Smoke Fried Prime Rib with Pomegranate Chimichurri is one of the most flavor packed holiday meals you can make.
This holiday roast is slowly smoked to a perfect internal temperature and has a delicious outside crust. The pomegranate chimichurri is a major upgrade to the horseradish sauce. It will be one of the greatest experiences your taste buds have ever had. The pomegranate juice explodes in every single bite and it’s truly sensational.
If you’re looking to make the perfect prime rib for your Christmas dinner or any special occasions, be sure to give this method a try! You won’t be disappointed in the least bit.
Ingredients you will need for smoke fried prime rib with pomegranate chimichurri
Meat: Prime rib roast – 3 or 4 bone in roast
Seasoning: Sea salt, black pepper and Prime Rib rub
Chimichurri: Shallot, Fresno pepper, garlic, cilantro, parsley, oregano, red pepper flakes, olive oil, red wine vinegar or balsamic vinegar, salt, pomegranate seeds
Why should I cook prime rib?
There are many great options out there to cook for your holiday meal such as a beef tenderloin roast, beef short ribs or my Cherry Bourbon Ham. Beef ribs are my favorite to make out of all of these, but they’re time consuming and take anywhere from 6-8 hours to make.
Prime rib is one of my other favorites to cook because it’s always a crowd pleaser. The great thing about prime rib is that it’s a large roast and you can feed a ton of people.
When cooking the whole roast compared to individual steaks, the roast comes out really tender because it’s cooked at a lower temperature.
You can also please a variety of people’s desired doneness. The prime rib will typically be more cooked on the end pieces and more rare on the inside pieces leaving everyone happy.
If you happen to have leftover prime rib, you can sear it in a pan or you can make Prime Rib Sliders out of them the next day.
Different ways to cook prime rib
There are many different ways that you can cook it to achieve different delicious results.
Reverse Sear Prime Rib – This is the best way to cook prime rib. It will give you the best results for a perfectly cooked prime rib every single time. It’s slowly cooked (typically smoked) to the perfect internal temperature then seared on the outside for delicious, flavorful crust.
Rotisserie Prime Rib – This method is super delicious it’s one of the best ways to enjoy prime rib. The roast spins over open fire and self bastes with the juices that render from the roast.
The main downfall to this method is that not everyone has access to rotisserie.
Oven roasted Prime Rib – this is the most common way to make a prime rib and it’s super easy to do. Simply season up the prime rib, place it on a roasting pan over some vegetables then place it in the oven and let it cook until your desired doneness.
This method isn’t as good as a smoked prime rib, but it’s still super good in its own respect. Since you cook it in the oven, keep in mind you will not have as much room for sides.
Which grade rib roast should I get?
The simple answer to this question is whatever your budget will allow. You need to first consider how much prime rib you need and then do the math on a per pound basis.
The standard rule of thumb is to plan 1 pound of prime rib person. If you’re planning on serving a wide variety of side dishes, you can probably reduce that number a bit to 3/4 pound per person.
Choice cut is typically the most affordable grade to purchase. You can usually find a really good deal at the grocery store during the holiday season. Choice grade has less overall marbling, but it’s still a great cut to get. There are many ways to dress it up and make it taste better.
Prime grade is usually the goal if you can afford the difference. Be sure to check out your local butcher for some of the best quality prime rib you can find. Prime has good marbling throughout the meat and you’re getting higher quality.
Wagyu prime rib is by far the most delicious grade you can get because it has a ton of well balanced marbling which means great flavor. You can truly taste the flavor difference when purchasing wagyu, but it also comes at a premium price. This is on the most expensive end of the spectrum, but it will ensure a prized holiday centerpiece.
What temperature should prime rib be cooked to?
This is all purely based off of personal preference on how you like your steak done.
Something to keep in mind is that the internal temperature that you take the prime rib off, will not be the final temperature. The roast should rest for 30 minutes which will allow the meat too cool down and the juices to redistribute into the meat.
While the roast rests, the temperature will continue to increase which means it could rise up 10° F degrees in temperature. This is called the “carryover” in the cooking world. You need to remove the roast 8-10° F sooner than you want the final temperature.
Rare: 125° F (52°C) Cool red center
Medium Rare: 135° F (57° C) Warm red center
Medium: 145° F (63° C) Warm pink center
Medium Well: 150° F (66° C) warm, slightly pink center
Well done: 160° F (71° C) Little or no pink
How to make Smoke Fried Prime Rib with Pomegranate Chimichurri
Smoking the prime rib
Remove the prime rib from the refrigerator then tie in butcher’s twine around the bone-in rib roast to secure it.
Coat the prime rib on all sides with avocado oil. This will act as a binder and help the seasoning stick to the meat throughout the cook.
Season the roast on all sides of the meat with salt, pepper and Traeger Prime Rib rub.
