Hold in Cambro or partially cook and finish later?

My preference is cook and hold. PR is MUCH better if you can give it a 2 or 3 hour rest. It still will be plenty hot to serve. I'm not sure you'll need the warming disk. Maybe use it if the hold goes over 2 or 3 hours?

Have some hot Au Jus ready.

I've reversed seared my prime rib, and they've turned out delicious. If you sear first, smoke won't penetrate the PR as readily. So I cook/smoke first, then reverse sear to finish.

Also, with your situation, a reverse sear at your sister's will work well. Keep it warm in the Cambro, reverse sear, then slice and eat. That's how I'd do it.

Thanks guys. What do you think is a good pull temp for holding this long and serving medium rare? I'm thinking about 120.

I would do it just like Pags, but cook at 180-200*(did I just say I like Pags way over Smokin's), and pull at 125*. Sear it for 10 minutes at 500*-550* in a oven after you get there and are ready to eat.

It will be at the low end of med rare.

Actually, I initially got the idea from Smokin's PR 101 rough draft. He calls for increasing the smoker temp to 375* to sear the outside. My smoker doesn't go high enough, therefore, the oven. I go with the high temp of 550* after reading a technique on a cooking site (non smoke related). Smoke the PR, let the meat rest under loose foil for 45-60 minutes then sear, slice, serve.

Jim. I don't have experience with a Cambro, but I would think the meat would increase by 5* or so over a few hours. I would pull it no higher than 130* from the smoker. When you sear it, keep an eye on it. I've never seared it for 10 minutes yet with the oven at 550*. The searing is short and won't add much if any temp to the prime rib...just does its thing to the outside.

If you're going to sear, key is how hot and how long.

I don't think, putting it in a Cambro for so long is going to maintain the "crust" from the sear. It will soften.

I pull them at 110 to 115 and sear until the internal is 125 since I sear in the smoker.

^^^^^^^^^^ Agree. Sear at sister's house. If you high temp sear, you can't let it raise 10* internal as it will scorch the exterior. Just want to make sure you're not confusing the two techniques.

I did one for Christmas and after a 3 hr FTC I seared it at 500 until the desired browning, I would say no more than 6 to 8 minutes and it turned out perfect Did not raise the internal temp at all

Thanks Gents!

What's your best guess on how many minutes per pound? I know, it's done when it's done, but since I have to travel I need a reference. I'm planning about 20-35 minutes per pound at 225. Does that sound right?

Note to self: take notes, so you don't have to go through this again and again!

There is really no hrs per lb formula on prime ribs, it will depend more on the diameter of the prime rib, sorry!

With that said, here is the perfect prime rib. The night before season with Montreal steak seasoning, kosher salt, and Lea & Perrins Worcestershire sauce and wrap in plastic wrap and then to the frig. If you want, you can bring to room temp before smoking(not necessary, IMHO).

Cook at 180* for about 5.5hrs, till 125* internal temp. Wrap in foil for transport, when you get there and are about ready to eat sear at500-550* for 10 minutes. It will be the best prime rib you've ever ate, OMG I've made myself hungry thinking of this. This will be the low side of Med rare, if you want high side pull at 132*.

My guess is as good as yours if you decide to cook at 225*, oh well!

I did my prime rib like Cal. Wow!! Here's my notes from the recipe/technique I posted here addressing time:

"The roast went into a 190* preheated smoker. After 1.5 hrs I then kicked the smoker temp to 225*. The internal temp reached 124* in roughly another 90 minutes. At this point, the roast was removed from the smoker...and tented with aluminum foil. After resting it for 30 minutes, I placed it into a 500* oven (preheated for 45 minutes) for 6 minutes to develope a nice crust (used this method cause my smoker won't exceed 300*). I removed it from the oven and immediately sliced it and served."

You won't be tenting since you'll hold longer term in the Cambro. My roast was 8.5 lbs and took roughly 3 hrs. As it was pointed out to me awhile back, a larger prime rib roast won't dramatically alter cooking time. The larger roasts are basically the same circumference with the difference simply being more ribs or length.

In his PR 101, Smokin says roughly 20 min/lb for medium rare. Mine took 21+ min/lb but I kicked up the temp along the way. So this should be a decent guideline...stubborn cow aside.