How to Smoke a Prime Rib on a Pit Boss Pellet Grill

Learn step by step how to make a smoked prime rib on a Pit Boss pellet grill and why this is such an easy way to prepare this ultimate rib roast.

Let’s go!

 

How Big a Prime Rib Roast Should I Buy to Smoke on my Pit Boss?

Prime rib roast generally come with the bones removed, but then tied back on by the butcher for presentation and to hold them against the meat while cooking.

You will see some prime rib roasts with 3-4 bones and others with as many as 6.

Usually the roast will be about 2 lbs in weight per bone.

Consider buying 1 lb of prime rib roast per person to be safe. So that’s roughly 1 bone per 2 people when looking at them broadly.

Most prime rib roasts can be found anywhere from 4-8 lbs.

At first, a pound per person may sound like a lot.

But remember, some water weight will be lost during the cook and you also have to factor in the weight of any bones and fat that doesn’t get eaten.

So it really ends up being about an 8-10 oz portion per person once the prime rib is done cooking on the Pit Boss.

 

How to Prepare a Prime Rib Roast for the Pit Boss Pellet Grill

Let’s start with the #1 tip right off the bat:

Don’t remove the strings before cooking!

 

These strings are holding the bones in place and you want to keep everything held together nice and neatly while the prime rib is cooking on the Pit Boss.

You shouldn’t have to trim too much fat or do anything else to your prime rib.

This is a Top O’ the Line cut of beef you paid for and your butcher should have trimmed it up, removed the bones, then tied them back in place like a beautiful meaty holiday present.

Did we mention not to cut the strings? 🙂

 

The Best Seasonings for Smoking Prime Rib on a Pit Boss

When it comes to an expensive cut of meat like a prime rib, or ribeye roast, you want to keep the seasonings simple and let the meat shine through.

Save the flashy sugary and spicy BBQ rubs for your brisket, ribs and pork butts.

For our recipe below, we simply mix kosher salt, black pepper, fresh minced garlic, rosemary, paprika, onion powder and a dash of cayenne.

 

Ideally use a HIGH smoke point oil to help the rub adhere to the meat such as avocado or grapeseed oil, especially if you plan to reverse sear at the end of the cook as we go into detail on below.

If you want to just buy a quality beef rub for your prime rib, we are big fans of Bad Byron’s Butt Rub Seasoning on smoked beef because it is heavy on flavor, and has no sugar.

We’ve used it countless times right here on Beef Brisket, Beef Tenderloin, and all sorts of steaks.

It also works great anytime you are reverse searing of cooking something “Hot and Fast,”  and you don’t want a sugary rub to burn at those higher smoking temperatures.

We apply a thin layer of the high smoke point cooking oil, then a generous amount of the rub.

After that, we like to wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate it for at least 2 hours, preferably overnight.

This gives the salt loads of time to penetrate the prime rib and really flavor it all the way through before you put it on the Pit Boss.

 

The Best Wood Pellets for Smoking a Prime Rib Roast on a Pit Boss Pellet Grill

You have a lot of freedom when it comes to choosing the right wood pellets to smoke your Pit Boss prime rib.

However, mesquite and hickory will give a very aggressive smoke flavor and, unless you have a LOT of experience smoking with them, should probably be avoided on a nice cut of beef like this.

Alternatively, you can also go for a milder smoke flavor that will not overpower the prime rib by choosing oak or fruitwood pellets.

Pecan, apple, beech, alder, and cherry all give great results on smoked prime rib.

Don’t forget you can mix them up too to create your own custom blend.

That’s one of the great things about a Pit Boss pellet grill!

For a straightforward smoke right out of the bag, we are big fans of Bear Mountain Red and White Smoky Oak Pellets

For the best results, store your unused pellets in a sealed room temperature container like this 20 lb pellet container rather than in the Pit Boss hopper outside.

Pellets do not last forever, but will definitely last a LOT longer if stored indoors in a quality airtight container.

 

How a Pit Boss Pellet Grill Works

We have previously covered how to season a Pit Boss, how to start a Pit Boss, as well as how to troubleshoot the smoke level of your Pit Boss.

