Garlic Herb Stuffed Prime Rib

On November 28, 2023 (Updated December 20, 2023)

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Savory, slow-smoked prime rib stuffed with buttery garlic goodness, my Garlic Herb Stuffed Prime Rib is a whole holiday in every savory bite.

Stuffed Prime Rib

Nothing says the holidays quite like sinking your teeth into a tender, juicy bite of prime rib coated with crispy bark. This indulgent cut of beef is nearly perfect on its own with some simple seasoning. Add a little homemade stuff on the side and you’ve got a full holiday meal. I’m going to show you it’s possible to have both of these delicious dishes in one bite with this stuffed prime rib recipe.

What sets this apart from a more traditional prime rib is you’re going to infuse the meat with flavor from the inside out during the whole cooking process. You’re going to be making a my special stuffing butter, and then filling the inside of your prime rib with it. This is going to give you all the herby, flavor packed goodness usually reserved for the crust in every bite. This is going to take your prime rib game to a level of decadence that will wow your family.

Picking the Right Roast

The first step in smoking perfect prime rib starts with picking the right meat. The rib roast is a large cut of beef that comes from the primal rib of the cow. This is where ribeye and tomahawk steaks come from. It’s the same cut off beef, just prepared in different ways to give you a unique experience. Just like when picking out a ribeye steak, you want to look for beef with rich red color, lots of fat marbling, and a pronounced spinalis. Fat content is key with prime rib.

When it comes to grades, I like to go with either Prime or Choice when smoking a fancy roast like this. Choice will turn out great following this recipe, and you can’t ever go wrong with Prime. You can get by with Select, but your results may not be as tender and juicy as you hope for. This is a special occasion cut, so I find the quality is worth spending a little bit more for Choice.

Finally, you want to keep in mind how many happy mouths you’ll be feeding when purchasing a prime rib roast. I like to plan on a pound of uncooked prime rib for every person. You’re going to lose some of the weight during the trimming and cooking down. A pound per person accounts for all of that while ensuring everyone has plenty of savory prime rib.

How Long to Cook Prime Rib

When it comes to smoking prime rib, your cook time will start with the size of your meat. It takes around 35 minutes per pound to smoke prime rib to rare doneness with the smoker running steady at 225 degrees F. And up to 40 minutes a pound for medium. This is true up to about 10 pounds. After that the meat doesn’t get any thicker and the guidelines stay the same.

Times and weights are great guidelines to get you in the ballpark, but when you’re dealing with a big hunk of beef like prime rib, temperature is your best friend. Know what finish you want and what temperature it takes, your life will get a whole lot easier. I like to use my Thermapen ONE, but any reliable food thermometer will work just fine. Here’s when you’ll want to pull your prime rib.

Rare: 125 degrees F
Medium Rare: 130 degrees F
Medium: 135 degrees F

Resting Prime Rib

Once your prime rib is done soaking in all that smoky flavor, you’ll want to let it rest for at least 15 minutes before slicing it up and serving it to your guests. This serves a couple different purposes. It’s going to allow carry-over cooking to get the inside of your prime rib up to temp, and continue absorbing all that herby, buttery magic. This is also super important when it comes to slicing. You can ruin the look of a perfect prime rib by slicing too early. Allowing it to cool is going to give you tender and juicy slices with crispy, savory bark.

How to Trim a Rib Roast

The steps here, as well as the recipe card below talk about using a smoker, but don’t stress if you’re not a BBQ pro just yet. This recipe will work as is and you can make savory, delicious prime rib in the oven right in your kitchen.

Preheat. Set your favorite smoker to 225 degrees F and allow it to fully preheat before adding prime rib. For this recipe, I recommend using an oak or hickory woodsmoke.
Trim and prep prime rib. While your smoker is warming up, use the time to prepare your meat. You want to trim off any excess fat flaps from your beef, trim down the fat cap, and finally cut that bad boy open. You have to make room for the herbs and garlic in your butter to melt right into every savory bite. For an in-depth guide on trimming and all things prime rib, check out my prime rib class over at The Grill Squad.
Make the garlic herb stuffing butter. Drizzle olive oil in in a cast iron skillet over medium heat and place garlic and shallot.. You’re looking to cook until the garlic and shallots are fragrant and a golden brown, usually 2-3 minutes. You’ll add the herbs and spinach at the same time. You’ll know it’s time to remove from heat when your spinach wilts. You’re going to mix all this with soft (not melted) butter and breadcrumbs for a holiday stuffing that is to die for.

Seasoning and Smoking Prime Rib

Once your stuffing butter is all mixed up and the delicious smell of herbs is making you hungry, it’s time to coat the inside of your roast. Then you’ll roll this rich, buttery, garlic goodness up into your roast and tie it up. Voila: stuffed prime rib, ready to smoke.

Stuff, tie, and season the roast. You only get one chance to spread your stuffing in a nice, even layer on the surface of your roast. Then you’re going to roll it back up into a prime rib form and tie it together with some butcher’s twine. You want to really take your time here. Make sure everything is rolled firmly and tied tight. And then give the entire outside of your roast a generous seasoning of my Beef Rub.
Smoke prime rib. Place your prime rib roast on a flat rack elevated above a baking sheet on the smoker to preserve all those savory, garlic butter drippings for later, Smoke with the lid closed for 5-6 hours. Remember when cooking low and slow, every grill and cut of meat is a little bit different. Refer to my temperature guide to know when to pull to rest for your desired doneness.
Rest, slice, and serve. Remove the prime rib to your cutting board and let the meat rest for at least 15 minutes before slicing. If you try to slice too soon, the meat won’t be set enough and you want that picture perfect presentation. Drizzle some of those butter drippings you saved for an extra decadent finish.

Storing Prime Rib Leftovers

One of the best parts about smoking something big like prime rib is you’re almost sure to have leftovers. I love having a thick slice of juicy prime rib the day after a big party. If you want to store your leftover prime rib in the refrigerator, simply allow to cool and then place it in an air tight container or wrap in tightly in plastic wrap. It will keep this way another 3-5 days. After that you’ll start to lose some flavor.

You can also freeze your prime rib with just a few alterations. Plastic wrap is fine if you’re keeping it fresh in the fridge a day or 2, but I highly recommend either an air tight container or zip top bag if you’re going to be freezing it. It will keep up to 6 months this way. Just be sure to thaw overnight in the refrigerator before preparing it.

How to Reheat Prime Rib

There are a lot of different methods out there for reheating prime rib, but I like to keep it simple and ensure the most flavor. The trick to maintaining that flavor is to retain as much moisture as possible and not overcook your prime rib. I like to place my leftover prime rib in a baking pan with a few Tablespoons of water and then heat in the oven. Around 10 minutes at 250 degrees F should help you heat things back up without sacrificing that tender juiciness you worked so hard for.

More BBQ Rib Roast Options

Once you start turning out tender, savory prime rib, you’re going to want it for all your holiday gatherings. Here are a few of my favorite prime rib recipes for you to try next: