Standing Rib Roast on WSM or Weber Grill [Method]

LTH,

Standing Rib Roast makes for a terrific holiday meal, beautiful presentation, tastes delicious and is wonderfully festive, not to mention roast beef sandwiches w/chipotle mayo the next day for lunch.

Dead simple in either the WSM or Weber Kettle, with the edge to the WSM as cooking distance (20-inches) is farther so less rotating and no restoking of the fire.

First up for the 7-bone beauty, I'm assuming a full bone-in standing rib roast, is my (no longer secret) rub. A wet rub of olive oil, worcestershire sauce, garlic powder, onion powder, kosher salt, fresh cracked pepper and Mexican pepper, ancho/chipotle/Guajillo. The peppers provide both color and a light backnote of heat.

Lightly score/crosshatch the fat cap and rub paste over entire roast, let sit for at least 15-minutes, this can be done in advance.

Weber Smokey Mountain:
- No waterpan, no lower cooking grate
- 3/4 fire (Lump charcoal, fill ring 3/4 full)
- Top with fully engaged Weber charcoal chimney
- When charcoal has stopped billowing white smoke add 3-fist size dry wood chunks
- Place standing rib roast on top cooking grate.
- Rotate roast every 25-minutes.

Weber Kettle Grill:
- Place empty aluminum loaf pan in the middle of charcoal grate
- Build a smallish pile lump charcoal on both sides of aluminum loaf pan.
- Light Weber Chimney starter 2/3-full with lump charcoal
- Top unlit charcoal evenly with fully engaged charcoal.
- Fill aluminum loaf pan 3/4 full of water
- When charcoal has stopped billowing white smoke add 2-fist size dry wood chunks
- Replace cooking grate, position roast directly over aluminum loaf pan
- Rotate roast every 10-15 minutes (Especially important as meat is close to the fire and will cook unevenly if not rotated)
- When coals start to diminish add (preferably) lit lump charcoal to both sides. (I use a garden type hand trowel)

Roast is done when an instant read thermometer hits 125-degrees in the center of the roast. This yields a dead rare middle with the meat becoming progressively more well done toward the edges. Rare for you, med-well for Uncle Morty, well done end cut for Aunt Hildred.

Be sure to let the roast sit for 20-minutes, this is important so the juices redistribute throughout the meat, cut too soon and all the juice ends up on the platter.

The combination of direct over lump charcoal with wood chunks and my wet rub give the meat a crunchy, spicy, caramelized, juicy, fatty, rich, smoky, fat in the fire meaty riot of flavors I really love.

I am not of the Low and Slow school of thought for Standing Rib Roast, preferring the Hot Smoke/Roast method outlined above. Already tender meat derives no benefit from long slow cooking times, and tends to be somewhat homogeneous in texture and flavor.

Note: No change in method for a smaller standing rib roast, you just won’t have as many leftovers.

Enjoy,
Gary Wiviott
http://www.wiviott.com

Gary,

Bless your heart for providing this now! If my oven isn't repaired by Christmas, this was plan B. Your instructions arrive in the nick of time.

Regards,

Cathy2 wrote:Gary,

Bless your heart for providing this now! If my oven isn't repaired by Christmas, this was plan B. Your instructions arrive in the nick of time.

Regards,

I'd recommend using the WSM over the oven in any case.

stevez wrote:

Cathy2 wrote:Gary,

Bless your heart for providing this now! If my oven isn't repaired by Christmas, this was plan B. Your instructions arrive in the nick of time.

Regards,

I'd recommend using the WSM over the oven in any case.

That is a bit of a hard sell to my family. However I now have my necessity is the Mother of invention opportunity!

Regards,

HI,

I did it, I will do it again, though there were some harrowing moments.

For the last two years, I have been making standing rib roast following the method suggested by Cook's Illustrated: remove the ribs, then tie them back on for easier carving afterwards. I did the same today before grilling.

I didn't use Gary's recommended rub. I did a modification of how I prepare a leg of lamb: rub with soy sauce followed by olive oil plus garlic powder.

I then took the rib roast outside and laid it fat side down on the top grill of my Weber Smokey Mountain (WSM). I noted the time and went inside. Twenty-five minutes later I return to find smoke billowing. I opened the lid to find flame licking up to the top grill from the fire 18 inches below. I flipped the roast ringed in flames onto the ribs, which singed hair on my arms. I closed the lid vowing not to touch it for another 25 minutes.

