the spinalis dorsi, and it is beyond anything you’ve tried before. In fact, some folks claim the ribeye cap is the most delicious part of the cow (and I’d probably have to agree with them.
In a nutshell, the ribeye cap is both wonderfully tender and ridiculously flavorful. The meat is nice and loose with TONS of delicious marbling throughout. This particular ribeye cap fat makes this cut one of the best tasting steaks around. Flavor and tenderness? What more could you want from a steak?
These steaks often come with a higher price tag, but if you’ve been on the hunt for the most amazing steak around, you’ll find this steak is worth every penny.
How to Cook Ribeye Cap Steak
This ribeye cap steak is best cooked in your smoker (or over direct heat on your grill) and seared nice and hot for a crisp finish. All you need is some simple seasoning, a steady stream of smoke, and a smokin’ hot grill to get these steaks cooked to perfection.
- Season. Before you stick these steaks on your smoker, give them a little extra boost of flavor. My Signature Beef Seasoning is award-winning and made to perfectly compliment beef. If you don’t have any beef seasoning, you can season the steaks with equal parts salt, pepper, and garlic powder.
- Grill. With your smoker preheated to 225 degrees F, place the steaks on the grill grates, close the lid, and cook until your steaks are within 10 degrees of your target temperature (this will likely take anywhere from 1-1.5 hours). Personally, these steaks are best cooked to about medium-rare, and I do not recommend cooking them past medium for the best texture and flavor.
- Sear. Preheat a 12″ cast iron skillet and add 2 Tablespoons of high heat oil (I used avocado oil for these steaks) to the skillet. Once the skillet is nice and hot, sear the cap steaks for 1-2 minutes per side until your steaks reach their target temperature (120 degrees F for rare, 130 degrees for medium rare, 140 for medium, 150 for medium well, and 160 for well done).
Allow the steaks to rest for about 10 minutes before serving them.
Where to Buy Ribeye Cap Steak?
These steaks can be difficult to find, but don’t let that stop you from heading out on the hunt. They are totally worth the extra effort (and price tag)!
I’ve had the best luck lately finding these at Costco. If you can’t find them at Costco, I recommend you ask your local butcher to snag you some of these beauties.
If you’re still struggling to find these, and you’re willing to splurge a little bit, Snake River Farms has an American Wagyu rolled cap of ribeye that is to die for. These are totally worth trying, especially if you have a special occasion coming up, and you want a really, really good steak to help you celebrate.
Tips for Smoking Ribeye Cap Steak
Here are some tips for those of you new to the ribeye cap steak game. It’s pretty easy to smoke these bad boys, but a few tips should help you get the most bang for your buck.
- Be aware of portions. These are very thick steaks and they’ll feed more than you expect. If you are pinching pennies, you can definitely manage cooking one steak for two people.
- Use a high heat oil. I highly recommend using avocado oil with these steaks. Avocado oil has a high heat point, so you can get a nice, crispy sear on the outside of the cap steak. It also won’t add a lot of flavor to your steak, so you’ll only taste the beefy goodness and not the oil. You can still sear with butter or olive oil, but I wouldn’t recommend getting the heat as high in your skillet.
- Don’t forget the reverse sear. There are a few options for reverse searing your ribeye cap steak. You can either crank the temperature up on your grill grates and sear directly on your grill, or you can transfer your steak to a hot 12″ cast iron skillet. Both options will work well.
More Steak Recipes
Let’s talk about steak, baby! It’s the perfect option for dinner any day of the week. You can keep it simple with salt and pepper seasoning, or get all fancy with sauce and glazes. However you choose to cook your steaks, Hey Grill Hey has plenty of recipes to suit your fancy.
- Ribeye Steaks with Baslamic Red Wine Glaze
- Perfect Reverse Seared Steak on the Grill
- Porterhouse Steak on the Grill
Ribeye Cap Steak Recipe
Grilled Ribeye Cap Steak
Ingredients
- 2 ribeye cap steaks
- 2 Tablespoons avocado oil or any other high heat oil
- 1 Tablespoon Signature Beef Seasoning
Instructions
- Preheat the grill. Preheat your smoker to 225 degrees F, or your gas or charcoal grill for 2-zone cooking.
- Season the ribeye cap steaks. Season your steaks on all sides with beef seasoning (or equal parts salt, pepper, and garlic powder).
- Grill the steaks. Place the cap steaks directly on smoker or on the indirect heat side of grill. Close the lid and smoke for 1-1.5 hours. Cook the steaks until they are 10 degrees away from your target temperature (110 degrees F for rare, 120 for medium rare, 130 for medium, 140 for medium well, and 150 for well done).
- Sear the steaks. Preheat a 12" cast iron skillet over medium-high heat and drizzle in the avocado oil. Place the steaks in the skillet and sear for 1-2 minutes per side, or until the steaks reach your desired internal temperature (120 degrees F for rare, 130 degrees for medium rare, 140 for medium, 150 for medium well, and 160 for well done).
- Rest and serve. Remove the steaks from the skillet, allow them to rest, and serve.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Spinalis is absolutely my favorite part of the cow.
I’ve made this twice over the last week. After the steaks hit 120 I pulled them and let them rest while my pellet grill and grillgrates were heating up to 550, about 15 min. I then put the steaks back on — 2min turn, 2min flip, 2min turn, 2min pull. My Thermapen said 132 when I pulled them. I served it with grilled pineapple slices and potato salad and horseradish sauce. Absolute YUM! Thank you.