Prime Rib on the Grill
I know, cooking a $50 prime rib is scary. Trusting it to cook properly on the grill can be even scarier. But once you get the hang of cooking on your grill over indirect heat – there really is nothing to it – it’s very liberating to realize you can use your backyard barbecue much like your indoor oven.
Prime rib is a classic – the marbling means it will be juicy, the bone means one lucky person (or a few, if you get a 2 or 3 bone roast) will get to stretch out in the grass and gnaw on it afterward. This is a single bone roast – almost like an enormous steak. A beautiful cut of meat I do not want to screw up.
So here’s the trick: once you prep your roast however you like it – I just pat it dry with paper towel, then rub it with a cut garlic clove and sprinkle with salt and pepper – a good piece of meat doesn’t need anything more – preheat your grill and sear it on both sides. Get some good colour and char marks on it. Then put the roast into a cast iron skillet or disposable aluminum baking pan and put it to one side – turn that side of the grill off, but leave the other side on.
You don’t want to incinerate the meat, but you want the heat – close the lid to trap it.
This took about 45 minutes and the thermometer on the outside of the grill read about 400F; adjust your cooking time according to the size of your roast. Or if you have a meat probe, stick it in and let it do its job. Keep in mind that when you pull the roast off, wrap it in foil and let it rest, it will continue to go up a few degrees.
Next on my to-do list: Yorkshire puddings on the grill…
Prime Rib on the Grill

Pat your prime rib dry with paper towel, rub all over with a cut clove of garlic and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Preheat your grill to high.
Brown your prime rib for a few minutes on each side, until deep golden and char-marked. Transfer it to a cast iron skillet or aluminum roasting pan, and place it on one side of the grill, turning off the heat underneath that side but leaving it on on the other side. Close the lid and cook over indirect heat for about 45-50 minutes - the temperature should be about 400F - until a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the roast (make sure it doesn't touch the bone, which conducts heat more efficiently than the meat itself) reads about 130F for medium-rare.
Remove from the heat and wrap in foil; let rest for 15-20 minutes before carving. (The temperature will continue to rise as it sits.)
Ingredients
Directions
Pat your prime rib dry with paper towel, rub all over with a cut clove of garlic and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Preheat your grill to high.
Brown your prime rib for a few minutes on each side, until deep golden and char-marked. Transfer it to a cast iron skillet or aluminum roasting pan, and place it on one side of the grill, turning off the heat underneath that side but leaving it on on the other side. Close the lid and cook over indirect heat for about 45-50 minutes - the temperature should be about 400F - until a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the roast (make sure it doesn't touch the bone, which conducts heat more efficiently than the meat itself) reads about 130F for medium-rare.
Remove from the heat and wrap in foil; let rest for 15-20 minutes before carving. (The temperature will continue to rise as it sits.)
And here I thought you were in Italy…
I thought you were in Italy? Why a slab of dead cow (ugh) when you’re in Italy and can show us all those things?
Seriously, commenters, what does it matter where this was cooked? That is one beautiful piece of meat, and I would be happy to eat it in any country.
People, just because the girl is in Italy, doesn’t mean she has to blog about it right here and now. Give her a break. I’m sure she’ll share when she has a chance. sheesh.
I appreciate the BBQ recipes — especially with the hot weather on it’s way. I wouldn’t have dared to try such a large cut on the grill. Good to know it can work.
I don’t care WHERE (I recognize your grill) this was actually BBQ’d…it just looks fabulous (Yup, we Albertans, for the most part, <3 our beef (ahem, "slab of dead cow"!) Thanks for the excellent tutorial…I think I can actually do this now. Only prob is I am paired with an SO who won't eat any beef unless it is solid GREY! Hate to do that to any cut of beef! I always rescue my portion while it is still at least medium.
Oh my! This looks wonderful 😀 I love how much flavour is added by simply grilling meat, and this looks fantastic!
Yorkshire puddings on the grill though? Well, if anyone could do it – it’d certainly be you 😀 x
looking forward to your yorkshires …
Looks great, but why the frying pan? Couldn’t you just do this directly on the grill?
Sorry guys! Yes, I am in Italy… I took these photos before I left and put them up on the way here because I was talking about it on CBC last week. Sorry! Totally meant to post things from Italy as well, but with such limited time here I just didn’t get around to sitting in my hotel room on my laptop! About to spend 22 hours traveling home, so will write on the plane….
i was thinking if you had added a little bit of thick, juicy gravy it would have tasted more than tempting.. nice recipe julie 🙂
Just looking at this post again…
And surprised that no-one else mentioned or noticed it…
But that particular cut of meat looks a lot like the Millennium Falcon…