This is an old-school Texas BBQ Prime Rib recipe which means, for me, that smoking with Post Oak is a must. It is a very mild wood and is best used for long smoking times since it doesn’t overpower the beef.
Begin by cutting back a thin layer of the fat cap on a prime rib which will secure the seasonings to the meat during cooking. The Dijon mustard really doesn’t add much more than a sticky surface for the pickling spices, and the mustard will melt away during the cooking process. Pickling spice is used because it has all of the key ingredients to make up this flavor profile, which is essentially a mixture of red pepper flakes, white peppercorns, yellow mustard seed, whole clove, dried thyme, rosemary, coriander seed, organic bay leaves (crumbled), marjoram and sometimes dried orange or lemon peel. This technique was in use well before I was born, and is still used in central and southeast Texas.
Be sure to brush off all of the spices after the prime rib is cooked, since leaving them on would make for an unpleasant eating experience (no one wants to bite down on a whole clove or coriander seed). After removing the spices, add salt and coarse grind pepper and then broil off the top of the prime rib to give it that nice crunchy crust all over. The spices really do add some delicious flavor and can also be used when preparing Prime Rib to be roasted in the oven. Just follow the same technique and remove the pickling seasonings after it has cooked.
Gather all of the ingredients. This is a 4 lb side of ribeye that will cook down to four 8 to 10 oz portions after smoking.
After you have carefully sliced back a thin layer of fat, apply the Dijon mustard. This won’t flavor the meat, but will provide a sticky surface for the pickling spice to adhere to the meat.
A close up look at pickling spice.
Sprinkle the pickling spice on the mustard.
Recover the thin, flat piece of fat back onto the meat and tie off with kitchen twine.
From the sides, loop the twine under the first tied cord. Repeat with the other end of twine on the other side, then pull tight and tie them off to make a box type enclosure.
Fully tied and trussed prime rib ready for the smoker.
Place the prime rib into the preheated smoker.
Keep the temperature between 240-250. The time it takes to smoke will rely heavily on the size and fat content of the beef. The one prepared here weighed almost 4 lbs and took around 35-40 minutes to reach 130 (medium rare). Smoking time will also take longer if the piece of beef is straight out of the refrigerator as opposed to room temperature. When in doubt, check several times with an instant read thermometer.
This is a fully smoked prime rib. You can see how the trussing has secured the thin slice of fat to keep the seasonings from burning and protect the meat.
With a basting brush remove the pickling seasoning. Tip: More seasoning comes off if you clean the brush with water every now and then.
This prime rib is still fully smoked and juicy. You can stop here if you wish since the meat is fully cooked and completely delicious. However, I like to give the seasoned exterior a flavorful crunch.
To finish, add salt, pepper and garlic to the top and broil under a super hot element for just a minute. I will place it in an oven with the rack high enough to be right under the broiler at 500 degrees. Keep a close eye on the prime rib since this process will only take about one minute to complete. The idea is to sear in a crunchy crust on top to match the rest of the exterior.
After the prime rib comes out of the broiler, cover with foil and let it rest on a cutting board to allow all the juices to redistribute throughout the meat.
A perfect medium-rare smoked prime rib. The meat is completely seasoned by the spice rub and has a tang of post oak smoke. It is delicious and can be enjoyed right away. In this case I cut the prime rib twice more to split the sections into four portions. Notice that nearly all of the fat has rendered out and what is left is pure beefy pleasure.
On this night I served the Post Oak Smoked Prime Rib with horseradish sauce, steamed asparagus with a shallot vinaigrette, and gratin dauphinois (scalloped potatoes).
Wine pairings for Smoked Post Oak Prime Rib: Maroon Cabernet Sauvignon Maroon Vyd. Combsville District, 2013, Locations F Red Blend, Dave Phinney, Joseph Phelps Insignia, 2014
Post Oak Smoked Prime Rib
Ingredients
- 1 4 lbs Prime Rib roast
- 1 tbsp dijon mustard
- 1 tbsp pickling seasoning Pickling spices can be purchased in one container which saves in terms of cost purchasing each ingredients separately.
- 1/2 tbsp sea salt Maldon sea salt works good here
- 1/2 tbsp pepper, coarse grind
- 1 large clove garlic, minced
- As needed butcher's twine
Instructions
- Preheat a wood smoker to 240-250 degrees
- Remove prime rib from the refrigerator and let it come to room temperature for about 10 minutes.
- With a thin sharp knife, carefully slice along the top of the beef roast to cut back a thin layer of fat without removing the entire piece.
- With the thin layer of fat pulled back, add the Dijon mustard and spread evenly over the top. The mustard will help the pickling spice adhere to the meat.
- Sprinkle pickling spice on top of the mustard.
- Lower the thin piece of fat back over the spice and mustard.
- Place two pieces of twine lengthwise on a cutting board. Place two (or more) additional pieces of twine crosswise over the lengthwise pieces. Tie the two lengthwise pieces to themselves over the top of the meat.
Take the crosswise pieces and loop the twine underneath the nearest lengthwise piece of twine. Repeat on both sides while taking up the slack and tie off in the center. (See pics above) - Place the trussed prime rib into the smoker and cook at 240-250 for about 10 minutes per pound of the roast.
- Remove from the smoker when the internal temperature reads 125-130 for medium rare, 135-140 for medium, 145-150 for medium well and so forth.
- With the prime rib on a clean sheet pan, cut to remove the butcher's twine and discard. Pull back the thick layer of fat, remove with a knife and discard.
- With a clean basting brush remove the spice mixture completely. The prime rib can be enjoyed as is or you can finish the top with a little coarse sea salt, coarse grind black pepper and a minced clove of garlic.
- To finish under a broiler make sure the oven is preheated to 500 degrees and the oven rack is arranged to get the prime rib very close to the heating element without touching.
- Cook the prime rib under the broiler briefly, for about one minute or until desired crunchy crust has formed.
- Remove from heat and cover with foil to keep warm and let the roast rest for 5-10 minutes. Serve.
Wine pairings for Smoked Post Oak Prime Rib
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