Standing Rib Roast Recipe
If you’re looking for something special to serve at your next holiday gathering, this recipe is for you. It’s my version of a Standing Rib Roast, and you know I’m firing up the smoker to prepare it! Standing Rib Roast is simply a section of a whole bone-in ribeye; you can typically find them at any grocery store or butcher shop, just ask the person behind the counter.
For this recipe I bought a 4 bone rib roast and I had the butcher to “French” the bones. All that means is the ends of the bones are exposed a couple inches to make it look fancy.
There’s not a lot of prep for this recipe; once you get the rib roast home, trim any excess fat off the top (usually there’s a little fat cap to remove) and truss the roast with butcher twine between each bone to help hold it in shape during cooking.
Go ahead and fire up your smoker (I’m using my Gateway Drum for this cook but any smoker will do the job). Set it up for indirect cooking running at 275⁰. When the temperature stabilizes add a couple chunks of pecan wood to the coals for smoke.
For the seasoning I like to create a nice bark on the outside of the meat using a good dose of salt, pepper and herbs. I use a combo (2 Tablespoons each) of my AP Rub and Steak Rub to create a coarseness to the bark. But you can use any quality All Purpose rub and a corse Steak Seasoning here.
For the herbs I finely chop Rosemary, Thyme, and Sage about 1 heaping Tablespoon of each along with 6 cloves of garlic. Combine all of these ingredients in a small bowl.
Drizzle the outside of the rib roast with olive oil and sprinkle the seasoning mixture all over the outer surface. You can season the roast a couple hours ahead of time if you like.
Once the smoker is up to temperature, place the rib roast on the pit and insert a probe thermometer into the center for monitoring internal temperature. Set the alarm for 125⁰ and let the roast smoke.
When the alarm goes off, verify the internal temperature with a hand held thermometer – I’m using my Thermapen Mk4 – and remove the Rib Roast from the pit. Loosely cover it with aluminum foil and just let it hang out for 20 minutes before carving.
To serve, use a carving knife and make a cut along the top of the rib bones to remove them.
Lay the roast cut side down on the cutting board and slice into desired thickness. You can serve it with Au Jus or a spicy Horseradish Sauce just don’t overcook this piece of meat; it’s best rare to medium rare and will melt in your mouth!
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Standing Rib Roast Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 Bone Rib Roast
- ¼ cup Olive Oil
- 2 Tablespoons Killer Hogs AP Rub
- 2 Tablespoons Killer Hogs Steak Rub
- 1 Tablespoon Rosemary finely chopped
- 1 Tablespoon Sage finely chopped
- 1 Tablespoon Thyme finely chopped
- 6 cloves Garlic minced
Instructions
- Prepare smoker for indirect cooking at 275⁰; add a couple chunks of seasoned pecan wood to
- the hot coals for smoke flavor.
- French the ends of the rib roast by trimming away 1 ½-2” of meat between each bone (you can
- ask your butcher to do this as well). Truss the roast with butcher twine.
- In a small bowl combine the AP Rub, Steak Rub, rosemary, sage, thyme, and garlic.
- Coat the outside of the rib roast with olive oil and sprinkle the seasoning mixture on the outside.
- Place the rib roast bone side down on the smoker and cook until internal temperature reaches
- 125 degrees. Use a probe thermometer to monitor internal temperature.
- Remove the roast from the smoker and loosely cover with aluminum foil for at least 20 minutes.
- To serve: carve the bones away from the rib roast and place it cut side down on the cutting
- board. Slice the roast into desired slices and serve.
Have a Question About This Recipe?
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Where did you get your smoker? It looks like a 50 gal drum.
It is – a UDS Smoker. You can make your own here: https://howtobbqright.com/udssmoker/
But this one came from Gateway Drums – https://www.gatewaydrumsmokers.com/
Malcom
I watched one of your videos where you do a few briskets for gifts my question is after you package and freeze them what is the best way to warm them back up to eat with out drying the meat up?
Thank you for your great videos I have really enjoyed everyone that I have tried. I hope you and your family have a wonderful Christmas and new years
God bless
I explain it all here: https://howtobbqright.com/2017/02/16/reheat-brisket/
Malcom,
Great video on the standing rib roast! I want to try this and I have a Big Green Egg. Should I smoke it with or without the plate setter/heat deflector? I do want that crisp bark on the outside. Looked like you had no deflection in the drum you used but I’m sure it works different than the BGE.
Thanks and Merry Christmas!
I would use the heat deflector in the BGE – you want indirect heat for the rib roast. The fire is far enough away in the drum that your cooking indirect without a deflector.
Any guidance on final cook time estimates? Is there a time/lb you would recommend based on your 275 pit temp?
This one cooked in 2 hours and 15 minutes.
