How to Barbeque a Standing Rib Roast
Barbecuing a standing prime rib roast can seem like an intimidating proposition. Rib roasts are expensive so you want to make sure that the meat is cooked well, with a tender and flavorful finish. Your backyard barbecue helps to add a great grilled flavor and can slowly cook your roast well. Does this Spark an idea?
Things You'll Need
- Standing Rib Roast
- Meat thermometer
- Baking Pan
- Celery
- Carrots
- Garlic cloves
Instructions
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Choose a prime or choice rib roast with at least four ribs or higher. Prepare the roast by cutting the ribs away from the roast itself and saving them for another meal. This will ensure that you get a good caramelized roast and save you time later when you're carving the meat slices, as one rib's thickness is usually too thick for one person to eat.
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Make a dry rub for your roast consisting of sea salt, fresh ground pepper and garlic powder. You can also add dried thyme or onion powder to the rub if you like those flavors. Mix the rub ingredients together and rub the mixture onto the outside of the roast. Rub the seasonings in well so you'll have a good caramelized skin when your roast is finished cooking. Let the roast stand for about 1/2 hour while you get the coals burning, so enzymes in the meat will warm and begin the tenderizing process, and so your spice rub can begin to flavor the meat.
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Light the coals on your barbecue grill and wait until they are fully gray and ready to grill at about 450 degrees Fahrenheit. You want them sending up heat, but no flames showing. You will cook the roast at that temperature for about the first 1/2 hour, then move the coals more to the side and lower the heat to about 335 degrees Fahrenheit to cook the roast further. Add a few hickory wood chips to the barbecue coals if you want a good smoky flavor added to your rib roast.
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Place your roast in the baking pan with a grate at the bottom and add cut carrots, celery and garlic to the pan surrounding it. If you place the roast directly onto the barbecue slats, all of the meat drippings will fall into the fire.Cooking it in a baking pan with grill slats on the grill gives it that outdoor smoky flavor while collecting the juices with the vegetables in the bottom of the pan, so you can use it in a nice au jus later.
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Cover the grill and let the roast cook for about 20 minutes.Check the roast at that time, inserting your meat thermometer into the center of the roast to check the heat there. When finished, a rare roast will be about 125 degrees Fahrenheit at the center and a medium roast will be about 145 degrees Fahrenheit.This type of roast is meant to be served at medium rare to rare and will not retain good moisture if overcooked.
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Move the roast away from the coals to lower the temperature the roast is cooking at. Check the temperature after an hour, then ever 15 to 20 minutes to make sure you don't overcook the roast. Check to make sure the bottom of the pan isn't drying out -- add a little water if necessary so the juices don't dry out. Once your roast is at the correct temperature in the middle, remove the pan from the barbecue grill. If the outer surface isn't as caramelized as you'd like, put it in your oven for about five minutes at high heat to finish caramelization.
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Remove the roast from the pan and set it on a cutting board. Do not slice it, but let it rest for about 15 to 20 minutes. If you cut it too quickly after removing it from the heat, the juices will drain from the meat and leave you with a dryer roast. While it is resting, add a little water to your baking pan and make a gravy/au jus from the vegetables and meat juices.
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Slice the roast after it rests into 1/2 inch slices, and serve immediately. It should be pink through most of the middle section for the best flavor.
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Tips & Warnings
Err on the side of caution with your meat temperature by taking it off at a lower temperature in the center.The meat will continue cooking while it rests on the cutting board. It is easier to return meat to the grill to cook it to specifications if it's underdone than it is to salvage an overdone roast.
References
- Photo Credit Jupiterimages/Photos.com/Getty Images
