Perfectly Smoked Traeger Prime Rib

Name: Perfectly Smoked Traeger Prime Rib
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 300 min
Total time: 320 min
Ingredients: 8-10 lb 4-bone prime rib roast; 2 tbsp kosher salt; 2 tbsp freshly ground black pepper; 1 tbsp Montreal steak seasoning; 1 tsp cayenne pepper ((optional)); ½ cup unsalted butter ((softened)); 1 head garlic; 1 tbsp herbs de Provence; 1 tbsp dried thyme; 1 tbsp dried rosemary

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This simple-to-follow Smoked Traeger Prime Rib recipe promises BIG flavor and delivers the moistest, most flavorful prime rib you'll ever have the pleasure of sinking your teeth into! Serve the prime rib with Jiffy Cornbread with Creamed Corn or Traeger Smoked Potatoes.

Prime rib is definitely one of my favorite cuts of beef, and as luck would have it, it's also one of the most expensive.😬 This means you HAVE to get the recipe right, or you will have wasted hundreds of dollars, am I right? No pressure, I've got your back with this foolproof Traeger Prime Rib recipe. Wait, who's the fool in this scenario?

Why This Recipe Works

There are so many reasons why this gluten-free and GMO-free Smoked Traeger Prime Rib recipe is amazing. First, the simple prime rib rub consists of kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper, Montreal steak seasoning, and a small amount of cayenne pepper. Together, they do a perfect job of flavoring the rib roast.

The salt in the prime rib rub will first draw the moisture out of the prime rib roast, forming a dry crust around it. You may think you've ruined the prime rib, but not to worry! Through the amazing process of diffusion, the meat will not only absorb the seasoning but also the moisture back into the meat.

Finally, we're slathering a mixture of butter, garlic, and herbs all over the roast, which will provide an incredibly flavorful and crispy crust, especially since we are making reverse sear prime rib.

Are you familiar with reverse searing? When you reverse sear prime rib, it simply means that the meat is seared at the end of the cooking time instead of at the beginning.

What Goes Into This Recipe

Recipe Ingredients and Substitutions

Beef Prime Rib — Choose an 8-10 pound standing prime rib (bone-in). This means that the rib bones are still attached and allow the rib to stand on the bones. The bones add flavor, so avoid buying a boneless roast. Some people like to remove the bones and use them as a base to rest the roast onto, this also makes the finished prime rib easier to slice.
Butter — Instead of olive oil, this recipe calls for unsalted butter. Since the roast will already be heavily seasoned with kosher salt, avoid using salted butter.
Herbs — Although I added dried rosemary, thyme, and herbs de province to the butter and garlic crust mixture, fresh herbs can definitely be substituted.
Montreal Steak Seasoning — If you don't have Montreal Steak Seasoning on hand, it's ok to leave it out.
Cayenne Pepper — The cayenne pepper adds a bit of heat which is not necessarily traditional, but our family loves it. It can easily be left out.
Garlic — There is no need to include garlic powder in the dry rub because we will be using an entire clove of garlic in the herbed garlic butter crust.

Traeger Prime Rib Recipe

Day 1 | Season Prime Rib and Prepare Herbed Butter

Step 1 | Prepare the Prime Rib: Wash and dry the prime rib, then set it onto a pan. If the roast has a thick fat cap, trim some, but not all of the fat.

Step 2 | Prepare the Seasoning: Mix the following into a small bowl: kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper, Montreal steak seasoning, and cayenne, if using.

Step 3 | Season Prime Rib: Rub the seasoning into the prime rib. Go a little lighter on the ends, to keep them from being overly salty. Place on a rack over a tray and refrigerate overnight, uncovered.

Tip: This method of drying the roast in the fridge is called dry brining (some call it dry-aging, but dry-aging takes a lot longer). This method of dry brining is also used in my son's outstanding Grilled Ribeyes Basted in Butter recipe.

Garlic Herb Buttery Crust

Step 1 | Prepare Herbed Butter: Add softened butter, herbs, and garlic cloves to a food processor (paid link). Blend until a paste is formed.

Step 2 | Package and Refrigerate Butter: Using a spatula, transfer the herb mixture into a small Ziploc sandwich bag and roll it into a log. Refrigerate the herbed butter until needed.

Day 2 | Smoking the Prime Rib

Step 1 | Bring Prime Rib to Room Temperature: Six hours before you plan on eating the prime rib, pull it out of the fridge along with the butter. Give it 2 hours to come to room temperature.

Step 2 | Prepare Smoker: After the prime rib has rested for 1 hour and 45 minutes, set your Traeger or electric smoker (paid links) to 225 degrees F. Select Super Smoke and give it 15 minutes to preheat. During this time, spread half of the herbed butter over the prime rib. It will be a light coating. Place the prime rib on the grill, insert the probe into the thickest part, and set the probe temperature to 120℉.

