The prime rib is smoked for hours over a drip pan full of wine and aromatics to just short of the desired doneness. Then, the rib roast is seared all the way around to finish the cook and give it a wonderful flavor crust. The process is known as the reverse sear. Scroll down for the step-by-step, picture-by-picture, foolproof grilling instructions for this smoked prime rib recipe which could just as easily be reverse seared prime rib.

Special Occasions?

Let’s face it, this is a special occasion meal. It’s not cheap to serve a crowd prime rib and so it’s just not an option for a random Tuesday in August. But there are more of those special occasions than most people realize. Sure, Christmas, New Years, or if you are slightly more daring, Thanksgiving are a given. Additionally, it’s perfect for a big anniversary, graduation, engagement party, new job/promotion or even Mother’s day if your mom loves beef. See, lots of options. But due to the cost, and that this is usually a big, festive occasion, nobody wants to blow it. We will walk you through every step of the process. Additionally, we throw in a couple pro tips to take your smoked prime rib to the next level. And I will be cooking this on a random Tuesday for my family. That way, when you prepare this for yours on a special occasion, it will seamless and stress free.

Hickory Smoked Prime Rib Ingredients

• 1 (4 to 5 pound) bone-in or boneless ribeye roast
• 2-3 tablespoons cooking oil
• 1/3 to 1/2 cup your favorite steak seasoning (we highly recommend any number of SPG seasoning blends on the market)
• 2 cups red wine
• 1 cup beef broth
• 1 large white onion, cut in 1/2-inch slices

Other Equipment Needed:

• Lump charcoal
• 2 or 3 Hickory smoking chunks, optional**
• Grill Deflector Rack and Deflector Plates, or plan to smoke roast over indirect heat
• Grill Gloves
• Roasting rack
• Drip pan

**Some folks are put off by hickory smoke. One option to mitigate this is to swap one chunk of hickory with a chunk of a lighter smoke wood like apple, peach, pear, or cherry. Another option is to find a different smoke wood that pairs well with beef that you might prefer (and have access to in your area). This is the most extensive list on the internet of smoke woods and what proteins they pair with.

How to Prepare the Hickory Smoked Prime Rib

Pro Tip #1 ~ In this modern age of health and fitness, there’s a big push to trim the fat cap. Indeed, any super thick chunks of fat can be trimmed back, but don’t take it all off. And to take that fat cap to the next level, score it down to the beef with a criss cross pattern:

Scoring the fat will increase the amount of bark on the prime rib. It will also allow the little corners to crisp up. Finally, it will allow for smoke to penetrate deeper into the meat. Win, Win, WIN! You may have to remove the butchers twine and replace it with new twine to make sure the roast keeps its shape.

Pro Tip #2 ~ Next, to make for a better bark, and to increase smoke penetration, drizzle the prime rib with the vegetable oil and work it around the entire roast, making sure to get in between all scoring cuts on the fat cap. Then coat heavily with your favorite steak seasoning/SPG seasoning:

Pro Tip #3 ~ Do not go light on the seasoning. This is a roast that we will carve into portions. Those portions will have a low outer edge:flavor crust ratio, so make sure to put the flavor in flavor crust. Do so by loading up your prime rib with plenty of seasoning.

Want to add even more flavor, wrap this roast up in peach butcher paper, plastic wrap or even foil and leave in the fridge overnight or even up to 24 hours. Although, even a few hours would ramp of the flavor.

The next day, remove the seasoned prime rib from the fridge and place on a roasting rack above a drip pan. Slice the onion and place it down in the pan, but reserve the liquids for after the pan is in the grill.

Some foil will go a long way with making clean up easier as well:

Prepare the Grill for Smoked Prime Rib

Set up the grill for two zone grilling (coals on one side and the hickory smoked prime rib on the other with a target temp of 250F +/-25F) In this case, we used a Primo Kamado Grill (which is the only kamado made in the USA). With a kamado we place a deflector plate between the coals and the meat so the prime rib can slow cook without burning:

How to Grill Smoked Prime Rib

First, place the seasoned prime rib on a 250F (+/-25F) smoker and close the lid. Close the lid and allow the prime rib to smoke until it reaches 10F-15F short of your desired doneness. Next, crank up the heat on the grill by opening the vents and the lid (and possibly adding more charcoal). Then, when the temperature at the grill grates is north of 450F sear the prime rib all the way around. Get a light char on the top, bottom, sides and the ends. Once you have a good char all the way around, and the temp is to your desired doneness, remove from the heat. Finally, allow to rest for 15-20 minutes before slicing and serving.

