Rotisserie Beef Prime Rib Roast. The king of beef roasts is fantastic cooked on the rotisserie. The spinning rotisserie bastes the roast in its own juices, giving it a gorgeous crisp browned crust. The trick to this simple recipe, other than the rotisserie, is salting a day ahead. This dry brines the roast and lets the salt season deep into the roast.
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Why Prime Rib?
And now, my preferred cut of beef. Prime rib. There will be no messing around with it. Beef with salt, pepper, time to rest, and a spin in the grill. This recipe is simple perfection.
*It's so simple that I hesitate to call it a recipe. It's almost all technique. Salt the beef early, then cook it over a rotisserie until it's medium rare. Done.
The key to this recipe is the beef. You really want a Prime rib roast, not just a regular beef roast. Yes, it will be expensive. In a recipe this simple, the quality of the ingredients (ingredient?) really stands out.
*It will work with a good rib roast. It won't be the transcendent experience that a Prime roast is, but it will work.
Prime rib is what I'm cooking for my side of the family at our Christmas dinner. It's not that my wife's side of the family doesn't like beef; they do. But us Vrobels, we LOVE our beef.
*I've been beef heavy on the blog recently. We'll have a more balanced diet in the new year. But for right now, it's Christmas! It's time to celebrate! This is one of the meals that I will pass up Christmas cookies for, just to make sure I have extra room. Yes, it's that good.
What to serve with Prime Rib
I love horseradish with my prime rib, so I always make a batch of my Quick Horseradish Sauce. I'll also make mashed potatoes, or toss some potatoes in the pan under the beef and make Rotisserie Pan Potatoes. For something green, I like to go with green beans or asparagus. Oh, and of course, wine. I like a good Californian Cabernet Sauvignon with this big beef roast. (A French Bordeaux from St. Emillion or Lalande de Pomerol are also good. Or Italian super Tuscan wine are also good.)
Equipment
- Grill with Rotisserie attachment (I use a Weber Summit with an infrared rotisserie burner. Here is the current version of my grill.)
- Aluminum foil drip pan (9“x13”, or whatever fits your grill. I use an enameled steel roasting pan.)
- Butchers twine
- Instant Read Thermometer
Substitutions and Variations
- Herb Crust: See my Rotisserie Rib Roast with a Herb Crust recipe
- Smoking wood: Add one fist sized sized piece of smoking wood to the coals when you put the roast on the grill. I would use oak, preferably a Wine Barrel Stave
, but hickory would be acceptable.
- Butter basted: Use the butter baste from my Rotisserie Beef Tenderloin. There is a lot of fat in a prime rib roast, so this borders on overkill. If you're into overkill, go for it.
Tips and Tricks
- As I said in the opening, the key to this recipe is the Prime beef. The better the beef, the better the outcome. My top choices would be Prime, then Certified Angus, then...well, at that point, have you considered a Christmas ham?
- A Rib roast is very thick; even with the pre-salting, the center of the roast is basically unseasoned. You should pass some salt at the table for your guests to sprinkle on the sliced pieces of roast. Use Kosher salt, or a flaky sea salt, like Maldon or Fleur De Sel de Camargue.
- I cut the ribs off of the roast and serve them on the side, for people who like to eat with their hands. (Like me.) If no one is looking, I eat one of the ribs after I'm done carving. Or while I'm carving, if I'm hungry enough.
- I Frenched the bones on the roast in the pictures - I cut the meat and fat between the bones away, so they poke out. It makes the roast look pretty, but you get less meat on the bones.
I wrote a cookbook!
Rotisserie Grilling Cookbook
New to your rotisserie and need help with the basics? Love your rotisserie and looking for new ideas? Grab a copy of Rotisserie Grilling! You'll get 50 of my favorite rotisserie recipes and expert tips on how to set up and use your rotisserie.
Rotisserie Beef Prime Rib Roast Recipe
- Total Time: 4 hours
- Yield: 8-12 1x
Description
Rotisserie Beef Prime Rib Roast. The king of beef roasts is fantastic cooked on the rotisserie.
