16 LB Rib roast

[pit 4 brains]

So my in-laws asked if I would do a rib roast for Christmas if they bought it. I said sure, I'll put it on the rotisserie like i normally do. My mother in law just showed up with a 16 pound 18 inch roast. I'm not afraid yet, I just think this thing will bend my spit down and bog my motor.
The oven is out of the question as I want to do this outdoors. I have my Weber genesis Silver grill with a rotis or I can mount my big rotis on my Chargriller and remove my tuning tiles.
Has anyone rotised a side of meat this big? I normally cut back the fat cap, season and re-tie a three or four bone roast but this is long and the bones taper down which alarms me to un-even cooking.
I'm thinking to do it in my char griller with a strong fire on the bony end and a mild fire on the meaty end. I've always rotissed my rib roasts with two fires so that is not new to me, I was just concerned about getting it just below med rare the whole way across..

Any input?

 

[chefrob]

sounds like you got a pretty good plan already but don't make the fire too hot on the thick end or you might pass mid rare.

 

[smokebuzz]

I have never rotis'd anything, but I set up my old neigbor guy's snp with 1. he really liked the set up. His was able switch end going into the gear motor, so he could flip/ rotate ends. I argee, mediem rear or rear is the way to go, but is everyone going to want that. I always found it a bonus on 1 that big cuz you can get 1 end more done for those that like the meat crusified. Sounds very tastey, I will be doing a much smaller 1 sometime next week at my moms on here weber kettle.

 

[mballi3011]

I have not smoked or put a hunk of meat that size on a rotisserie either so your on your own. I would like to say that I will be watching for the Qview for my own learning experiance. So go for it and we will be here with knifes and forks in hand.

 

[ciolli]

I have not rotisseried a rib roast, but every summer we cook about 7 full rib roasts for a huge party... And i tell you that is a monster of a cut of meat. You can always cut it in half or thirds too depending on your crowd and how done or not done they like their beef, and/or your cooking options. Just a suggestion. Good luck!

 

[pit 4 brains]

I think this is what I'm going to do. I'm gonna put the small-boned end in the Weber and cook it with gas so I can reg the temp and the large-boned end will go between some mesquite coals.

I assume Qview means take and post pictures so I'll do that.

 

[pit 4 brains]

Ok, I mounted up the spit and set the roast on it in one piece. The spit sagged a bit but it still spun under the weight. I'm assuming that when I skewer the spit rod through it, the drag will decrease and as it cooks the weight will diminish so i think I'm just gonna cook the whole enchilada and see what happens.

Now the big question. After taking it off the coals, should I leave the spit rod in while the roast rests (my inclination) or should I pull it right away so the meat can settle back and not leave a hole in the slices? I'm thinking that I'll lose a ton of juices if I pull it right away..

 

[pit 4 brains]

Dinner went well..

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The center was a perfect med rare and the outside, althought cooked to med, was juicy and very tender. This baby had a thick fat cap so it took a long time to get up to temp. I was sweattin it and the guests were getting impatient but it was worth the wait...

 

[beer-b-q]

It Looks Great...

 

[pit 4 brains]

Ok, I just followed the photobucket tutorial for Qview so here's a test pic..

[/IMG]

 

[walle]

Pit - great job. Your prime looks delish! How long and at what temp did you end up cooking this beast?
Thanks,
Tracey

 

[pit 4 brains]

About 4 hours plus rest time. I had it directly over mesquite coals and my thermo on the char griller read about 225- 250 for most of the time. T started tossing in some new hot coals towards the end and had it about 325 or so for about the last 45 minnutes. Pulled it off when I got 135 in the center.

 

[pit 4 brains]

 

[slickrat]

For your future big roast, I did a 17 lb boneless rib roast on my Weber Genesis rotisserie for Christmas Eve dinner and it worked fantastic. I had to remove the center burner plate cover thingy so the roast could rotate completely (covered the burner holes with foil). I put only the front burner on low and threw in cherry wood chips throughout the cook, which took about 4 hrs. I would definitely do that again the same way as it turned out so good.

 

[pit 4 brains]

I have had good luck with smaller ones like 3 and 4 bones in the weber. There's just something about what mesquite coals do when the beef fat hits them that makes it ohhhhh so good. I had the spit set up on the weber just for emergency sake. I wish I could use the same spit rod for both the weber and the char griller but no go.
I did check to see if the forks are interchangeable and they are so next time I might cut it in half and turn two roasts over three fires in the char griller.