Prime rib roast help

[KyNola]

Ok guys, need your help.  I have a 5.25 pound prime rib roast rubbed down with a rub.  The ingredients are garlic powder, onion powder, ground black pepper, celery seed, worcerstershire powder and paprika.  Put it in a grinder and bring it together.  I have no idea the amount of the ingredients.  My real question is this.  I want to put some smoke on it Wednesday morning and then for Thanksgiving, put it on the grill for the cooking.  I don't have a cold smoke set up so how long just letting the puck burner go can I smoke the roast without really starting the cooking process?  I'm thinking apple or hickory smoke so give me your advice.  My first reaction is absolutely no more than two hours.

Leaving Thanksgiving night for New Orleans for a week of R&R so I need this meal to be really good as all leftovers are going home with the in-laws.

Thanks for your expert advice as usual.  Someday I'll be experienced enough to give someone some advice.  Happy holidays everyone!

KyNola :)     

[SKSmoker]

How cold is it outside? The puck burner in my DBS will get the temp well over 120F by itself in about 1 hour on a nice day. People have talked about putting ice in their smoker to keep it cool. I personally would use hickory or cherry on beef.

[Habanero Smoker]

As SKS states the temperature will get to at least 120°F, so put ice in the smoker. On a sunny day with direct sunlight and light load, my cabinet has reached 185°F with direct sunlight with just the generator on. So it would be best to smoke during the cooler hours such as early morning or late evening. Take the meat directly from the refrigerator and place it in the smoker. If you keep it under 110°F, you shouldn't see any change in the meat texture, except for it being dryer and color due to the smoke. Even if it is partially cooked, that will be alright. Keep the vent wide open, and if the temperature starts to rise too much, just open the door, or ajar the door to loose heat. It may seem that you are loosing a lot of smoke, but I found that it does not lessen the smoke flavor of the final product. Don't forget you will still need to preheat the generator for at least 20 minutes, so when the first bisquettes hits the plate it will start smoking immediately.

I've never done a rib roast, that is still on my list of things to do. I use oak for beef. My personal feeling is that with whole muscle meat that has been handled properly prior to smoking you can extend the cold smoke time beyond 2 hours. Smoke is an antimicrobial, and if you have a salt in your rub you should be able to keep it safely in the smoker for 4 hours of smoke.

[KyNola]

Thanks for all the good advice.  I think I will wait until Wednesday evening to put the smoke on it.  The outside air temp will be in the 40's.  You guys are the best.

Have a great holiday.

KyNola

[Consiglieri]

Another possibility is to wrap a few pucks in a foil packet, punch a few fork holes in it and place the pack in your grill.  Far easier than a cold smoke set up, followed by the grilling time.  Just my $0.02.

Or you can just do it all on the same day.  A couple hours of hot smoke followed by a high heat finish on the  grill. I did one this way about a year ago.  I wouldn't FTC the roast though.  Here's the link to that project:


http://forum.bradleysmoker.com/index.php?topic=4454.0

[West Coast Kansan]

Habs is right on... keep your meat cold in the fridge. warm the puck burner with the door open. You dont need it closed until you load your meat and the ice.

Some here have tried to precool the tower with ice but i have not had any luck with precooling.

I do use an oversize water bowl / foil pan full of ice and my regular water bowl on the bottom rack with ice. Better is a big pan of cold beans that you will bake on Thursday - you can cold smoke the beans below the roast.

Anything that will add more mass will help absorb heat allowing you to smoke longer.

Your meat will go up on high rack, probably will have to be second from top but dont let it block the free flow of air through the vent.

Keep the vent open full as HabS says.

Now this sounds wierd but cracking the door open at about the hieght of the V tray about the width of popcycle sticks helps draw cool air through... you have plenty of smoke. A small fan angled at the generator can improve the flow of outside air. Not so much you flush the smoke immediately but a little 40 degree air and you can smoke for quite a while without the heat going too high

with your plan to overnight the piece in the fridge - the flavor should be wonderful. It should be great for cooking on thanksgiving.