If you have extra time, consider doing a dry brine by coating the roast in kosher salt overnight. This will allow the seasoning to penetrate deep into into the meat and draw out any excess moisture.
When you’re ready to cook, let the roast sit at room temperature for 30-45 minutes, this will help the roast cook more evenly.
Preheat the smoker to 250° F using hickory wood for a bold smoke flavor.
Insert the MEATER 2 Plus wireless meat thermometer into the center of the roast. The new version 2 probe is safe for deep frying and searing over direct heat.
Place the roast directly on the preheated smoker, indirect of the heat. Let it smoke for 60-90 minutes, until it reaches an internal temperature of 110° F.
Assemble the Pomegranate Chimichurri
On a cutting board, assemble the pomegranate chimichurri by hand chopping all of the fresh herbs.
Avoid blending the herbs in a food processor – this is not meat to be a chimichurri sauce, you want the texture of the herbs in each bite.
Combine all of the ingredients in a large bowl then mix thoroughly. Place the bowl in the refrigerator until it’s time to serve.
I got this recipe from my buddy Brandon Gouveia while I was at the MEATER headquarters filming content with him. This recipe just blew my mind and it will be a regular rotation for me.
Deep frying the smoked prime rib
Deep frying a prime rib sounds kind of crazy, but the end results are very similar to doing a reverse sear prime rib. Slowly cooking the roast to the perfect internal temperature then cooking the outside hot and fast will give you some great outside crust on the roast.
When the Prime rib has 30 minutes remaining, preheat the peanut oil in a turkey fryer to a medium-high heat of 375° F.
Remove the roast from the smoker once it reaches 110° F then carefully lower the prime rib into the hot oil. Deep fry until the internal temperature registers at 125° F and the prime rib has a nice crust.
Place the roast on a wire rack in a baking tray to catch any excess oil dripping off. Let the roast rest for 30 minutes tented with aluminum foil on top. Slice the roast against the grain with a sharp knife into desired thickness.
Serve the pomegranate chimichurri on top of each slice and your sides of choice then enjoy!
Looking for sides to serve with your prime rib?
Be sure to check out some of my favorite side dishes below.
Easy Smoked Mac & Cheese Recipe – turn up the flavor on one of the most classic side dishes around by infusing sweet smoke flavor into the cheese. This is one of my most popular recipes and will be a crowd pleaser.
Balsamic Bacon Brussels Sprouts – Bacon makes everything better and Brussels sprouts are no exception! These are packed with all sorts of flavor then topped with balsamic glaze on top for the perfect finish.
Bacon Wrapped Hot Honey Glazed Carrots – Crispy bacon wrapped around a perfectly cooked carrot then glazed with hot honey. This sone of my favorite sides to make – they’re a fun one for guest but they’re also insanely delicious.
Print
Smoke Fried Prime Rib with Pomegranate Chimichurri
Prime Rib with Pomegranate Chimichurri is one of the best ways to enjoy your holiday meal! Smokey prime rib topped with a sweet heat chimichurri for the ultimate flavor packed bite!
- Total Time: 3 hours 30 minutes
- Yield: 6–8 servings 1x
Ingredients
- 6 pound rib roast
- 4 tbsp coarse sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper (50/50 blend)
- 2 tbsp Traeger Prime rib rub
- 2 tbsp Avocado oil (binder)
- 4 Gallons Peanut oil for deep frying
Pomegranate Chimichurri
- 2 shallots, finely chopped
- 1 Fresno pepper or red jalapeño, finely chopped
- 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- ½ cup cilantro, finely chopped
- ⅓ cup flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
- ⅓ oregano, finely chopped
- ½ cup red wine vinegar
- ½ teaspoon maldon sea salt
- 1 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- ½ cup Pomegranate seeds
Instructions
- Preheat the smoker to 250° F using hickory wood for a bold smoke flavor.
- Tie the bone-in rib roast with twine to secure the roast. Coat the prime rib with avocado oil as a binder then season it with salt, pepper and Traeger Prime Rib rub.
- Insert the MEATER 2 Plus probe into the center of the roast.
- Place the roast directly on the grill grates indirect of the heat. Let it smoke for 60-90 minutes, until it reaches an internal temperature of 110° F.
- Assemble the pomegranate chimichurri by hand chopping all of the fresh herbs. Combine all of the ingredients in a bowl then thoroughly mix. Place in the refrigerator until it’s time to serve.
- When the Prime rib has 30 minutes remaining, heat the peanut oil in a turkey fryer to 375° F.
- Remove the roast from the smoker once it reaches 110° F then carefully lower the prime rib into the hot oil. Deep fry until internal temperature reaches 125° F and Prime rib has a nice crust.
- Let the roast rest for 30 minutes then slice it into pieces of desired thickness.
- Serve the pomegranate chimichurri on top of each slice and enjoy!
- Prep Time: 60 minutes
- Cook Time: 2 hours 30 minutes
