Menu

Beef

Grill the Best Prime Rib Every Time: 5 Things You Need to Know

By BarbecueBible.com Grill the Best Prime Rib Every Time: 5 Things You Need to Know
45
Shares

This post is brought to you by MEATER, which provided advertising support.

Whether you’ve been grilling for years or are about to embark on your first cook, one of the universally challenging things about grilling beef is ensuring the optimal internal temperature is achieved. This challenge can make larger cuts of beef especially intimidating to tackle, perhaps none so more than prime rib. Add its cost as a consideration, and prime rib becomes a potentially pressure-filled recipe. 

 

How to Grill the Perfect Prime Rib

To make your next attempt more successful, we’ve compiled a list you can use as a guide to achieving the perfect prime rib:

1. Tools You’ll Need for Grilling Prime Rib:

Choosing the right meat purveyor is, of course, incredibly important. After that purchase, make sure you stock the right tools to complete the job. You’ll need butcher’s string, fuel for the grill, and most importantly, a thermometer like MEATER to monitor the meat’s internal temperature.

Measuring internal temperature with Meater meat thermometer

2. Size of the Prime Rib:

A whole 7-bone prime rib can weigh up to 25 pounds. For crowds of 8 or fewer, a 4-bone prime rib (weighing about 8 pounds) has plenty of wow power and fits comfortably on most grills.

3. Total Cook Time for Prime Rib:

Preparation and cook time combined can range from 1-3 hours. Some variations will come from the recipe, method (for example, spit-roasting vs. directly placing on the grill grate), and your desired doneness.

4. Prime Rib Internal Temp/Doneness:

Decide whether you want your prime rib rare, medium-rare, or medium, remembering the internal temperature will rise 5 to 10 degrees after you’ve removed the meat from the grill. Tools like MEATER advise you of the correct internal temperature for your desired doneness and calculate the cook time (including resting) so you don’t have to!

Sliced prime rib with Meater meat thermometer

5. How Much to Serve:

A single rib section will serve 2 to 3 people. If buying bone-in prime rib, plan on feeding 2 people per bone, or 1 pound per person. If buying boneless prime rib, allow 1/2 pound per person—more if you want leftovers (and you will definitely want leftovers!).

 

The key takeaway when serving the perfect prime rib is knowing just when to remove it from the grill. 

Using a programmable meat thermometer can greatly enhance your ability to achieve the perfectly sizzling, crusty exterior of the best prime ribs, with brown bones and a sanguine meaty center that is exactly the right temperature when it’s time to serve. 

 

Watch a demonstration of how MEATER can help you achieve the perfect prime rib: 

The BarbecueBible.com staff love MEATER so much we’ve partnered with them offer you a discount when you order today! Shop now on MEATER.com and use offer code BBQBIBLE to receive 10% off your purchase! (Please note, it’s not applicable with other discounts, and only valid for one use per customer.)

 

More BarbecueBible.com recipes to try with your new MEATER thermometer: