Tony Zentgraf
Prime Rib was a holiday treat at the grandparents house growing up. Arriving to their house, aromas of roasting beef and all the sides still reside in the recesses of my memories. Herb & Dijon Crusted Prime Rib is a twist on the memories of my youth.
Holiday Roast
As with many families, there is not usually a consensus of what temperature everyone wants their meat cooked to. You have the kids who may not like the rare center but there are those aunts and uncles who live for the rare cuts.
A prime rib can alleviate this because generally the ends are more cooked even if you roast at a low temperature.
Slow Roast, Smoker or Pellet Smoker
This recipe calls for using a pellet smoker but you can use a kamado grill/smoker, or oven in the kitchen.
There are different thoughts on the process for cooking a prime rib, low and slow, high temp for 15-20 minutes and then drop to a low temperature, or low and slow until the end then crank the heat to brown the outside.
To be honest, they all work and mainly the goal is to get a crust or a browning on the outside and a rare to medium-rare center.
I have done all different cooking processes but the goal is an evenly cooked roast that is at the temperature you want. With the method in this recipe it finishes with a mustard herb crust and evenly roasted prime rib. Also an au jus in the pan when it is done.
Leftovers
Leftovers of the Herb & Dijon Crusted Prime Rib make great french dip or philly sandwiches. Use the roast to make a soup or stew. Or even dice it up and saute some onions and make some tacos out of some of the leftovers. Or heck, just eat it cold standing over the sink, enjoying the flavors.
Enjoy!
Herb & Dijon Crusted Prime Rib
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Mustard Paste for Outside of Prime Rib
- 1 ea 10-12 lb Bone-in Prime Rib (standing rib roast)
- ½ cup Dijon Mustard
- 2 ea Shallots minced
- 6 ea Garlic Cloves minced
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire
- 2 tbsp Fresh Rosemary minced
- 1 tbsp Fresh Thyme minced
- 1 tsp Kosher Salt
- 2 tsp Black Pepper
Herbs to put between Ribs and Meat
- 2 ea Rosemary Sprigs 8" long
- 4 4a Thyme Sprigs 4" long
Base for Pan to Make Au Jus
- 1 ea Yellow Onion peeled and cut into eighths
- 2 ea Carrots cut into 1" pieces
- 2 ea Celery Stalks
- 4 ea Garlic Cloves
- ½ cup Red Wine
- 3 cups Beef Stock or Broth
Instructions
Preparing the Prime Rib
- Prepare a roasting pan with the vegetables for the base for the au jus. Place the chopped onions, carrots, celery and whole garlic cloves in the bottom of the pan, place the roasting rack over the top of the vegetables. Hold aside until the prime rib is prepared.
- If the prime rib is pre trimmed and tied, cut the strings to be able to put the rub and herbs between the ribs and meat. If the prime rib is not trimmed or split from the ribs, trim the fat to ¼" and slice the ribs apart from the meat. You can cut the ribs all the way through because you will tie them back together with butcher's twine.
- Mince the garlic cloves, shallots, rosemary and thyme leaves.
- Combine all ingredients for the rub. Mix well to combine.
- On top of the ribs place the rosemary and thyme sprigs.
- Rub a moderate amount of the Mustard Paste on the side of the meat that will contact the rosemary and thyme on the ribs. Once the mustard rub is on the meat place the meat on top of the ribs and herbs.
- Tie the prime rib back together with butcher’s twine.
- Place the prime rib in the roasting pan bones down.
- Rub the remaining rub on the outside of the prime rib top and ends.
- The mustard rubbed prime rib can refrigerate overnight so there is some flavor penetration on the meat.
Roasting the Prime Rib
- A couple of hours before roasting, remove the prime rib in the roasting pan from the refrigerator to slowly bring up the temperature.
- Preheat the pellet smoker, kamado or oven to 250°. Low and slow is the key to prime rib.
- Place the roasting pan in the pellet smoker, kamado or oven once it is up to temperature.
- The typical time to roast a prime rib is 10-12 minutes per pound for rare.12-15 minutes for medium-rare. In my experience, this size prime rib on a pellet smoker takes about 3-3.5 hours for medium rare. Remember the prime rib will rest for up to an hour after removing from the smoker, kamado or oven.
- I used two wireless temperature probes to monitor the cook. Using a wireless removes the need to open the cooking source to avoid heat from escaping.
- For the Au Jus, after 2 hours of roasting add the red wine and beef stock to the bottom of the pan to make the au jus over the remaining time to cook.
- Remove the roast from the heat once the prime rib reaches the desired temperature. Remove the prime rib from the roasting pan and let it rest for 30 minutes to 1 hour to retain juices.
- While the prime rib is resting, strain the au jus left in the bottom of the roasting pan into a pot. Skim the fat from the top of the au jus and discard. Season the au jus with salt, pepper and or granulated garlic, granulated onion or worcestershire.
To Slice the Prime Rib
- Cut the strings on the prime rib and pull to remove. The crust may come apart when you remove the strings.
- Remove the meat from the ribs and herbs; place the meat on a cutting board.
- Slice the prime rib into desired thickness starting from one of the ends this will cut across the fibers of the meat.
- Serve with au jus and horseradish. Enjoy!