Note: My husband and I had a long discussion regarding when to add the herbed butter. I wanted to add it at the beginning and he wanted to add it at the end. Finally, we came to a mutual agreement. We added half of it at the beginning and the rest before searing the roast, win-win!

Step 3 | Smoke Prime Rib: Begin checking the internal temperature after 3 hours. When the roast reaches 120℉, pull it off the grill and allow it to rest for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, kick up the Traeger's temperature to 450°F.

Step 4 | Add Herbed Butter and Sear: Right before putting the prime rib back on the grill, brush the remaining herbed butter all over it. Re-insert the probe into the thickest part, and set the probe temperature to 130°F or 135°F for medium-rare to medium. It should take approximately 15-20 minutes to get to that temperature.

TIP: Remember that the Traeger prime rib temperature will continue to rise during the resting period.

adding herbed butter to smoked prime rib

brushing herbed butter on smoked prime rib

Rest Traeger Prime Rib Before Serving

When the Traeger smoked prime rib is ready, remove it from the grill and wrap it in foil for 15 minutes. If it's going to be a while before you serve it, wrap the foil-wrapped roast in a clean towel and place it into a small cooler (without ice) until ready to serve.

Perfectly cooked Traeger Smoked Prime Rib

What to Serve with This Traeger Prime Rib Recipe

Serve Traeger Prime Rib with Easy Scalloped Potatoes, Smoked Asparagus, or a Healthy Broccoli Salad, and don't forget the horseradish sauce on the side!

Estimated Prime Rib Smoking Time by Pounds

The following is the estimated smoking time to get the prime rib to 120°F (while smoking it at 225°F to 250°F). These are not hard and fast rules but estimates. Many factors can change these times including the temperature of the meat, the temperature of the grill, the temperature outside, and how many times you lift the lid to sneak a peak.

4 to 5 pounds: 2 — 3.5 hours
6 to 8 pounds: 3 — 4.5 hours
9 to 10: pounds: 4.5 — 6.5 hours

Or figure it out using the following formula:

At 225 Degrees F, it will take approximately 40 minutes per pound.
At 250 Degrees F, it will take roughly 30 minutes per pound.

Smoked Prime Rib Internal Temperature Chart

The following are suggested internal temperatures to get the meat cooked to your liking:

120°F (rare)
125 to 130°F (medium-rare)
135 to 140°F (medium)
145 to 150°F (medium-well)
155 to 160°F (well-done)

Recipe FAQs

Do you smoke prime rib fat up or down?

Prime rib should be smoked with the bone-side down and the fat-side up.

What is the best wood chip or pellet flavor to smoke a prime rib?

The wood chips or pellets most widely used to smoke prime rib are hickory, oak, pecan, apple, and cherry. In this recipe, we're using hickory.

Should I wrap my prime rib in butcher paper?

You don't need to wrap prime rib while it is being smoked. Since it's high in fat, it remains moist and flavorful while being smoked low and slow.

How big of a prime rib do I need?

Plan for approximately 1 lb of meat per person, depending on who you are serving (adults vs. small children). If you'd like to have leftovers, plan for an additional pound or two.

What is the best Traeger smoked prime rib rub?

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper do a perfect job of seasoning a prime rib. However, if you're looking for a different flavor, you can't go wrong with Santa Maria dry rub, is amazing!

Is prime rib the same as ribeye steak?

Both prime rib and ribeye steaks come from the same cut of meat (which is referred to as the primal rib section). While prime rib is considered a roast, a ribeye is a small portion of the roast, sold and cooked as a steak.

Expert Tips

When seasoning the roast, use a large cookie tray underneath. The excess seasoning will land in the tray and can be used to season the areas you missed.
It's important to bring the prime rib to room temperature before it is smoked. Smoking a cold roast will add to the cooking time and who needs that?
Do not raise the lid of the smoker while smoking the prime rib. It reduces the temperature inside and adds to the cooking time.
This recipe calls for cooking the meat low and slow. If you want to shorten the cooking time, you can kick up the temperature to 250℉.
If you'd like to make au jus to serve with the sliced Traeger prime rib, smoke the roast in an aluminum pan or tin to collect the yummy juices.
Resting the roast allows the juices to redistribute, so don't skip that part!
If you decided to debone the prime rib, use butcher's twine to secure the prime rib over the bones so that the roast has a natural rack to stand on as it smokes.

If you enjoyed this Traeger Smoked Prime Rib recipe, check out these other tasty Traeger recipes!

More Traeger Smoked Recipes

If you enjoy this Traeger prime rib, try these other reader-tested and approved Traeger recipes!

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