When the grill hits 250F drop in a couple chunks of smoke wood and place the pan, roasting rack and all, in the middle of the grill:

Then, pour in the red wine and beef broth into the drip pan:

Every 30-40 minutes, using heat resistant gloves, rotate the pan.

After an hour, the prime rib is coloring up nicely:

With this being the Primo Oval XL, there is plenty of room on the side for, well, sides. Accordingly, feel free to drop a cast iron pan with veggies that will pair well with the smoked prime rib:

Using a probe thermometer, check the temp in the middle of the roast. When the roast hits an internal temperature of 10F-15F below your desired doneness, remove the entire pan from the grill.

This table of steak temps will help determine when to pull your roast off the heat to sear:

Steak Temps

• Rare Steak Temp: 120F-125F
• Medium Rare Steak Temp: 130F-135F
• Medium Steak Temp: 140F-145F
• Med. Well Steak Temp: 150F-155F
• Well Done Steak Temp: 160F or more, but seriously, just order the chicken 🙂

The guide for steak doneness and timing

• 225 Degrees will take roughly 40 minutes per pound
• 250 Degrees will take roughly 30 minutes per pound
• 275 Degrees will take roughly 20 minutes per pound

The following time chart is not precise but can help you with dinner plans if you choose to smoke a bigger ribeye roast at the same 250°F.

• 6 pound prime rib = 3 hours
• 8 pound prime rib = 4 hours
• 10 pound prime rib = 5 hours

How Long Does it Take to Smoke Prime Rib?

My ribeye roast was 4.7 pounds. I placed the roast at 2:48pm and it was ready to be removed at 4:58 pm! 2 hours and 10 minutes to reach an internal temperature of 110°F. It only took 10 minutes to char all the way around and reach my desired internal temperature. Thus, 2 hours 20 minutes total cook time, with an obligatory rest at the end plus the time it took to raise the temp of the grill. Indeed, this is just a guideline, not an absolute rule. Adjust your cook times based on the size of your roast. Also, always cook to temp, not time.

Next, remove the deflector plates, open the vents on the grill, and add charcoal if necessary. Leave the lid open as well. The goal is to get the temp at the grill grates north of 400F which means the more air the better.

This particular prime rib was seared at right around 450F.

Set the hickory smoked prime rib right on the hot grill grates. Then, char the prime rib roast all the way around:

Once the reverse seared prime rib is lightly charred on all sides plus the ends, and cooked to the desired doneness, remove from the heat.

Finally, allow the seared prime rib to rest for a good 15-20 minutes before slicing and serving.

Use the red wine, beef broth and drippings from the prime rib to make a dipping sauce or gravy or both. Feel free to cook the slurry down while the rib roast rests.

Slice and serve:

Hickory Smoked Prime Rib Recipe Conclusion:

The beauty of this family feast lies in its simplicity, economy (if you bought the roast back in December), and the love poured into it. A roast resurrected from the depths of the freezer, prepared with minimal fuss, and transformed into a meal that echoes the joy of holiday celebrations in the warm embrace of summer.

As I watched my husband, son, and grandkids savor each bite, their faces lit with happiness and appreciation. I felt a surge of contentment. Cooking is not just about feeding the body, but also nourishing the soul. And on this day, we celebrated life and each other! Maybe it wasn’t just a random Tuesday in August, after all?

If you love what Merry did with this smoked prime rib recipe, you can find all sorts of recipes she has done (and not just BBQ) on her website. Plus, any questions or comments? Feel free to leave them below or send Merry an email.

And if you could leave us a great review (plus five stars!) that would be most appreciated!

