Prime rib: Finish with sear, or no sear?

Kanco Connection · Dec 11, 2018

I’ve never cooked prime rib. Never had any I like anywhere near as much as a ribeye steak, but going to give it a go this year.

Our own Baby Back Maniac put out a great video. No sear. just took to it 130* on low-ish heat. Looked good.

Others sear as a final step to get the crust. Looks good, too. What do you say? Direct high heat to finish, or no?

Joshw · Dec 11, 2018

I vote sear, but also prefer steaks. More crust, equals more flavor.

JRDINCC · Dec 11, 2018

Reverse sear for me.
Always turns out good.

ArnieTex · Dec 11, 2018

Sear first or sear last but always sear for me, there's nothing like that wonderful char flavor and crusty goodness.

mattmountz94 · Dec 12, 2018

I think it depends what temperature you are cooking at. If you are cooking it at a higher temp then searing at the end won't be needed and you will already have the crust. If cooking low then yea sear at the end. I normally cook prime ribs roasts hotter. I like them more with the bulls eye middle then i do red from edge to edge. I find the fat breaks down better and makes it much more enjoyable. You can still pull with the middle being rare/med rare.

sssSmoking · Dec 12, 2018

mattmountz94 said:
I think it depends what temperature you are cooking at. If you are cooking it at a higher temp then searing at the end won't be needed and you will already have the crust. If cooking low then yea sear at the end. I normally cook prime ribs roasts hotter. I like them more with the bulls eye middle then i do red from edge to edge. I find the fat breaks down better and makes it much more enjoyable. You can still pull with the middle being rare/med rare.

So what is your grill temp?

morningwoodbbq · Dec 12, 2018

I do the herb crusted prime rib recipe from TVWBB, so there is no need to sear as the herbs are all perfectly crispy when done. Searing would ruin that flavor. I cook it at 325-350°.

Big George's BBQ · Dec 12, 2018

I do an indirect cook on the Egg and then about 20 min later a real hot sear I believe Ron_L has a really good post on this as does Gore

barrettd · Dec 12, 2018

I used Serious Eats prime rib recipe (https://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2009/12/perfect-prime-rib-beef-recipe.html) as a guideline, but did the low smoking on my pellet grill. Finished in the oven as Kenji does in that recipe. It was delicious and the sear at the end is foolproof using a very hot oven.

mattmountz94 · Dec 12, 2018

sssSmoking said:
So what is your grill temp?

325-350. If you aren't happy with the crust towards the end of cook open the vents wide open and get it hotter for the last 10-15mins. Keeping it indirect though. I agree with the above post that direct searing usually wrecks the herb crust and most recipes have herbs. You could also pull a few degrees from desired temp get grill screaming hot and then put on for another few minutes. My experience is that indirect searing with prime rib works the best

Demosthenes9 · Dec 12, 2018

mattmountz94 said:
I think it depends what temperature you are cooking at. If you are cooking it at a higher temp then searing at the end won't be needed and you will already have the crust. If cooking low then yea sear at the end. I normally cook prime ribs roasts hotter. I like them more with the bulls eye middle then i do red from edge to edge. I find the fat breaks down better and makes it much more enjoyable. You can still pull with the middle being rare/med rare.

Spot on. BBM did his at 300ish which will naturally develop a crust. I prefer the consistent edge to edge color, so I do mine at 250 or lower. To develop a crust and keep that edge to edge color, pull the PR and let it sit for a bit, then throw it into a high heat enviroment for a few minutes. Either an smoker, oven, grill or hot pan.

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Kanco Connection · Dec 12, 2018

mattmountz94 said:
325-350. If you aren't happy with the crust towards the end of cook open the vents wide open and get it hotter for the last 10-15mins. Keeping it indirect though. I agree with the above post that direct searing usually wrecks the herb crust and most recipes have herbs. You could also pull a few degrees from desired temp get grill screaming hot and then put on for another few minutes. My experience is that indirect searing with prime rib works the best

This seems like a really good point. So, then I wonder how important herbs are for the prime rib rub...if we’re talking the benefit of herbs vs. the benefit of a great sear

gtr · Dec 12, 2018

I normally cook at a really low temp like 200 and reverse sear, but there has been a time or 2 I've looked at the roast when it was about done and decided it was good just like it was and didn't do the sear. So basically - yeah, reverse sear, but if it looks good, don't fix what ain't broke.

BillN · Dec 12, 2018

^^^Amen... "don't fix what ain't broke"...

funugy · Dec 12, 2018

We like the crust on ours. I cook mine at a low temp on my UDS. I always sear at the end, but that means lighting my kettle, which normally isn't a problem, unless I get side tracked and forget to get it going in time...or I just get too lazy.

If I'm in a hurry, or just too lazy and the oven is in use with the myriad of sides/desserts, I just use my propane torch to crisp up the outside.

Demosthenes9 · Dec 12, 2018

Kanco Connection said:
This seems like a really good point. So, then I wonder how important herbs are for the prime rib rub...if we’re talking the benefit of herbs vs. the benefit of a great sear

I never use herbs on mine. In fact, I absolutely hate when places use rosemary on their's as I'm just not partial to it at all. If I know they use it, I'll order a Ribeye instead.

My usual "rub" is simply to slather with olive oil and then coat heavily with Coarse ground pepper and Kosher Salt. Sometimes I'll add garlic and onion powder. If I'm feeling particularly froggy, I'll use Worchestershire Sauce for the slather instead of olive oil. Could even step that up and use the thick Worchestershire

upStomp · Dec 12, 2018

I'm also in the "maybe" camp. It's such a large cut of meat that searing doesn't add too much to the party flavor-wise. However, depending on cook temp (smoking vs roasting) and seasonings, it could be necessary for presentation purposes.

dadsr4 · Dec 12, 2018

If when I think it should be done it's just shy of the temp I want to pull it off at, I'll sear to speed things up. Otherwise, I don't.

Demosthenes9 · Dec 12, 2018

upStomp said:
I'm also in the "maybe" camp. It's such a large cut of meat that searing doesn't add too much to the party flavor-wise. However, depending on cook temp (smoking vs roasting) and seasonings, it could be necessary for presentation purposes.

I beg to differ. While each slice might only be 1/4 to 3 inches thick, you have to consider the overall circumference and the amount of flavor that the added crust adds in.

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cosmicslop54 · Dec 12, 2018

I run my smoker at 250-275 and prime rib seems to get a good crust on it without having finish with a sear at the end. I used carne crosta this year and it came out perfect.

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