For the second turn, I found there were still flames reaching up to the roast. I made an unfortunate move causing the top grill to fall below the positioning clip. I am by myself, there are flames reaching up to me and my meat is ready to slide into the fire. I consider which was the worser of two evils, then flipped the meat off the grill onto the ground. I repositioned the rack, applying the 60 second rule got the meat back on grill. At this moment when everything that could go wrong has, I discovered the flames had burned through all my butcher string. The ribs were now a free floating plate on my roast. I made sure the ribs covered the proper area and walked away for another 25 minutes.

For the next flip, I opened the lid to find there were still live flames below. I lifted the top rack to my Weber grill, then retied ribs to the roast with butcher string. I put an empty water pan in its usual position. I decided my roast had enough crust, it simply needed to roast. I walked away for 25 minutes returning to find a hot but substantially less agitated fire.

At around 2.5 hours, I took the temperature to find it was 115 in the center. I left it to roast another 15 minutes, to now find the internal temperature was 130 degrees. It appears the aggressive fire earlier had expedited the cooking of this roast. While I was glad I caught this, it messed up timing for the rest of the meal.

I allowed the roast to sit for around 45 minutes (maybe a bit longer). I frankly expected the first slice to look well done with no hint of rose. I was pleasantly surprised to find it more like a rosey medium. For all the challenges cooking this roast presented, the outcome was very positive. My Dad who really wanted an oven roasted beast, like it so much he withdrew his initial disapproval to this cooking method. My fussy nieces like it, too, which was a great relief to me.

I must admit by the time dinner was served, I felt like I had run the marathon.

Regards,

Cathy,

I'm glad to hear that all ended well. I'm also glad to hear (unfortuantely at your expense) that my normal method of cooking a rib roast seems to be proven out by your ordeal. I usually cook the roast similar to Gary's method, except that I never remove the bones first and always cook ribs down with an empty waterpan in the WSM. Having the empty pan serves two purposes; it acts as a "blast shield" to prevent flame-ups and also acts as a drip pan to keep the melting fat from hitting the fire (some say fat hitting the fire is a positive thing, but I think there is just too much melting off a nice fatty roast). Also, other than roataing the roast 180 degrees once during the cooking process, I don't flip it at all.

stevez wrote:I'm glad to hear that all ended well. I'm also glad to hear (unfortuantely at your expense) that my normal method of cooking a rib roast seems to be proven out by your ordeal.

Steve,

Don't damn the method from Cathy's single miscue, the rib roast direct method works well.

Cathy, it never occurred to me to specifically state not to use a rib roast that has the bone cut and tired back on with string. That was an oversight on my part.

Far as flames licking the roast, the cooking grate on the WSM is 20-inches above the fire, no reason to doubt you that flames were reaching the grate, but that is extremely unusual, as in I've never seen it before with the lid (dome) in place. Of course when you lift the lid the increase of oxygen will flame, as opposed to ember, the coals, but unless your WSM is leaking air like a screen door the flames go out when the lid (dome) is replaced.

Prior to the standing rib roast cook did your WSM have a black cakey tar, almost flaky substance on the inside sides of cooker and under and around the charcoal area? If so is the inside of the WSM now clean as a whistle? I'm wondering if stuck on creosote/oil/residue didn't light off, which has happened to me, which would result in intense flames.

Sounds like Cathy had a nice save, good going, but I highly suggest trying the rib roast direct method one more time. Also, next time make a 1/2-fire, as opposed to 3/4, we may have different ideas as to fire size. Though fire size alone would not have caused the problems you describe.

As an aside, you placed the roast on the top (upper) cooking rack, correct?

Enjoy,
Gary

G Wiv wrote:Don't damn the method from Cathy's single miscue, the rib roast direct method works well.

Believe me, I don't discount you method. In fact, I think my method is more or less the same as yours, I've just fine tuned mine a bit to accomodate my own personal cooking style.

stevez wrote:I've just fine tuned mine a bit to accomodate my own personal cooking style.

Steve,

That's what it's all about, fine tuning for personal preference, which is why I prefer the direct method, no waterpan.

Either way, I've cooked standing rib roast, rib eye roast, lamb, butterflied pork shoulder, whole pork shoulder* and pretty much any type of fatty meat you can think of on the top rack of a WSM without the waterpan and have never experienced the degree of sustained flaming with the lid (dome) on that Cathy describes.