Ingredients
- 1 Bone in Prime rib roast - (A 2 bone, 4 pound roast serves 4-6; a 5 bone, 10 pound roast serves 8-12)
- 1 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt per pound of roast (4 teaspoons for a 4 pound roast)
- ½ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper per pound of roast (2 teaspoons for a 4 pound roast)
Instructions
- Pre-salt the beef: Two hours before cooking, trim any excess fat off the outside of the rib roast, then sprinkle evenly with the kosher salt. Let the salted roast rest at room temperature for two hours. (You can salt the roast up to 24 hours in advance; if you do, wrap the roast tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate until two hours before cooking. Remove from the refrigerator, take off the plastic wrap, and let it rest at room temperature for the last two hours.)
- Prepare the grill: Prepare your rotisserie for cooking. Set it up for indirect high heat (450°F+) for a 4-6 pound roast, or medium-high heat (400°F) for a 6+ pound roast. For my Weber kettle, I light a chimney starter full of charcoal for high, or ¾ full for medium-high. Once the charcoal is covered in ash, I pour it in two equal piles on the sides of the grill, and put the drip pan in the middle, between the piles. On my Weber Summit, I turn burners 1 and 6 to high, and set the infrared rotisserie burner to high, preheat the grill for 10 minutes, then adjust the burners to get my target temperature.
- Truss and Skewer the Roast: While the grill is heating, truss the roast between each bone with the butcher's twine, skewer the roast on your rotisserie spit, and secure to the spit with the spit forks.
- Cook the Roast: Put the spit on the rotisserie, start the motor spinning, and cook with the lid closed. (On a charcoal grill, add 16 coals (8 to each pile) after each hour of cooking to keep the heat going; on a gas grill with an infrared rotisserie burner, turn off the infrared burner after the roast is browning well, about 30 minutes.) The roast is done when it reaches 120°F in the thickest part for medium-rare (115°F for rare, 125°F for medium. Beyond that, you're on your own.) The cooking time is determined by the thinnest part of the roast. Assume about 15 minutes a pound of cooking time up to eight pounds. (After that, the width of the roast becomes more important than the weight and the cooking time levels off.) A four pound roast is done in about an hour; start checking the temperature after 45 minutes. An eight pound or larger roast will be done in about 2 hours; start checking the temperature at an hour and a half. Check the temperature every 10-15 minutes, depending on how close you're getting to done.
- Rest, then Carve the Roast: Remove the spit from the grill, remove the roast from the spit, and remove the trussing twine from the roast. Cover the roast with foil, and let rest for at least 15 minutes before carving. Carve the bones off of the roast, then carve the roast into ½ thick slices. Pour any juices on the carving board back over the roast, and serve.
Equipment
Buy Now → - Prep Time: 2 hours
- Cook Time: 2 hours
- Category: Rotisserie
- Cuisine: American
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What do you think?
Questions? Other ideas? Leave them in the comments section below.
Related Posts
Rotisserie Rib Roast, Reverse Seared
Rotisserie Ribeye Roast with a Herb Crust
Rotisserie Beef Tenderloin, Herb Butter Basted
Rotisserie Pan Potatoes
Click here for my other rotisserie recipes.
Inspired by:
Steven Raichlen's: Primal Grill: One Good Turn. [primalgrill.org]
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Terry Goodman says
Sure am glad you said check it in an hour!! It was done to perfection. Hate to think what would have happened if we cooked it 2. 7+ lb. prime rib roast. Removed the ribs so it would fit. Delicious!
Vincent says
I would like to spit two comparably sized prime rib roasts together (5 lb and 6 lb) and use your recipe to serve 10 people. Would you fork them tightly together or space them, and how does that impact cook time? My concern with spacing them is winding up with more well done meat on both roasts. If I squeeze them together, will they cook as if it was one larger roast? Thank you.
Mike Vrobel says
You can squeeze them together to cook like one roast, and the cooking time will increase like it was one big roast.
Jason V says
I use this recipe every year at Christmas - thank you for sharing it!
