For Thanksgiving I made this. No, not all of that (how silly!). I contributed to the feast by preparing the main event, a smoked rib roast along with gravy made from it’s drippings. I also made the veggies, but you all know how I make those, from this post and this post.

This roast was pretty low-key. No brining necessary or mopping, just a rub. It’ll take somewhere between 3-5 hours on the grill depending on the size of your roast. The temperature outside was 20 degrees, but since there was no wind, the grill maintained its heat. I lifted the lid to replenish the coals and wood chips 3 or 4 times.

Winter grilling tip: DO NOT leave the soaking wood chips outside with the grill! The water will get cold and you’ll have to put your hand in there… multiple times. I won’t confess to how long it took me to realize this, but my right hand grew stiff and I had to break up the ice on the surface of the water a couple times.

I read recipes where folks swear by searing the roast before smoking and others where a reverse sear (searing at the end of cooking) is the best way to go. I did a reverse sear today. If you’re going to serve right after the reverse sear, then it might matter. It does look delicious when the rub glistens and crackles on the plate. For this, I had the roast rest for an additional hour after smoking and didn’t see or taste anything different by searing at the end versus searing at the beginning. Perhaps more experimentation is need.

This is the game plan: Trim and french. Rub. Prepare Grill. Smoke. Reverse Sear. Rest. Gravy. Eat!

Ingredients

• Bone-In Rib Roast (3 ribs – about 5.5 lbs.)
• Olive Oil
• Sea Salt
• freshly ground Black Pepper
• coarsely ground Coriander
• granulated Garlic
• Onion flakes
• Paprika
• Red Pepper flakes
• Beef Stock
• 2 cups Apple Wood chips (soaked for at least 30 min.)
• 1 – 2 tbsp Flour

Method

This first step is optional and really for aesthetics. Trim and french the Roast. I tried to leave 1/2″ of fat on the top. To french: Cut the fat from between the ribs. It’s easier to use a skinny sharp knife to work between the bones.

This is the ratio I used for the Rub.

2 Salt: 2 Coriander: 2 Onion: 2 Garlic: Black Pepper: Paprika: Chili Flakes

Drizzle Olive Oil over the roast. Then apply the Rub.

While the roast sits with the rub, prepare the grill. For smoking meats, you’ll want to use a two-stage fire. Bank the lit coals to one side. Place an aluminium pan on the other side and fill with an inch of Beef Stock.

Once the grill temperature holds at the 225 – 250 degree range, place the Roast (bone side down) over the pan so that the drippings fall into the beef stock – we’ll be using this later to make the gravy. Add a handful of wood chips to the coals and close the lid.

Smoke until the internal temperature of the roast comes to 135 degrees (for medium rare). Replenish the coals and wood chips as necessary. It’s okay if you run out of wood chips, we just want a light smoky flavor.

Once the roast reaches 135 degrees (four hours later), it’s time to sear it. I had to place the roast on a plate and cover it while I got the grill hot enough to sear. Sear for about 5 minutes per side. And that’s 4 sides to be seared. Return to plate and cover. Leave it alone for 40 min. or up to an hour.

Meanwhile make the gravy. Take the drippings and bring to a boil in a saucepan. I then strained the liquid and poured it into a fat separator. Then returned the liquid back into the saucepan. I kept it at a simmer while whisking constantly. Add some flour to thicken to a gravy.

Serve and enjoy!

And 20 minutes later…