Happy Holidays to all!
Just want to start by saying I'm a longtime lurker here, very rare poster. I got my Smokette (I think it's the SM008, black model) back in 2003 or 2004, and my family and friends have been enjoying the fruits of my culinary endeavors ever since.
I want to give a HUGE THANK YOU to all the regular posters on here for the tons of tips, recipes, pictures, how to's, and suggestions that make this forum such an amazing wealth of knowledge. All of you are tremendous. Thank you!
I primarily use my smoker for briskets, pulled pork, ribs, and sausage fatties. The last two Christmas's I've done 11 to 12 lb. Sirloin Tips roasts for the family dinner (I wasn't sure my family was worth the cost of Standing Rib roast.... just kidding ), but this morning I did my first Standing Rib Beef Roast. I had 3 different roasts: a 6.7 lb., a 6.5 lb., and a 4.7 lb., so just shy of 18 total pounds of roast. The two larger roasts had the bones removed by the butcher, and then tied back on to the roast.
I rubbed my roasts with Worcestershire sauce, then a mixture of kosher salt, fresh ground black pepper, granulated garlic powder, and dried rosemary. Then I slathered them with bacon grease. I browned them in a 425 degree oven for 30 minutes, then put all three roasts on the bottom shelf of my Smokette, loaded with about 1 oz. of Hickory, and turned the smoker to 225 degrees. Not really sure how long this would take, and wanting them to be pulled from the smoker between 11:30 am and 12 noon, I had them in the oven at 4:30 am, and the smoker at 5:00 am. Imagine my surprise when at 7:45 am the internal temperature of the larger roasts were already at 125 degrees. I pulled the roasts, wrapped each one in two layers of HD aluminum foil, a towel, and placed them in a cooler, praying they would stay warm for the next 4 hours.
I made my own au jus from scratch, the night before, following Smokin' Okie's new Prime Rib 101, (another big thank you to him) , and at 12:30 pm, we pulled a large roast and the small roast from the cooler, sliced them, and the large roast was a perfect rare, the smaller roast was a delightful medium rare. THEY WERE AWESOME! Most of the family prefers rare to medium rare, the few that wanted it medium well to well, heated theirs up for a minute in the au jus, and everyone was ecstatic!
I really debated whether to brown off in the oven before or after smoking, and the last couple of years, when doing the sirloin tip roasts, I had browned after smoking, but I finally decided that having the oven up to a high temperature just before eating made the house too hot those last couple of years, so I browned it off first. And it turned out fantastic.
As a side note, for those people who wish they could do a standing rib roast, but just can't afford to pay $6.99 or more per lb. in these trying economic times, I really suggest trying a whole sirloin tip roast. You can probably find a 11 to 12 lb. boneless roast for between $30 to $35 dollars. Season it like you would a standing rib roast, put 6 or 7 strips of bacon over the top of it, and go at it. It will take longer to smoke, slice it thin, not like the thicker sliced rib roasts, you'll get a rare in the center, and gradually get more done out towards the edge. You'll be thrilled with it, I'm sure.
I wish I had taken pictures to share with all of you, maybe next time, and as I end this post, I'm going go to grab a rib bone or two and have a little midnight snack.
Thank you one last time!
Merry Christmas everyone, and and have a safe, healthy, and prosperous New Year!
as always,
just a ramblin' joe
P.S.
Edited this post on 1-07-11. My Smokette is an 008 model and not an 009 as originally posted.
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