Prime Rib Meets Hickory In Kansas City

One of my favorite meals to prepare for guests, is prime rib. It is a cut of meat that can turn an ordinary Saturday night into an extraordinary Saturday night. Today I will be preparing a small prime rib for an early evening dinner for two.

I am going to cut a small (2 bone 4.5 lb) prime rib from this 15 lb bone in rib eye loin.

 

This meat doesn't need a lot of help. I will season it with a light coating of grape seed oil, kosher salt and cracked black pepper.

I will be cooking on a horizontal smoker fueled with a base of lump charcoal and hickory splits. This will be cooked low and slow with the smoker running 230-240 degrees throughout the cook.

The prime rib will be cooked until it reaches an internal temperature of 127 degrees. After a 10 minute rest while tented it should reach an internal temperature of approximately 132 degrees which is our preferred medium rare temperature. Horizontal smokers add a great dimension to cooking. When cooking at low temperatures (225 degrees for instance) the burning logs create a cooking process similar to a convection oven as the hot air rushes from the firebox and through the cooking chamber. In this instance it allows for a crusty exterior but a medium rare center without overcooked edges.

Having had an appetizer salad this will be a perfect plate for a meat and potato's person. A beef rib, an 18 oz cut of prime rib and a twice baked potato.

Normally prime rib at our house is reserved for dinner parties with several guests. But this evening it will be served at the bar table in front of the television. This meal needs very little help and will be served with a good horseradish and a glass of Cabernet. The cook achieved all of his objectives with this prime rib. It had a crusty exterior, a tender, juicy center and a beautiful but subtle hickory smokiness.

This is my casual take on one of the outstanding cuts of beef. In the future we will revisit prime rib with a large cut and more formal meal and presentation.