Enjoy,
Gary

*This reminded me of a favorite I have not done in a while. Butterfly a pork shoulder coat with 1-1 mix of yellow mustard and Thai curry paste, I typically use Maesri, as I like both the flavor and the picture of the 'Thai Betty Crocker' on the can. This gives the meat some front heat with a nice lingering spicy heat, but it's not overpowering. If you have heat sensitive guests go 2 or 3/1 on the mustard/curry paste.

Cathy, it never occurred to me to specifically state not to use a rib roast that has the bone cut and tired back on with string. That was an oversight on my part.

These days, everybody wants to sell them this way, I have to say. Even the natural beef guys at Green City were planning to sell it with ribs tied on.

Having cut bones out before cooking (I made part of my roast into ribeye steaks) and after, it's much easier after.

The direct method worked fine for me; I will say that I too aimed for the magic 125 and found myself scrambling because it shot from 110 to 135 seemingly in an instant. (Okay, ten minutes.) I was worried it was overdone but as it turned out I had very little pink-to-gray meat for Aunt Hildred-- it was almost all bloody red. Not a bad thing, obviously, but I think the 125 may be aiming a little low for most people.

I did not cook a rib roast on a WSM, but I did cook a leg of lamb on my Weber kettle yesterday. It came out very well. I used my favorte new Weber Kettle accessory:

These holders are essential for indirect cooking. They keep the charcoal in place, making it much easier to manage and preventing grease flare-ups. Even though they are pictured with briquets, they work even better with lump charcoal. If you place them with the bottom slots perpendicular to the bars in the charcoal grate, they stop the embers from falling through the grate as the charcoal breaks apart. One packed chimney will fill them both, and they will burn for about 3 hours.

Yesterday, the ambient temperature in the kettle, stayed at about 350-360 with all the vents half-open (including the top). I cooked the leg for about 20 minutes per pound to an internal temperature of 143 (but I don't trust my fancy digital thermometer), then let it sit under foil for 20-30 minutes. It came out perfectly rosey-pink in the center and just slightly pink at the ends.

Anyhow, I have now cooked both a turkey and a leg of lamb using these holders, and I wonder how I got by without them. I bought them for $12 at Abt appliance (now Abt electronics)
http://www.abtelectronics.com/scripts/s ... 3?id=24680.
I placed my order online, and they were delivered by UPS the following day, free of charge.

d4v3 wrote:I did not cook a rib roast on a WSM, but I did cook a leg of lamb on my Weber kettle yesterday. It came out very well. I used my favorte new Weber Kettle accessory:

A pair of these came with my Weber Kettle when I purchased it 5 years ago. I'll agree that they are a good upgrade to the previous system, which was two "fences" that clipped on the bottom charcoal grate to corral the coals. I like these new ones better for the simple fact that their footprint is smaller than the old fences, leaving a much larger area between the coals. I'll also admit to not using them as much as I used to since I got my WSM.

stevez wrote:A pair of these came with my Weber Kettle when I purchased it 5 years ago.

I am still using the kettle my dad gave me when he moved about 15 years ago. He probably had it for more than 15 years himself. It came with basically nothing. Up until recently, I had been using my Dad's method of building walls out of foil. The problem I had with lump charcoal is that hot embers would fall through the grate then ignite any grease that had missed the drip pan and accumulated in the bottom of the kettle. I thought these holders were a revelation, but I guess they are actually now standard issue. I guess it is about time I bought a new grill. How does the weber company make money, when they make products that will last 35 years?

I do not own a WSM. Is there any advantage to cooking something like a roast in a WSM as opposed to a kettle, which is designed for higher temperatures?

How does the weber company make money, when they make products that will last 35 years?

Actually, they nearly went under around 1982 when they reached saturation in the midwest with indestructible charcoal grills. What saved them was making increasingly fancy $600 gas grills.

That said, as I posted last spring it's a pleasure to treat yourself to a new one every couple of decades:

http://www.lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?t=7897

The main advantage of the WSM over the kettle for a rib roast is just that you have more distance between fire and meat, so you don't have to be quite so vigilant about turning to keep the outside from burning. I don't know that it's quite a reason in itself to get one, but if you have both already, it's the easier, more foolproof choice.

HI,

I relayed my experience because sometimes you can do everything right (well, almost), then stuff begins to happen.

