Christmas is here; time for the roast beast!
I'm trying something new with my Christmas roast - boneless Ribeye.
My favorite part of a beef roast is the bones. Unfortunately, my guests won't gnaw on rib bones at the Christmas table. This is awkward; I'm not letting something minor (like table manners) get between me and ribs. I'm hunched over my plate, elbows on the table, ripping hunks of meat from the bone…and they're looking at me like I'm Henry VIII reincarnated.2
I figured I'd try a boneless ribeye roast, to see if I could improve my manners and still get my favorite cut of beef. Ribeye roast is a prime rib with the bones cut off. I love the big, meaty flavor of ribeye, and I was curious how it would turn out without the bones.
The boneless ribeye has some advantages over the bone-in prime rib. The best part of a rotisserie roast is the perfect browned crust. With a bone-in roast, that crust only goes halfway around; cutting the bones off takes the crust with them. A boneless roast is ringed with a perfect crust. Carving is the second advantage; no bones to worry about, just slice and serve.
Now, don't get me wrong. I'm not giving up on rotisserie prime rib. There is something primeval about a roast with bones sticking out of it. It speaks to me. But boneless ribeye is another a good cut of meat for the rotisserie.
Recipe: Rotisserie Boneless Ribeye Roast with Garlic Crust
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 Boneless Ribeye Roast with Garlic Crust
- Total Time: 3 hours
- Yield: 6-8 1x
Description
Rotisserie Ribeye - my favorite boneless cut of beef - with a garlic crust
Ingredients
- 3 ½ pound Boneless Beef Rib Roast (4 inches wide)
- 1 tablespoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt or 2 teaspoons Mortons kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
- 6 cloves garlic, minced
Blue Cheese and Caper Sauce
- ½ cup sour cream
- ¼ cup crumbled blue cheese
- 1 tablespoon capers, drained and minced
Instructions
- Season the roast, prepare the sauce: Two hours before cooking, season the roast with the salt and pepper, then rub with the garlic. Work the garlic into the roast as deep as possible, using the natural seams in the meat and around the fat. Let the roast rest at room temperature until it is time to cook. Whisk the blue cheese and caper sauce ingredients in a small bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until it is time to serve.
- Prepare the grill: Set the grill up for rotisserie cooking at high heat. For my Weber Summit, this means removing the grates, turning the two outer burners (burners 1 and 6) to high, and turning the infrared burner to high. Then I put my drip pan in the middle, over the unlit burners, and let the grill preheat for ten to fifteen minutes.
- Spit the roast: While the grill is pre-heating, truss and spit the roast. Truss the roast into a tight cylinder with butcher's twine, tying it about every inch and a half. (My roast was 4 inches wide; I trussed it ½ inch from each end, then added a single truss in the middle.)
- Cook the roast: Put the spit on the rotisserie and start it spinning. Cook with the lid closed until the roast reaches an internal temperature of 120* F to 125* F for medium rare, about an hour.
- (Cook to 115* F for rare, 130* F to 135* F for medium. If you want to go higher than that, don't tell me; I don't want to know.)
- Rest, carve and serve: Remove the spit from the grill. Be careful - the spit is hot. Remove the roast from the spit, transfer to a platter, remove the twine, and cover with foil. Let the roast rest for 15 to 30 minutes before carving into ½" thick slices. Serve with the blue cheese and caper sauce on the side.
- Prep Time: 2 hours
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Category: Rotisserie
- Cuisine: American
Notes:
*Use an instant read thermometer to tell if the roast is done. Otherwise, you'll have to cook it for an hour and hope for the best.
*Normally, I make horseradish sauce with rotisserie beef. I was out of prepared horseradish, so I whipped up this blue cheese and caper sauce. And, you know, it's as good as horseradish sauce on beef…and even better spread on baked potatoes.
*Cooking time depends on the width of the roast more than the weight. A larger ribeye roast is longer, not thicker. In other words, a bigger roast will only take a little longer to cook. I would guess an extra 15 to 30 minutes at most, but check it a little before the hour mark just to make sure it's not cooking too quickly, and every 15 minutes after that.
What do you think? Questions? Other ideas? Leave them in the comments section below.
