Prime Rib may be the biggest crowd pleaser that can hit your dinner table. This special cut is perfect for special occasions and holidays. What makes many nervous is cooking this beef and making it too dry for guests to enjoy.

Grilling Prime Rib Tip Sheet

Take a look at this tip sheet from Ace's Grilling Expert, Chef Jason. Put your mind at ease as our virtual chef walks you through the grilling process of prime rib.

Print Tip Sheet: Prime Rib Tips

Understanding Prime Rib

First, let’s start off with the definition of Prime Rib. What is Prime Rib? Is it Prime? • A standing rib roast, also known as prime rib, is a cut of beef from the primal rib, one of the nine primal cuts of beef. While the entire rib section comprises ribs six through 12, a standing rib roast may contain anywhere from two to seven ribs. PRIME in the term PRIME RIB means it’s one of the 9 PRIME Cuts of meat. (Chuck, Rib, Short Loin, Sirloin, Round, Brisket, Shank, Plate and Flank) Standing rib roast - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standing_rib_roastWikipedia

Depending on the budget you have for this holiday or celebration treat there is a quality level to meat your needs. We find that by placing our orders before the holiday season starts, we are able to get better pricing and then pickup as we need. Check with your local butcher, grocery store, grocery club or meat counter and see if this is something they can offer. Prices do increase during high demand seasons and holidays.

Here are the TOP 5 Quality Grades and some info for you to read: 1 U.S. Prime – Highest in quality and Moderately Abundant Marbling, limited supply. 2 U.S. Choice – Certified Angus Beef – This grade represents the upper 2/3 of the Choice range. Higher quality and Moderate Marbling 3 U.S. Choice – High quality and Modest Marbling 4 U.S. Select – Medium quality and Slight Marbling 5 U.S. Standard – Lower quality and Trace Marbling Selecting the perfect prime rib

I am having 6 people over, how much should I buy? Do I need to buy it with the rib bones on? A good rule of thumb is to plan on 1 bone per 2 people. That can equate to about 10 oz of cooked prime rib per person. Keep in mind there will be a small amount of shrink while cooking, so buy a tiny bit extra to ensure you have some leftovers for those shaved prime rib sandwiches the next day.

Bone or No Bone? While the bones do add SOME flavor, it’s not necessary to cook a bone in rib roast. Factor in the cost of the roast with bones and without, there is not a noticeable difference in flavor with ribs ON. If cooking a boneless roast please follow the same methods as above and reduce total cooking time by 20-30 minutes depending on cooking tool used.

When choosing a size, we don’t recommend buying anything under a 2 bone portion, as this is more of a thick steak style cut and will be difficult to roast (versus grill) and keep from drying out.

PRIME RIB COOKING PERFECTION: 1. Remove from the cryo-vac package and put onto a large cookie sheet pan, allow to drain any juices and warm up at room temperature for 25-30 minutes 2. Next liberally rub on all sides with your choice of seasoning. Use our Prime Rib Rub-a-Dub, Standard Rub-A-Dub or Island Boys Coffee Rub. For even more flavor use a 50/50 blend of Rub-ADub and Island Boys. 3. Allow the rub to sit on the Prime Rib for another 20 minutes, then wrap in plastic wrap and place on a cookie sheet pan and into the fridge. I suggest leaving wrapped for 12-18 hours 4. Preheat your oven to 425˚. Preheat your grill/smoker to 350˚ For Best Flavor, do not cover the rib during the cooking process PLACE PRIME RIB INTO A ROASTING PAN TO CATCH THE DRIPPINGS, if cooking in the oven. For the grill or smoker, use a drip pan if needed and place the Rib Roast onto the grill grates. Ribs or Rib Side Down. Fat Side Up. CAN BE PLACED ON A ROASTING RACK IN THE PAN if desired 5. For the oven, sear at 425˚ for 20 minutes, then turn oven down to 325 degrees and cook until desired doneness is reached 6. For the grill/smoker load at 350˚, sear at 350˚ for 20 minutes, then turn smoker/grill down to 325˚ and cook until desired doneness is reached (see chart below). For added smoke, start off at 180˚ - 225˚ for 60-90 minutes to build more smoke flavor before turning up to 325˚ for roasting 7. For the Big Green Egg layer some wood chunks in the lump charcoal to add an even smoke to the cook. We love using hickory or maple for our prime rib. Load at 375˚, sear at 350˚ degrees for 20 minutes and adjust temp to 325˚. Finish the cook at 325˚ until desired doneness is reached

Here is an approximate Prime Rib roasting timetable Keep in mind oven and grill temps may vary, so use a good quality digital thermometer to best judge doneness. Cooking times do not include any low temps smoking. Times reflect roasting time only Weight with Bones Approximate Cooking Times 3 Ribs – 7-8 Pounds 4 Ribs – 9-11 Pounds 5 Ribs – 12-13 Pounds 6 Ribs – 14-16 Pounds 7 Ribs – 16 Pounds and UP 1 ½ - 1 ¾ Hours plus resting time 1 ¾ - 2 ½ Hours plus resting time 2 ½ - 3 Hours plus resting time 3 – 3 ½ Hours plus resting time 3 ½ - 4 ½ Hours plus resting

OTHER TIPS AND SUGGESTIONS • Beef will continue to Carry Over cook. Once removed from the oven it will continue to cook another 10-12 degrees in 20 minutes of resting. Be sure to pull slightly under desired doneness to allow for carry over cooking. Rest 15-20 minutes max, uncovered DONENESS TEMP COLOR MOISTURE LEVEL Rare 80-100 Blueish – Deep Red Highest Medium Rare 125 - 135 Red with slight pink High Medium 140 - 145 Pink with slight brown Medium Medium Well 150 - 155 Mostly Brown Low Well Done 160 and above Brown / Grey Lowest

     

Published on 9/7/2021.

Always follow manufacturer's instructions before using any product.

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