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Prime Rib with prime rib rub on pellet grill
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4.85 from 45 votes

Easy Smoked Prime Rib Rub Recipe

This Easy Smoked Prime Rib Rub Recipe is a simple recipe that will make your Rib Roast amazing! This is perfect for holiday dinners! Just use butter, garlic powder, salt, and pepper to add the perfect flavor! Smoke low and slow on a pellet grill to add more flavor to your meat as well!
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time5 hours
Course: Entree
Cuisine: BBQ
Servings: 20 Servings
Calories: 523kcal
Author: Guy Who Grills

Instructions

HOW TO MAKE EASY PRIME RIB RUB:

  • If your Prime Rib Roast came frozen as mine did, you will need to thaw the roast according to food-safe guidelines.
  • The night before you smoke your Prime Rib remove your roast from the packaging.
  • Have about one pound of room temperature butter on hand.
  • Rub the whole roast down with butter, and you may need to microwave a little bit to get the butter soft enough to spread.
  • After the roast is covered with butter, sprinkle all sides, including the bottom, with garlic powder, salt, and pepper.
  • Put in an air-tight container and store in the fridge overnight.

HOW TO SMOKE A PRIME RIB:

  • Remove your meat from the fridge and allow the roast to reach closer to room temperature before throwing it on the smoker.
  • Get your hopper full of pellets and ready to smoke. 
  • This time, I used a rack in a pan to smoke my Prime Rib, it contained all the grease so a less grill fire risk.
  • Start your smoker rolling smoke, and I do mine on a setting of P7.
  • Once your smoker is rolling smoke, set the prime rib either right on the rack of your smoker or move your pan with the Prime Rib Roast to the smoker.
  • You can let the smoker smoke for as long as you want before turning up the temperature.  I like to do a 1 to 2-hour smoke, but this also depends on the size of the roast.
  • Turn your smoker up; I did mine to 200  degrees to smoke low and slow on mine.  You can turn it to a higher temperature if you want to cook it faster or more well done.
  • Allow to smoke until you reach the internal temperature you want. Then, you can wrap the prime rib in pink butcher paper while smoking to help seal in juices. I have tried this once and didn't notice a difference.
  • Remove when the roast reaches temperature and serve!

AT WHAT TEMPERATURE DO YOU SMOKE A PRIME RIB:

  • Cooking your prime rib roast at 225 degrees makes the cooking time about 40 minutes per lb.
  • Cooking your prime rib roast 275 degrees makes the cooking time about 20 minutes per lb for the rib roast.

AT WHAT TEMPERATURE IS A PRIME RIB DONE?

  • Rare is at 120 to 125 degrees F. The center will be bright red, with pinkish color toward the exterior portion.
    Medium Rare is at 130 to 135 degrees F. The center is very pink and will be slightly brown toward the exterior portion.
    Next, medium is at140 to 145 degrees F. – the center is light pink, the outer portion is brown.
    Medium Well is at 150 to 155 degrees F. The center is not pink and is browner all the way around.
    Well Done is at 160 degrees F. and above and also is not pink and will be a darker brown.

Video

Nutrition

Calories: 523kcal | Carbohydrates: 19g | Protein: 21g | Fat: 40g | Saturated Fat: 17g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 17g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 89mg | Sodium: 231mg | Potassium: 336mg | Fiber: 0.3g | Sugar: 10g | Calcium: 59mg | Iron: 3mg