Prior to the standing rib roast cook did your WSM have a black cakey tar, almost flaky substance on the inside sides of cooker and under and around the charcoal area? If so is the inside of the WSM now clean as a whistle? I'm wondering if stuck on creosote/oil/residue didn't light off, which has happened to me, which would result in intense flames.

I think this was a contributor. I noticed even after the water pan was in place, the fat spitting onto the side walls caused some flames. The creosote on the walls is akin to a chimney fire, isn't it? When I get out there to scrape the grill clean, then I will do the sides. I just ran outside to take a picture of the flaking sides for others to understand what you are referring to:



I guess I need to do some housekeeping?

When the roast was finished, it looked like this:



This is the first slice after resting 45 minutes:



If I hadn't had Gary's instructions on how to do this, I wouldn't have tackled this project. I will do it again someday with an intact rib roast, 1/2 ring of charcoal and like everything else related to BBQ, I will have a different experience.

What really counts is everyone loved the taste.

Regards,

Cathy2 wrote:I just ran outside to take a picture of the flaking sides for others to understand what you are referring to:
~snip~
What really counts is everyone loved the taste.

C2,

The dry flakes bear resemblance an oven interior after a self cleaning cycle, my guess is you had a creosote fire inside your 20+ year old WSM.

Please let me restate my Nice Save comment above, Terrific Save, world class save. The roast looked good, very edible.

Coat the entire interior with simple green, let it soak in, clean the hell out of the WSM, hose it off, clean it again. Do the Standing Rib Roast one more time.

Enjoy,
Gary

d4v3 wrote:I am still using the kettle my dad gave me when he moved about 15 years ago. He probably had it for more than 15 years himself. It came with basically nothing. Up until recently, I had been using my Dad's method of building walls out of foil. The problem I had with lump charcoal is that hot embers would fall through the grate then ignite any grease that had missed the drip pan and accumulated in the bottom of the kettle. I thought these holders were a revelation, but I guess they are actually now standard issue. I guess it is about time I bought a new grill. How does the weber company make money, when they make products that will last 35 years?

Previous to the new Kettle that I bought 5 years ago, its predecessor lasted nearly 18 years before I actually bruned through the bottom, but I probably used it much more than most people so it didn't last nearly as long as yours. They do make a fine product!

tangental question - where do you guys buy your standing rib roasts?

Going to do one on NYE, debating where to go... Would like a great quality roast, but trying not to spend too much cash.

Paulina perhaps?

ab,

For a great quality (prime) roast, not spending much cash isn't going to be an option.

Believe it or not... many of the roasts talked about here were choice from Costco.

They have pretty nice-looking roasts, especially if you know how to pick through them. But the other advantage is that they don't trim them too much, cut the bones off and tie them back on (as happened to Cathy's roast), etc. Especially for cooking on the smoker, you're better off foregoing these conveniences and keeping the meat in one piece with an ample fat cap to cook off.

Yeah, without paying for USDA Prime it's never going to be better than "very good".

If you're ok with just "very good", pick up one of the cryovaced jobs from Costco and dry age it in your fridge for a few days.

If you're ok with just "very good", pick up one of the cryovaced jobs from Costco and dry age it in your fridge for a few days.

I asked Gary about this method (Alton Brown's) and he was EMPHATICALLY against it, for what that's worth. Granted I think he's more germophobic than the average guy, kitchenwise (I don't mean to imply he's shuffling around with Kleenex boxes on his feet, just very conscientious about, say, pouring boiling water on cutting boards after slicing raw meat), but he made an impressively argued case for why in the ordinary home fridge, being opened on a regular basis, being full of a wide variety of microbial flora, and having airflow well inferior to that of, say, Smith & Wollensky's dry-aging room, this was a good way to ruin a roast and the next 48 hours after dinner.

* * *

If you're looking for boosting "very good" as far as it will go, go to Paulina; their choice looks like some others' prime. It's pricey, but you're getting what you hope you're paying for, the careful eyes and hands of guys who've been buying and prepping meat since before you were born.

Yeah. I can certainly understand not wanting to do it for germ reasons. I've done it and haven't suffered any ill effects, and with Cook's and AB behind it, I'm gonna keep taking my chances I still eat raw eggs and pink pork, too.

I still eat raw eggs and pink pork, too.

In those cases the odds are on your side.

