Our good friend Matt Pittman the brainchild behind the Meat Church brand of products brings us this incredible recipe for smoked prime rib.

Ingredients
8 – 10 lb bone-in ribeye roast choice grade or higher (ours was 4 bone)
Meat Church Holy Cow Rub
Meat Church Gourmet Garlic & Herb
Butcher’s twine
A good butter (e.g., Banner)
Instant read thermometer

Prepare your smoker
Heat the smoker to 275 degrees. I recommend a heavy smoke wood, chunks or pellets such as oak, hickory or mesquite. Total cook time will around 3-4 hours.

What is a Prime Rib?
“Prime” rib doesn’t mean it comes from a Prime grade meat. You can make prime rib from a Choice grade cut. In fact, it’s more affordable and turns out fantastic.

Whether you choose a Choice or Prime grade cut, there are several different types of roasts to create the perfect prime rib; bone-In, boneless or standing rib roast (bones are removed prior to the cook and re-attached with butcher’s twine during the cook process.) Each have their own advantages. We prefer a boneless rib roast so you can get a nice bark\crust around the entire piece of meat. Also, it’s easier to slice after you cook whereas with bone in you have to remove the bones off that hot meat.

Prepare the Rib Roast

First step is to truss your prime rib since we went with the boneless option. That will help it keep shape and cook evenly. Instructional video here: bit.ly/2qKvOQi

Apply a very heavy coat of salt to the entire roast. Let the salt sit for one hour and then wash it off and pat it dry.
Apply Meat Church Holy Cow rub liberally on all sides of the meat. It’s hard to put too much on as we want to form a great bark. Remember, this cut is so big that there will not be much crust in many bites.

Next, come back over the entire rib roast with a heavy coat of our Gourmet Garlic & Herb. Let these two rubs sit and adhere for 15 – 20 minutes.

Smoke the Prime Rib

Place your rib roast on the smoker. Optionally you can baste it every 45 minutes with Worcestershire sauce, beef stock or even water.

We are targeting medium rare in the middle which is 130-135. Therefore, continue to cook your rib roast until you reach an internal temperature of 125 in the middle. Keep in mind the outer edges will be further along. The ends will be closer to medium.

Remove the meat from the cooker when that temperature is obtained. Tent the meat with aluminum foil and allow it to rest at least 10 – 15 minutes. I prefer to top the rib roast with a high grade butter such as Banner, Pflugra or Kerrygold. Let this butter melt down over your prime rib it rests. The meat will continue to rise another 5 degrees to a final product of 130.

Slice the roast to serve. This gives your guests the option of telling you “doneness” they prefer.

Enjoy!