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Print

Hickory Smoked Prime Rib

Prime Rib slow smoked over a drip pan of red wine and aromatics before being seared over high heat to make hickory smoked prime rib

Course Christmas, Christmas Dinner, Christmas Supper, Entree, Main Course, New Years, New Years Eve, Prime Rib

Cuisine American, American Fare, Beef, Beef Prime Rib, Christmas Dinner, Grilling, North American, Prime Rib, Prime Rib Roast, Steak, Thanksgiving Dinner, Traditional American

Keyword Beef Prime Rib, Christmas, Christmas Dinner, Christmas Supper, Drip Pan, Kamado, Kamado Grill, New Year's Eve, New Year's Eve Feast, Prime Rib, Primo Grill, Primo Kamado Grill, reverse sear, reverse seared, Reverse Seared Prime Rib, Sear, Seared, Seared Prime Rib, Smoked Prime Rib, Smoked Prime Rib Recipe, Thanksgiving

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 2 hours hours 20 minutes minutes

Servings 8 People

Equipment

• Lump charcoal
• 2-3 Chunks of hickory wood
• Heat deflectors
• Heat resistant gloves
• Roasting rack
• Drip pan
• aluminum foil optional

Ingredients

• 4-5 pound Prime rib roast Boneless or bone in
• 2 tablespoons Vegetable oil
• 1/3-1/2 cup Your favorite steak seasoning
• 2 cups Red wine
• 1 cup Beef broth
• 1 Large white onion Sliced in 1/2 inch slices

Instructions

• Score the fat cap down to the beef with a criss cross pattern about an inch apart
• Drizzle the roast with the vegetable oil and work it all the way around the roast including into the scored slits in the fat cap
• Coat heavily with the steak rub, including in scoring slits on the fat cap.
• Optional, wrap in butcher paper, or plastic wrap or foil and place in the fridge for 4-24 hours to increase flavor
• Remove the seasoned prime rib from the fridge and place on the roasting rack on a drip plan. Slice the onions and place in the pan as well. Wrapping inside of the pan with foil will save on clean up but is optional
• Prepare the grill for two zone or indirect grilling. Either set it for coals on one side and the prime rib on the other, or in the case of the kamado grill, place the deflector plates between the fire and prime rib. Target temp in the grill is 250F (+/-25F)
• Put the smoke wood on the coals.
• Set the drip pan, roasting rack and prime rib on the grill and pour in the red wine and beef broth into the roasting pan
• Rotate the drip pan (and the smoked prime rib) every 30-40 minutes
• Once the prime rib reaches 10F-15F below your desired doneness, remove from the grill and rake out the deflector plates. Add more coals if necessary and open the vents and the lid.
• When the grill grates are 450F or hotter, sear the smoked prime rib on the top and bottom, sides and the ends. Once there is a light char all the way around and the seared prime rib has reached the desired doneness, remove from the grill and allow to rest 15-20 minutes before slicing and serving
• Use the red wine and beef broth to make a dipping sauce or gravy

The post Hickory Smoked Prime Rib first appeared on GrillinFools.

Author information

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Merry Graham is a Southern California award-winning competitive cook, home cook, recipe developer, food photographer, and brand ambassador. She is a mother of 4, grandma to 5 and an all-around foodie; named the Healthiest Cook In America by Bobby Flay in 2012! She is well respected in the cooking competition world, winning more contests than she can count while cashing in on over $150,000 in checks and prizes.

Merry has appeared on Food Network's Clash of the Grandmas and as a top 3 finalist on The Rachael Ray Show Great American Cookbook Competition. She has consecutively competed and placed in the top ten in the sandwich category in the nation's elite cooking competition, World Food Championships. As a competitor, her culinary trips have taken her to Scotland, the Philippines, Cancun, Panama, and several US states.

“A Merry Recipe” has been her main outlet of social media where her tasty and eye-appealing dishes are enjoyed by thousands. What ignites her now is “Grilling Grandma”, her latest adventure on social media where she shows off creative and unique smoke and grill recipes. Have you seen her Grill Baked Sourdough Boule with Smoked Garlic Herb Butter?

Merry shows no signs of slowing down. She swims regularly, and travels with her husband of 44-years. She loves connecting with other Foodies through social media and has become a member of a team of live-fire cooking called Social Feasts. As part of the Social Feasts live-fire influencers, she has plenty of opportunities to develop recipes for smoke and grill meats along with photographing social media content. Anyone who knows Merry will tell you SHE brings the FLAVOR that gives life to a party!

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