Rotisserie Beef Prime Rib Roast

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.

Video

Recipe: Rotisserie Beef Prime Rib Roast

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

Rotisserie Beef Prime Rib Roast

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★★★★★

5 from 2 reviews

• Author: Mike Vrobel
• Total Time: 4 hours
• Yield: 8-12 1x

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Description

Rotisserie Prime Rib Roast - crisp crust, beautiful medium-rare interior

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Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 1 Bone in Prime rib roast - (A 2 bone, 4 pounds 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)

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Instructions

1. 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.)
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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.

Notes

Here's the video of this recipe on a gas grill: How To Rotisserie a Rib Roast

• Prep Time: 2 hours
• Cook Time: 2 hours
• Category: Rotisserie
• Cuisine: American

Serve with:

• Horseradish sauce is excellent with Prime Rib; see my Rotisserie Beef Tenderloin for the recipe.

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.

Notes

• 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, at least.  A good, coarse sea salt, like Fleur De Sel de Camargue is perfect.
• 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 plan on serving this with horseradish sauce, green beans, and rotisserie pan potatoes.  Oh, and a good Californian Cabernet Sauvignon.  (Though a St. Emillion or Lalande de Pomerol are also good.)

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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