So if you need a more in-depth review on how to use your Pit Boss for the first time, check those articles out first!

But below is a brief overview of how a Pit Boss pellet grill works and how to start it up properly to prepare to smoke your food.

In order to cook ANYTHING well on a Pit Boss pellet grill, you need to first have a basic understanding of how a pellet grill works.

***Completely New to Using a Pellet Grill?  No Worries!****

Hop over and check out this Complete Guide to Understanding How a Pellet Grill Works  if you are interested in learning more in depth.  We’ll be here when you get back!***

 

Add your Hardwood Pellets

First, you add hardwood pellets into the side hopper.

The Pit Boss pellet grill automatically feeds these small wood pellets via an auger mechanism to a fire pot where they are burned up, providing both heat and smokey flavor.

The pellet grill automatically controls the flow of pellets depending on your temperature setting so that you maintain an even temperature throughout the entire cook.

 

How to Start up the Pit Boss Pellet Grill

1. Fill your hopper with pellets as described above.
2. Make sure the fire pot is cleaned out from the last cook and not full of ashes. You can remove it from the bottom and dump or vacuum it out and then put back and clip into place.
3. Plug in and start up the pellet grill, keeping the lid open.  Set the temperature dial to “Smoke” and press the “Power” button.
4. If there are no pellets in the auger or firepot yet, only in the hopper, you need to now hold the “Prime” button until you hear pellets begin to drop into the firepot.
5. The “Prime” feature on a Pit Boss pellet grill speeds up the auger so that pellets fill it quickly and get to your fire pot before the pellet grill “times out” from a lack of pellets coming into the fire pot.
6. Once pellets are in the firepot, stop holding the “Prime” button and wait about 5-7 minutes with the lid open for a torchy burner lighting sound. This means the fire rod has come up to temperature and has ignited the pellets.  At this point, a more significant amount of smoke will begin coming out of the pellet grill.  This means the pellets are ignited and the pellet grill is working.  Now you can close the lid.
7. Close the lid and change the temperature setting to 350°F.  Pit Boss recommends always preheating to this temperature FIRST, even if you are eventually going to cook low and slow in the 200°-300° range.
8. This will take about 10-15 minutes to preheat the grill.
9. Using a good bristle free grill brush, clean off the grill grates.
10. Now adjust the temperature to where you need it to cook your food.  In our case, drop the temperature to 250°F for the smoked prime rib.

 

Why Bristle Free Grill Brushes? 

Check out our Ultimate Guide to How to Keep your Family Safe by using ONLY Bristle Free Grill Brushes, along with a selection of some of our favorites!

 

 

 

How to Smoke a Prime Rib Roast on a Pit Boss Pellet Grill

Now that the prime rib has been seasoned and the salt has permeated the meat in the refrigerator for at least a few hours, all that’s left to do is cook it!

With a Pit Boss, this is the easy part!

Like we described above, just add your chosen pellets to the hopper, plug in and start the Pit Boss pellet grill up.

Let the Pit Boss go through its start up process and once it has come up to temperature and stopped producing the thick white “start- up” smoke, put the prime rib either directly on the grill grates, or in an aluminum foil pan to help catch the juices and keep it contained.

 

What Temperature do you Smoke a Prime Rib Roast on a Pit Boss Pellet Grill?

We recommend initially setting up the smoker to cook at 250°F.

Remember, we are dealing with a LARGE piece of beef here and if we go TOO high, the outside will over cook and dry out before the inside comes up to our ideal medium-rare temperature.

250° F seems to be the sweet spot where its low enough that the outside doesn’t overcook but also high enough that the prime rib roast doesn’t cook for so long that it dries out.

If you really want to push the cook time, set it for 275°F, but definitely no higher than 300°F.

 

Watch the Internal Temperature Closely

You HAVE to use a good instant read meat thermometer to know where the internal temperature is of your smoked prime rib while its cooking on the Pit Boss.

Ideally you want a good leave in probe thermometer like the Thermopro as well as a second instant read to spot check different depths and areas on the roast.

While we have used and recommended ThermoPro for years, lately we have also become big fans of the MEATER leave in thermometer.

