Grilling is my favorite way to prepare prime rib. Grilling it just brings out a ton of flavor, and it remains juicy too. Not to mention the outside forms a delicious crust. A whole prime rib can be really expensive, so I don’t grill them too often. Since they cost so much, you will want to pay attention on how to grill prime rib the right way.
I typically use a charcoal grill for grilling prime rib, but you can also use a gas grill. First set up your charcoal grill for indirect grilling. This basically means the heat source will be opposite the meat. In this case we are going to set up a two-zone fire. The coals are going to be on two sides of the grill with a drip pan in the middle. It’s easiest to place the pan in first then pour the coals on both sides.
I like to add a bit of smoke to my grilled prime rib, so you will want to soak some wood chips for at least an hour prior to grilling. I prefer to use hickory or oak for prime rib.
If the whole prime rib hasn’t been prepared at the butcher’s shop, you will want to French cut it. Basically you are cutting the fat off of the rib bones. So if you can’t see the ribs, cut through the fat cap down to the bone, then turn your knife and cut to the ends of the bones removing the cap of fat. You can have the butcher do this for you too.
Once that fat cap in removed trim any excess fat, and also cut away the meat between the ends of the ribs. I like garlic in my prime rib, so cut some slits all over the prime rib and insert slivers of garlic throughout. It adds a ton of flavor; you will definitely want to do this.
There are a ton of different rubs and rub recipes out there than you can use, so find one you like. What I usually do is rub it with a bit of garlic salt, onion salt, kosher salt, and black pepper. One the rubs on the meat and the grill is ready to go, through a handful of wood chips onto the coals.
Place the prime rib in the center of the grill over the drip pan. Make sure to place it with the fat side up. For a prime rib that is around 10 pounds it will take about 2 hours for rare (125F), 2 ½ hours medium-rare (145F), or about 3 hours for medium (160F). Make sure to take internal temperature readings using an instant read thermometer; here is the one I use. During grilling you may need to add more coals each hour. Also you will want to add more handfuls of wood chips throughout to keep the smoke up.
Once the prime rib is to your desired doneness, remove from the grill, cover with a bit of aluminum foil and allow it to rest for about 15 minutes. After it has rested you can start slicing it. I love to have horseradish with my prime rib.
That is how to make prime rib that will taste amazing. Give it a try, your family and friends will love it.
image courtesy of stuart_spivack/flickr