Kitchen notes · a little help before you start
Smoked Prime Rib
Garlic herb butter gives smoked prime rib a savory edge that makes the first slice especially tempting. The smoke adds another layer around the outside, with warm pan drippings to spoon over the meat. This is a generous roast to sit down and enjoy slowly.
- Prep
- 10 min
- Cook
- 200 min
- Total
- 210 min
- Original yield
- Serves 6
- Ingredients
- 7 listed
Make it part of your week
Recipe categories & planning details
- Meal type
- Main course
- Cuisine
- American
- Cooking method
- Roasting · Baked & roasted
- Preparation & total time
- Prep: 15 minutes or less · Total: over 60 minutes
A few quick notes
1. Combine the butter rub
Stir the softened butter, garlic, herbs and seasonings together before rubbing the mixture all over the roast.
2. Collect the juices
Keep the roast in its disposable aluminum pan while smoking so the buttery juices collect beneath it.
3. Check with a thermometer
Use a thermometer to judge your chosen doneness, then remove the roast for its covered rest.
Get to know the ingredients
Prime rib
Choose bone-in prime rib; the bones support the meat as it cooks and are removed before slicing.
Butter
Soften the butter before stirring so the minced garlic and herbs can blend into a spreadable coating.
Herbs
Mince the thyme and rosemary leaves before mixing them with the butter for the roast's coating.
Let’s make it
Choose your servings, then check things off as you go.
Original recipe: Serves 6. Original quantities shown.
Check ingredients as you prepare them. These checks stay on this page.
How to make it
0 of 6 steps completeMake room for Smoked Prime Rib
Review ingredients in your pantry before anything is added. Meal plans use your household size; grocery-only additions use the servings selected above.
The last little job
Slices with pan drippings
Remove the bones, slice the rested roast and serve immediately with its collected pan drippings.
A little more help as you go
Fruit wood smoke
Load the preheated electric smoker with cherry or apple wood before the prepared roast goes in.
Expect carryover cooking
The roast continues cooking during its foil-covered rest, so account for the stated temperature rise.
A few questions you might have
Can I use apple wood?
Yes, either cherry or apple wood is specified for the electric smoker in this recipe.
Does the roast sit directly on the smoker rack?
Put it in the disposable aluminum pan first, then place that pan in the smoker.
When should the bones come off?
Remove them after smoking and resting, just before cutting the roast into serving slices.
What should I ask the butcher for?
A three-bone prime rib roast is suggested for the approximate roast size used here.
Should the drippings be discarded?
Keep them for serving; the pan collects the buttery juices to spoon over the sliced meat.
Any more cooking tips?
Smoke your prime rib in a disposable aluminum pan. This helps to keep clean up to a minimum. The pan also collects all the buttery juices that come off the meat, which you can spoon onto your prime rib before serving. Purchase bone-in prime rib. It’s more flavorful and the bones serve as a built-in roasting rack for the meat. You’ll want to ask your butcher for a three bone prime rib roast to get around 6 pounds of meat.
Storage & reheating safety
For cooked, perishable leftovers, refrigerate within 2 hours (1 hour above 90°F), using shallow containers for prompt cooling. Keep the refrigerator at 40°F or below, use refrigerated leftovers within 3–4 days, and reheat hot leftovers to 165°F, checked with a food thermometer. Follow any shorter package limit.
These are general safety limits, not a tested storage or freezing recommendation for this particular dish. USDA leftovers guidance · Safe cooking temperatures
Recipe source: dinneratthezoo.com. Ingredient names and quantities may be adapted for the pantry.
Preparation notes follow the recipe shown here.