How to Smoke a Whole Ribeye

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I just cooked a Whole Ribeye for July 4th and used it to make the “perfect sandwich”. And of course, I shot a video that shows exactly how I did it…

I start with a whole boneless Ribeye around 12lbs. My local grocery store runs these on special for 6.99 lb occasionally, but you can also get them at Sams club or Restaurant depot. The whole ribeye I buy is choice grade.

If you have the money for Prime beef, more power to you, but for me a good choice ribeye is hard to beat. If you’re trying to save money, you can pick a Select Grade Prime Rib… but just remember that Select won’t have near the marbling (and if you take it past mid rare, it won’t be fit to eat).

The first step in cooking the Whole Ribeye is the seasoning. I don’t inject, marinate or brine this cut. I want the beefy taste to shine through at the end, and really all it needs is a good heavy dose of simple seasonings on the outside. It’s a good contrast to the full flavor of the ribeye.

First, I rub the outside with a little Olive Oil and then use a combination of:

• Salt
• Restaurant Ground Black Pepper
• Granulated Garlic

Then it gets a good dose of Montreal Steak Seasoning. The course grind of the Montreal creates a crusty, delicious bark on the outside of the roast.

Once you get the ribeye rubbed down, it’s ready for the smoker.

Get your smoker to 275 degrees and add a little wood. I use Cherry wood for a mild smoke flavor. A hardwood like Hickory or Oak can be used in moderation but too much smoke will over power the meat. If you’re going to go with something heavy only use a few chunks.

The Whole Ribeye needs to cook for about 4 hours. I don’t wrap, baste or flip the meat once it hits the grill , but monitoring the internal temperate is crucial. For me, Whole Ribeye needs to cook to an internal temperature of 125-130 degrees. I use a digital probe thermometer to monitor the temp . This way I’m not opening the cooker during the cooking process.

Once the internal temp hits 125-130 degrees, I pull it off the smoker and let it rest. Large cuts of meat will always carry over cook to about 5 degrees, so the end result is perfect mid rare ribeye.

Once you try a whole ribeye on the smoker you’ll never go back to boring Prime Rib again. The smoky flavor and the richness of the melted fat make a truly scrumptious cut of beef.

Malcom Reed
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