Mike Vrobel says
👍
Terry J. Ball says
I have a grill but no rotisserie. I roast my prime rib in a Ronco Showtime Rotisserie. Roasts are the only thing I cook in the Ronco. It does a terrible job on anything else. I pack it in salt with a little pepper and onion powder overnight in the fridge, remove it 2 hours before cooking time. I shake off the excess salt, tie it up, get it on the spit. Slide the whole thing into the Rotisserie and turn it on. And then I literally forget it. About 14 min per pound later, I begin monitoring the internal temperature. When it reaches 125 I pull it, and lightly cover with foil for about half an hour. The temp comes up another 5-10 degrees while settling which brings it to a perfect 130 - 135 degrees for medium rare.
This never fails. When carved, the roast has about a 1/2 inch crust and a pink center.
As the Ronco burns off most of the drippings, for Yorkshire Pudding, I use beef fat I get from my butcher. Prepared in advance and stored in the fridge at least overnight, The rendered fat separates into two layers. The bottom layer is the gold. You only need about 1/4 cup of the "gold" for a 12 hole cup cake pan to make 12 Yorkshire Puddings. Pre-heat the empty cupcake pan in a 450 oven, pour about 1 tsp of the re-heated beef "gold" into each well, and pop it back into the oven until it starts to smoke. Remove and fill each cup cake hole about 1/2 up with your batter. Cook for 30-35 minutes. And serve immediately.
Christopher V says
This recipe is amazing. I have made it 3 times since purchasing my Napoleon P500 RSIB grill in May. I made it again last night for a family Christmas dinner. The 11lb beats turned out amazing. Cooked it to a perfect medium. Looking forward to leftovers!
Tim says
Mike V is awesome! I can't tell you how many times I have 'appropriated' recipes and techniques from this website. I have been spinning meat for many years on my Weber Kettle ever since I have discovered this treasure-trove of recipes and have impressed many a 'foodie' with the results. Thanks Mike and keep up the great work!!!
Chuck Avery says
Mike, I have one for you. I've been grilling since I was 8, now I'm 71. I've used a rotisserie for the last 30 years. The closest thing I can describe as dying and going straight to heaven is a delicious square of Yorkshire Pudding with my prime rib. I've made it before, but the problem is that it's kind of like a chemistry experiment because the way it originated was to turn a quarter of a steer on a spit in the back of the tavern over drip pans. Once there was a quarter of an inch of drippings, some wench poured the batter in the pans allowing it to bubble and rise as more drippings landed on top. The roasts we do today don't usually produce enough drippings. Will a 4 rib roast on the rotisserie produce enough drippings to pull this off? On a reduced scale of course, 11x14 drip pan. The finished product is bubbly bread that tastes like that crispy rind on the outside of the prime rib. If you think cut red potatoes finished in the drip pan are great, you haven't tried anything yet.
Mike Vrobel says
No, unfortunately, I don't think this will give you anywhere near enough drippings. There's usually a thin film of fat - maybe an eighth of an inch at most - in the drip pan.
Gladstone Payton Jr says
Hi Mike! I have your book and love how it's totally changed my primary usage for my grills. Question, if I wanted to do this for 14 people, how big a roast? I've done 7 lbs boneless in the oven and around 10 pounds, but would like your advice. Thanks! I'll be making this for
Mike Vrobel says
I would get a 6-bone or 7-bone roast, depending on how big of carnivores they are. 7 bones is the whole rib roast, and is as big as they get.
Ted says
Can you post the recipe for the rotisserie potatoes? They should great, but couldn’t locate via your link.
Mike Vrobel says
Fixed the link - try it now.
Dusty E. says
Not sure you're my hero but the rib roast was fantastic. I have a big Gas BBQ with a side smoker for the chips. I first smoked it with the low heat from the smoker only to bake in the smoke flavor. After about an hour, I turned on the rotisserie heating element and finished it off. The added time smoking made it for me, but hey, maybe it's just me.
In any case, glad I found your site.
Rick says
You are my hero
Mike V says
Aw, shucks...