It is extremely accurate and has an incredible 165 foot bluetooth range and works right with your smartphone so you don’t need to carry a separate controller around with you like many other remote thermometers require.

It’s got a great free app that is constantly being updated and even has an algorithm to predict how much longer your type of meat will take to cook based on cooking temperature, target temperature, and current internal temperature.

It’s like a GPS for your meat!

Anyways, back to our smoked prime rib roast…

We are going to slowly bring the internal temperature up to about 110°F, then crank the heat as hot as we can to reverse sear the prime rib until the internal temperature hits about 120°F and then remove it from the Pit Boss.

Perfect medium rare in the center means an internal temperature of about 130-135°F, and a good rule of thumb is to pull big roasts like this when they are 10°F shy of your target temperature.

You can’t do all this without accurate thermometers.  There is very little room for error when smoking a prime rib roast.

We are particular fans of this one from ThermoPro because of its durability and affordable price.

Everyone from beginner smokers to competition cooks need to use instant thermometers to consistently make great food.

So keep it handy and use it often.

 

How Long Does it Take to Smoke a Prime Rib on a Pit Boss?

A general guide is that it will take about 15-20 minutes per pound to smoke a prime rib roast at 250°F up to 110°F.

So plan on a 6 lb prime rib roast to take about 90-120 minutes to initially smoke during the “Low” portion of the cook.

Then we will crank the heat for another 15-20 minutes depending how long it takes to raise the internal temperature the rest of the way up to 120-125°F.

Then you will need to let the meat rest for 45-60 minutes after cooking it before carving.

No joke.

Unless you want those delicious juices running all over your cutting board instead of staying in the meat where you want them, you need to set aside time for the meat to rest, and a large piece of beef like a prime rib roast needs extra time.

 

Reverse Searing a Smoked Prime Rib Roast on a Pit Boss

 

What is “Reverse Searing”?

“Reverse Searing” is just a fancy term for searing your meat at the very end, once it is pretty much all the way cooked through, in order to get a nice crispy exterior crust that you sometimes just can’t get from low and slow smoking alone.

The great thing about most Pit Boss models is their DIRECT HEAT option.  Most newer models come standard with a SearZone option allowing you a direct heat plate option much like the popular Grill Grate.

If you have an older model Pit Boss, then check out the Grill Grate Sear Station as another way to get the same results on your older model without direct heat.

Make sure to measure for the right size for your Pit Boss.

 

How to Reverse Sear your Prime Rib on a Pit Boss

If you wish to reverse sear the meat, you will want to smoke it at 250°F only until it reaches an internal temperature of about 110°F.  At this point it will still be very, very rare in the center.

When you are ready for the searing stage, move your prime rib roast over the direct heat, using good sturdy BBQ tongs and good grill gloves, sear on each side for about 1 minute until the internal temperature reaches 120°F and/or the outside has become nice and sizzly and crispy.

Alternatively, if you don’t have a direct heat zone on your Pit boss or don’t want to mess with moving your roast around too much to sear on each side, then just crank the temperature to 500°F and let the exterior start to sizzle!

 

We are going to crank the temperature of our Pit Boss up as high as it will go right at the very end of cooking, and only for a few minutes, in order to get a nice, golden brown crust on the outside of our smoked prime rib roast without overcooking the inside.

You need to watch your prime rib roast VERY closely at this point as it may only need maybe 4-6 minutes total once the Pit Boss comes fully up to the new high temperature.

Watch for the exterior fat to begin to sizzle and crisp up, watch for the color to turn from grayish to medium-dark brown, and whatever you do, do no leave it unattended to burn or over cook!

Use your instant meat thermometer to make sure the internal temperature has reached 120-125°F and no further!

Remember, it will continue to rise another 10°F as it rests after you remove it.

 

How to Carve and Serve a Pit Boss Smoked Prime Rib Roast

You will then remove the smoked prime rib roast from the hot Pit Boss and let it rest.

DO NOT wrap it or cover it with foil or it will overcook from its own contained residual heat.

Let the smoked prime rib roast rest for 30-45 minutes before carving.

