Prime ribs and timing

[jdbower]

My cooks usually start out well intentioned, but typically StokerLog's very useful ETA feature tells me I'd better up the temperature a bit if I want to eat at a reasonable hour. So 250 becomes 300 and 300 becomes 350 and hopefully I can manage to serve dinner before midnight. Shaws (the local grocery store) had a special on Rib Roast so I thought I'd get up early yesterday and try to finish a cook without breaching the 300 degree mark. I tried to get a jump on things by lighting the grill at 9am figuring it would be ready by 10 or so. For the first time my Grate Chef starter failed and around 10 I lit another one. This one took and before 11am I was stable at 250 with the deflector in place and ready to go. After reading a bit on the site I figured 250 was a decent starting point and I'd shoot for a 120 internal temp before I did a quick sear. A quick baste in olive oil and some Dizzy's Cow Lick and I put the cow chunk on the grill.

No smoke, just the Dizzy's and KKEC. And note the snazzy new BBQ cart. It's still a work in progress, it's half a shelving unit (the other half is in the kitchen) with some wheels on the bottom. I need to attach the wheels a little better and I hope to create a butcher block-like top for it. I needed to do it, Friday is garbage day so yesterday my other "BBQ cart" was down by the curb.

Around 11:30 I started getting concerned. StokerLog was predicting a 4pm finish and I wanted to shoot for closer to 6pm. I dropped the temperature to 225 and kept going. By the time 2pm came around (after a few more rounds of dropping the temperature) and both the meat and the Stoker were at 120F (although the cooker does take a long time to cool off) I just gave up and shut down the KK hoping to trap the moisture inside and keep it warm for when the wife came home.

After about 3 hours of cooking and 4 hours of dwelling I was at 140F internal and decided to forgo the searing. The results were surprisingly acceptable. While it wasn't the best I'd ever had it was still head and shoulders above even a good cut at Charlie Brown's (a NJ chain known for their ever decreasing quality prime rib). I'm not sure if the moderate dryness was due to it being medium done, the extended dwell, or the four days it was in the fridge when I couldn't cook it but the flavor was great and it was only dry by the high standards the KK has already set, by most standards it was still moist and tender. It was about 5 lbs and "partially boneless" - maybe that's like being "a little pregnant".

I guess the only thing to do is to cook more meat until I can pick up on the low and slow cooking times. Oh the horrors of being condemned to do so! Maybe it was the bone-down cooking that transmitted more heat to the meat.

[Firemonkey]

It looks great, Jeff. I think your extended dwell is what dried it out. Skip that 4 hour dwell in the grill and you would have had juice runnign off the counter. It wasnt the time in the fridge, many people dry age these roasts for a week or more before cooking them.

I think you would have been better off pulling it off the KK, wrapping it in foil and then searing it when it was time to eat. But since the meat was on sale, you can afford to try again next week.

[DennisLinkletter]

Re: Prime ribs and timing

I'm not sure if the moderate dryness was due to it being medium done,

On my monitor the ribs are perfectly pink and rare. It does not have the KOmodo puddle below but besides that it looks great to me.. Don't ya hate when your mistakes look and taste that good..

I'd bet ya a KOmodo that sliced thin that would be a home run as a sandwich. If it's a tad dry just use a bit more Helmans.. (Best Foods Mayo)

[jdbower]

They're not that bad, some places I've been to would call it medium rare but I like my prime rib still mooing. I was tempted to pull them off and foil them, then toss them back on again to reheat and sear but part of me wanted to see if I could make a bad cook. So far no luck. On the plus side the meat was very flavorful, even reheated tonight for dinner it was still perfectly acceptable.

I do have a meat slicer on my wishlist, it would have made a mean sandwich with a little horseradish and a touch of mayo. Now I want to go see if there's another on sale...

[Conodo12]

Jeff - I would eat that mistake all day long! I seared mine at the front of the cook then removed as the cooker came down in temp. In went the heat deflector and meat back on the main grill. Up to 135 internal and where the center of mine was more rare than your cut, the outside rim and ends were more done. Interesting how the techniques change the overall result of the cook.

I have to agree with FM - bone down was not the culprit - definitely the dwell. Usually I would say live and learn (as I am obviously still doing!) but in your case I would say live, enjoy!, and learn. Great looking cook!

Just out of curiosity for all those reading - I read that bringing the rib roast up to room temp before cooking was the single most important step towards a successful cook. Would you guys and gals that have cooked up a standing rib roast agree? I've only done one and liked the result. Just curious to find out what your experiences have been... Thanks

[Firemonkey]

Absolutely I agree. I always let any large cut of meat come to room temp before putting it on the grill.

[johnnyboy]

Absolutely I agree. I always let any large cut of meat come to room temp before putting it on the grill.

Okay so now you've peeked my interest.

Yes, I've heard this before too, but never understood why coming up to room temp outside the grill was any different than coming up to temp inside the grill.

In other words meat starts out cold, and finishes done. At some point it hits room temp before it hits done.

What am I missing? Does meet need to sit at room temp for X time? Do you use a thermometer to know when it hits room temp?

It's no kidding, I've been taught unchilled meat spoils. Aparantly there's a time factor to it. I just don't know if I want to play around with it. Is there really that much benefit, and what is it?

Thanks,

[jdbower]

Think of it this way. When you cook meat you've got a high outside temperature in the cooker (enough to boil water). Cooking is the art of allowing that outside temperature to raise the internal temperature to a certain point. The colder the inside temperature starts the more the outside is exposed to high temperatures and the outer parts tend to be much more well done than the inner parts. By letting the meat warm up outside the cooker you're not exposing it to temperatures that will actually cook it, so this warm up time is "free" and is more even than if it were in the cooker.

On the flip side, leaving meat out at room temperature does a few things. It exposes it to bacteria and insects, it causes the blood to oxidize and harden, and the cold slows down the decomposition process. Warming the meat in a sealed container fixes the first two, and the last one shouldn't be a huge issue for just a few hours. I usually only warm my "dry" large meat chunks for a short period of time, but it's still cold when it goes on the grill. However, I do tend to add some hot water to my brines before I'm ready to start to raise the temperature so my "wet" meat tends to be closer to room temp. In either case, I haven't cooked anything absolutely huge so I don't think a 5lb roast would see that much difference.

As another consideration, Pittsburgh-ians likes their "black-and-blue" steaks which are burned on the outside and tar-tar on the inside so there is something to be said for not doing this.

[Conodo12]

I found this website to be a helpful reference when researching how to select, prepare, and cut the prime rib:

http://www.barbecuebible.com/board/viewtopic.php?t=8753

I've only done one and really enjoyed the results. As per the website's suggestion, I am going to try to rotis my next prime rib!

[johnnyboy]

Thanks JD and Wayne.