Welcome to the SMF Family!!!
Yes, not only is it possible, it is a very popular item for the smoker, especially for the holidays. And don't be intimidated...it should be an enjoyable and relaxing way to create a meal...when you smoke, you're slow cooking, so everything is much slower paced. Just remember to be patient with your food and yourself.
2.5lb bone-in beef rib will take close to 0.8-0.9hrs/lb to reach 145* internal temp with a chamber temp of 225*. If you step it up to 250* chamber temp you'll be closer to 0.75hrs/lb. This depends on the smoker and weather, but you'll want to monitor internal temps if you don't want to overcook it...sometimes they'll cook faster than you expect, sometimes slower. Lots of folks only go to 130-135* internal, but that's too rare for our liking...140-145*. At higher chamber temps, like when grilling with high heat, the carry-over from cooking will elevate the internal temps and depending on the size of the piece of meat, can raise the internal temp by 5-15*. Larger pieces, and lower chamber temps, don't result in as much carry-over.
You can be creative with smoke woods with beef...hickory or cherry (or combination of both), pecan in combination with the hickory and/or cherry, mesquite if you don't mind the heavy earthy aroma and flavor...I typically use mesquite sparingly in combination with others. Oak would be suitable for beef, as well. Apple is milder and sweeter than cherry, but works nicely when blending in combinations for beef. The potentials are only limited by your inventory of woods.
Use your favorite dry rub, or use the KISS metjhod...beef, especially the rib, doesn't need much enhancement, so SPOG (salt, pepper, onion, garlic) is a good choice. Don't forget Au Jus if you're into that sort of thing...plan ahead an place a small drip pan on the bottom grate to catch the rendered fat and juices...use this for your Au Jus base.
Eric
