How to Smoke Small Prime Rib

[Carlosh]

I purchased a 2.44 lb. prime rib roast at Sam's Club to cook for my wife and myself for the holidays. It's about 2 inches thick and that has me a little worried.

Most, if not all, smoking instructions are for roasts 4 lbs and up. At what temperature should I smoke mine (Kamado Joe Smoker) to achieve an internal temperature of 125-130 degrees? If I cook it at a high temperature, will it still be as tender as if I had smoked it at a low temperature for a longer period? On the other hand, if I smoke it at a lower temperature, it won't develop a bark.

Suggestions?

Carlos

 

[Seefyre]

You are basically dealing with an oversized steak at that size. The method you choose has a lot do with what equipment you'll be using. I would try to smoke it very low (150 or so) for an hour or two then finish up with a reverse sear and indirect roasting if needed.

Good Luck and Happy Holiday

 

[cow]

Bark takes time.. so you'll need to dial down the temp as much as possible to keep it in longer. I'd put the meat into the grill cold, straight out of the fridge. Low cook temp in the 100s. If the internal temp gets close to done and you still haven't developed bark, pull it a few degrees early and plan for a hot sear for the finish. That's your safe exit :grin:

If you put it in cold and keep the temp very low, I'd guess you can probably keep it on for 2.5, maybe 3 hours. Developing bark is going to be hard without overcooking on such a small piece of meat. You could even try spritzing it with cool water a few times to slow down the cook. Might also try to elevate the meat a little with a few pieces of loosely balled up foil so it isn't in direct contact with the hot steel grates, contact with steel will transfer a constant stream of heat into the meat and cook it faster.

 

[Demosthenes9]

with a Kamado, this should be relatively simple. Something you didn't mention is how you want the PR to "look". Do you want an edge to edge consistent color with only a sliver of more done meat at the edges ? Or, do you want more of a bullseye effect where you have a band of well done around the outer edge of each slice, with the center being target temp.

If you want edge to edge, go with chamber temp of 250 or less. If you want the bullseye effect, run at 325 or higher.


You are correct that you can get the PR to be more tender and buttery by cooking at lower chamber temp. And yes, it won't have a nice crust. Solution to that is a kind of reverse sear.

Bring the PR to about 10 to 15 degrees of your target temp. Remove from the cooker. after a bit, put it into a 450+ degree environment for 10 to 15 minutes. You can do it on your Kamado if you can get it's heat up, or bring it inside and do it in the oven.

Another option would be to just move it over and roll it directly over the coals.

 

[smoke ninja]

Its basically a large steak so cook it like one. Reverse sear.

 

[Carlosh]

Thank you guys! Sounds like very low heat is the option for starting out. I'll let you know how it went after Christmas.

Carlos