Your picture of the completed and cut rib roast shows a lot of blood on the table around the roast. Did you let that meat rest at all before you cut it?
Yeah, we let it rest for about 20 minutes.
Can you use this recipe for a full 7 bone rib roast? What adjustments do you need to make? 14-19#’s
It will just take more time. I would expect it to take anywhere from 4-6 hours depending on the exact weight. But always go by the internal temps instead of just time. Give yourself plenty of time and you can always place it in a dry cooler for a couple hours until it’s time to serve – the rest will make it even better and it won’t lose much heat.
Made 2 for the Syracuse spring game tailgate yesterday. Came out perfect.
Hey Malcolm,
I bought a whole prime rib 19 lbs. to make for Easter. Can you help me with approximate cooking time.
Always go by internal temp over time – especially with a prime rib. But you can estimate it would take about 6 hours. Give yourself plenty of time and you can always place it in a dry cooler for a rest for a couple hours.
Malcom, just made the standing rib roast and it was a huge hit!!! Very tasty.. thanks for video, it was a big help!! I have made three other of your recepies and they have all been really good!! Thanks again.. Tim
glad to hear it!
Malcom,
Smoked one of these babies for the 4th following your steps out of this world amazing!!!
Thanks for this video and detailed steps made it very easy to do.
how do you make the AJU Sauce???
you can use any recipe you like
Hey Malcom, big fan. I am trying to dry age a brisket 60 days. Have you any experience with this? I plan on it being ready in January 2020.
I’ve only done wet aging
Malcom, What grade of meat do you use for the roast (prime, choice, select)? I am really anxious to smoke for the holiday and i want to do it right,
Choice is typically what I go with unless I’m splurging and then I go Prime.
Hey Malcom!!! Love watching your BBQ videos! Thanks!
Quick question for ya – just curious why you wouldn’t put a sear on the rib roast? We are ultimately just cooking a big cowboy/tomahawk ribeye, right?
I normally do my cowboy cut ribeyes with a reverse sear method. I smoke until 100 internal, remove from smoker, stoke grill, then sear until 130.
Curious to your thoughts.
Ryan
You can sear them at the end just pull it off the pit well shy of your target doneness, then sear over an open grill direct rotating on all sides. Keeping the lid open on the grill will keep the heat on the outside. I would keep a close eye because it’s easy to overshoot.
I’m cooking one of these tomorrow.
Have you ever experimented with reverse searing after the smoke? I’ve found mixed reviews, but I’ve heard some folks brush drawn butter to try & crisp up the bark on the outside over high heat for a minute or so.
I’d be worried that this would cause the roast to overcook, especially with 20 minutes of rest/carry-over.
What thoughts do you have on the reverse sear?
Ive smoked/reverse seared several times. What I do is take the roast off the smoker well under desired temp (like around 110 degrees internal), then fire up a charcoal grill and sear it hot over the direct coals for a couple minutes on all sides. Then it gets a rest. You do have to be careful not to overcook it so don’t close the lid on the grill and keep a instant read probe near by. Leaving the grill open encourages it to cook only on the surface so it doesn’t continue to cook down in the roast.
How many minutes per pound would you estimate when smoking at 275°?
For a typical 10-12lb roast you’re looking at about 2-2.5hrs smoke time for rare.
Merry Christmas Malcolm.
I really appreciate your expertise.
Thank you!
Malcom,
Our local Stater Brothers here in SoCal had the Bone-in Ribeye Roast for $3.99 per pound before X-mas. Not sure if it even was a specific grade. I could not resist.
Your tutorial and recipe was spot on, easy and a big hit! I did a 3-bone 8# in my Masterbuilt Electric smoker with apple wood chips. I took your advise and got an internal remote probe. That’s the best tip I ever got!
Loved it so much I went back last week and they had them on sale again…oh boy! Getting pecan chips for this one.
Question- Could I let it rest longer if I drop it in a beer cooler? (w/o the beer 😉
Is there a time limit you would rest it this way if its even a good idea?
Thank you, Glenn K
A dry cooler works great for resting especially large cuts like a ribeye roast. I wouldn’t go any longer than 4 hours before serving. 1 hour would be ideal.
Malcom thanks for all the inspiration! I have smoked 2 prime ribs in the past and both times the meat on the bones, when the bones are sliced away from the roast is very rare. How do I prevent that? That area is almost raw , whereas the rest of the roast is perfect.
Hi Malcolm.
Do you set the meat out to come up to room temp before putting on to the smoker?
Hi Malcom,
Great recipe!
I am going to follow this recipe for a 2 bone piece of 2,8kg on my gateway smoker. How much cooking time should i take into consideration?
Thanks a lot!!!
★★★★★