Pink chicken, on the other hand, they're against you.

Here's another method for cooking a roast.

Gracie Allen's Classic Recipe for Roast Beef

1 large Roast of beef
1 small Roast of beef
Take the two roasts and put them in the oven.
When the little one burns, the big one is done

gleam wrote:Yeah. I can certainly understand not wanting to do it for germ reasons. I've done it and haven't suffered any ill effects, and with Cook's and AB behind it, I'm gonna keep taking my chances I still eat raw eggs and pink pork, too.

Ed,

I eat raw eggs, med rare pork, raw shrimp and an extensive variety of food an over the top "germ phobic" person would not consume. I do not attempt to dry age meat in a home refrigerator. Yes, I tried it once, disaster sums it up, I've also read countless 'mishap' stories on BBQ listservs/forums, and in general think it a bad idea.

If one has a seldom used frig that is spotlessly clean, can jury rig a fan in the frig and vows not to open the door, except when absolutely necessary, than sure, maybe. But the average home frig, opened 20 times, or more a day, with 13-month old hidden hunks of cheese and fermenting zucchini stands little, if any chance, to provide the proper environment for controlled rot typically moving right into rot-rot.

Frankly, much as I like Alton B some of the things I've seen on his show make me scratch my head, his ladder pulley system for turkey frying for one. Sure, it worked perfect on his show, he had a sturdy construction ladder, professional quality rope, a pulley that could lift an elephant and a team of competent union carpenter stage hands putting it together.

The 'average joe' is going to use what is on hand, rickety ladder, cheap rope, a jury-rigged pulley system and, when the turkey falls back into the 350 degree oil from a height of 2-feet, will spend the rest of the day, and probably next, in the hospital.

Ladder fried turkey, like dry ageing meat in a home frig, works under perfect conditions, which are seldom available.

That said, if you have had good luck with home dry-aging, more power to you, invite me over for a home age roast some evening.

Enjoy,
Gary

Yes, a custom-built ladder for lowering a turkey into a fryer is directly comaprable to putting meat on a rack in the fridge for a day or two. Absolutely.

So let me add to my original post: age at home at your own risk. Your mileage may vary. Don't do it for more than a few days at any rate, and if it looks or smells spoiled, you just ruined an expensive hunk of meat. And if you get sick, well, Mike and Gary told you so.

gleam wrote:Yes, a custom-built ladder for lowering a turkey into a fryer is directly comaprable to putting meat on a rack in the fridge for a day or two. Absolutely.

Ed,

You have on your Literal Glasses today?

While you may, or may not, encounter problems with a short, 1-2 days, dry-age in a normal usage home refrigerator it does not seem a 10-lb 4-bone standing rib roast would get much benefit from such a short period.

A longer age of 10+ day is fraught with dangers of nasty microbe armies invading, entrenching themselves so thoroughly in the recess of the frig, producing noxious odors so overpowering they even make the neighbors dog gag, your, or in this case my, wife suggests you spend a session with a pail of Clorox infused water and any number of scrubbing devices including, but not limited to, a toothbrush is in order.

gleam wrote:And if you get sick, well, Mike and Gary told you so.

Hey now, it's not like we were suggesting you wear a sport coat to a restaurant.

Enjoy,
Gary

Mike G wrote:Believe it or not... many of the roasts talked about here were choice from Costco.

They have pretty nice-looking roasts, especially if you know how to pick through them. But the other advantage is that they don't trim them too much, cut the bones off and tie them back on (as happened to Cathy's roast), etc. Especially for cooking on the smoker, you're better off foregoing these conveniences and keeping the meat in one piece with an ample fat cap to cook off.

thanks all for the tips... Being that I've always been happy with Costco's other choice meats (Lamb Loin Chops at Costco I've found are better than the Prime loin chops at whole foods) I may have to give one a shot. If I don't see one I like, I'll hit Paulina.

edit: Ended up getting a prime 3-rib roast from Paulina. It's gorgeous.

G Wiv wrote:Dead simple in either the WSM or Weber Kettle, with the edge to the WSM as cooking distance (20-inches) is farther so less rotating and no restoking of the fire

Seven years later and my basic standing rib roast method is still going strong, did a 7-bone SRR on my nieces 26.5 Weber kettle yesterday for Christmas day dinner.

Standing Rib Roast on a 26.5 Weber Kettle







Happy holidays to all.