Related Posts:
Rotisserie Prime Rib
Rotisserie Beef Tenderloin with Shallot Herb Butter and Horseradish Sauce
Rotisserie Strip Loin Roast
Click here for my other rotisserie recipes.
 Check out my cookbook, Rotisserie Grilling. |
Everything you could ask about the rotisserie,
plus 50 (mostly) new recipes to get you cooking.
It's a Kindle e-book, so you can download it and start reading immediately!
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Curious George says
Do you also suggest the dry brine method for the Ribeye roast? I'm about to try my first rotisserie experience on my grill, and this is the meat I'll be using.
Mike V says
Yes - salt it the night before if you can.
Seth says
Do you recommend cooking it all on high heat or starting on low and reverse searing like in your other recipes?
Mike V says
Either way works; for rotisserie I usually go high heat the whole time.
WeekdayDinnerMom says
Sounds phenomenal! Definitely making this during the week. I will link you on my blog once I post! Thanks for the recipe!
MikeV @ DadCooksDinner says
@MinstrelOfFunk:
You're welcome - I love to help out with Christmas dinner!
MinstrelOfFunk says
I made the Rotisserie rib eye for Christmas, it was out of this world. Thanks so much for all the great recipes.
MikeV @ DadCooksDinner says
@Anonymous:
Check out that recipe I posted above (or see my "Rotisserie Recipes" section at the top of the page for a bunch of other rotisserie chicken recipes.)
Tips? Oh, I have tips. Check out my Rotisserie Poultry basics:
Basic Technique: How To Rotisserie Poultry
And, my video on trussing poultry. Yes, it's a video of a turkey, but a chicken works the same way; it's just smaller.
Video: How to Truss and Spit a Turkey for the Rotisserie
Anonymous says
Thanks! I plan on getting up early to get the necessary provisions so I can give the dry brine at least 7 hours.
Been waiting to pick up a rotisserie for a while so I'm pretty excited for this. Any other tips?
Thanks a bunch!
MikeV @ DadCooksDinner says
@anonymous:
Rotisserie chicken is great, even without taking the time to brine. Just season the chicken all over with salt and pepper, truss it, and put it on the grill. A wood chunk,soaked for an hour and tossed on the coals will also add flavor.
That said, if you can dry brine for at least a couple of hours, it does make a difference.
Here is my most basic dry brine, barely a step up from salt and pepper:
https://www.dadcooksdinner.com/2010/06/rotisserie-chicken-dry-brined.html
Good luck, and let me know how it goes.
Anonymous says
Just received a rotisserie for my kettle grill from the in-laws. With global warming taking over making tomorrows anticipated temp here in minnesota at 50, I'm anxious to fire it up.
Being a newbie to rotisserie cooking I want to start off easy but don't have the time (well, patience really) to brine a chicken like I normally do.
Do you suggest going with the chicken sans brine or going with something else?
Thanks, looking forward to visiting here often!
MikeV @ DadCooksDinner says
@Anonymous:
Thank you!
Anonymous says
Mike,
Well I have been looking at rotisserie ideas for my 11#er $85 at Sam's and I am going with yours.It sounds great I will post how it came out on Monday.
Thanks
MikeV @ DadCooksDinner says
@Justin:
Thanks! I pulled it at 127*F - a little higher than I meant to. But it still came out great.
Anonymous says
Mike, that looks wicked good. Very nicely done. At what temperature did you pull the roast in the picture? Thanks, Justin
MikeV @ DadCooksDinner says
@Steve:
You're welcome. Good luck, and merry Christmas!
Steve says
Mike, I came across your blog a couple days ago while looking for a recipe for Picanha and my mouth has been watering ever since. It's been "I have to try this...I have to try that" as I've read through it. Just as I was all set to try your Herb Crusted Rib Roast for Christmas dinner you come along with this. Looks like I'll just have to give this one a whirl instead. Fortunately for me my favorite meat market has both the bone-in and boneless Black Angus Prime Rib Roasts on sale. I don't have to worry about running out in the snow to check it though as I'm in South Florida and it's 80 deg. outside. I'll let you know how it turns out and thanks for the ideas!!....Steve