 

Cut the Ties and Remove the Bones

Once the smoked prime rib has rested you will want to cut the ties an remove them from the roast.

 

The roast should separate easily from the slab of bones where the butcher cut them apart.

Set the rib bones aside but do not discard them!

These are delicious and can be sliced and eaten like a rack of ribs or you can use the meat for other purposes.

Place the rest of the main prime rib roast on the cutting board.

 

Carving the Smoked Prime Rib Roast

Although we mostly slow smoked the prime rib for ideal even cooking, the portions closer to the outside will still be more done than the very center.

This is nice because as you slice you can give the more done pieces on the ends to those that prefer them.

Then give the more medium rare slices from the center to those that prefer their meat less done.

Use a good meat slicing knife and cut the prime rib roast into nice thick slices based on how many guests you are serving.

We particularly like this meat slicing knife from Mairico.

 

Want to review our 5 FAVORITE Meat Cutting knives of the past year? Check out this Complete List HERE!

The outside slices will be more done than the very center if you have guests who prefer various levels of doneness.

 

What Other Foods Can I Smoke on my Pit Boss?

Looking for some more inspiration for things to smoke on that fancy Pit Boss?

Check out some of our favorite recipes below that can easily be modified to be done on any grill or smoker.

More Beef

• Traeger Prime Rib
• Pit Boss Beef Brisket
• Perfect Smoked London Broil
• Smoked Ribeye Roast
• Hot and Fast Pellet Grill Beef Brisket
• Smoked Corned Beef
• Smoked Ribeye Steaks
• Smoked Filet Mignon
• Pellet Grilled Steak
• Perfect Grilled Hamburgers
• Smoked Eye of Round Roast Beef
• Easy Smoked Flank Steak
• Traeger Beef Tenderloin with Horseradish Cream
• Pit Boss Smoked Beef Tenderloin
• Smoked Chuck Roast for Pulled Beef

 

Seafood

• Honey Smoked Salmon
• Smoked Oysters in a Garlic White Wine Sauce
• Smoked Scallops with Lemon Butter Sauce
• Smoked Lobster Tails
• Honey Smoked Tilapia
• Perfect Smoked Halibut
• Smoked Mahi Mahi Fillets
• Smoked Swordfish Steaks
• Smoked Crab Legs with Cajun Clarified Butter
• Smoked Mackerel with Maple Balsamic Glaze
• Smoked Catfish with Cajun BBQ Rub

 

Poultry

• Spatchcocked Chicken on a Pellet Grill
• Pellet Grill Smoked Turkey Breast
• Pellet Grill Turkey
• Spatchcock Smoked Turkey on a Pellet Grill
• Easy Smoked Turkey Legs
• Smoked Chicken Leg Quarters
• Beer Can Chicken on a Pellet Grill
• Trash Can Turkey – OK, technically not made on a grill or smoker but one of the most fun ways there is to cook a Turkey…at over 700 degrees in only 2 hours! 

 

Pork

• Traeger Baby Back Ribs
• Pellet Grill Smoked Pork Chops
• Smoked Fresh Holiday Ham
• Spiral Sliced Smoked Hot Dogs
• Smoked Bratwurst with Beer Braised Onions
• Gas Grilled Bratwurst
• Pellet Grilled Bratwurst
• Roasted Pig in Your Backyard
• Traeger Smoked Pulled Pork
• Traeger 3-2-1 Pork Ribs
• Masterbuilt Electric Smoker Boston Butt
• Pit Boss Pulled Pork
• Masterbuilt Baby Back Ribs

 

Lamb

• Smoked Leg of Lamb with Guinness Marinade
• Smoked Lamb Chops with a Balsamic Butter Sauce
• Smoked Rack of Lamb with Garlic and Rosemary or Smoker
• Smoked and Pulled Lamb Shoulder with a Turkish Spice Rub
• Smoked Lamb Shanks

 

Other Odds and Ends

• Smoked Gouda Cheese
• Smoked Asparagus
• Smoked Cauliflower
• Sticky Smoked Sweet Potatoes
• How to Steam Tamales
• Maple Bourbon Smoked Pineapple