My 1st whole Ribeye for my Birthday Dinner! Q-view

[forluvofsmoke]

Just after tossing into the Smoke Vault 24...probe in a wood block on the center of the rack space beneath the ribeye to monitor smoking temps:


Internal temp @ 2-1/3 hours:


Total elapsed time and grate temp after taking a quick shot of the ribeye...I'm not worried about low IT at this point, as the meat is probably only an hour since it climbed over 40*, so knock that much off the elapsed time:


Not the prettiest thing you could toss into a smoker, but that will change in time...LOL!!!!!!!!!...the dark spot towards the left/center/front is from the meat just starting to sweat and the juices absorbing into the flour...this trick may just work afterall for a thick and crisp crust development:



I plan on misting the entire ribeye later with a Tony's Creole butter injectable marinade to help carmelize and develop the crust if needed. I'll take a couple peeks along the way and make a decision if I'll need the mist or not.

More to come!

Eric

 

[fire it up]

Saw your meat and at first I thought you had throw dry aged but not trimmed beef into the smoker

Then I realized that was just silly and began to wonder if you had left it outside for a while and it began to pick up a coating of snow

And THEN I read your explanation of the flour coating...*whew! OK, now I'm back on the right track.

Good luck Eric!

 

[bigtrain74]

This is madness!!! I honestly have to say that this post with q-view has my vote thus far for thread of the year. Unless you completly foul up the end result, this is the best post I have seen on here. Not to get me wrong, I have seen some wonderful posts but this takes it in my book.

 

[forluvofsmoke]

Thanks, just doing something I really love to do here...a new cut of meat for the smoker and a camera in hand...sharing it with everyone here is just the icing on the cake! I love SMF and all the great members here...


It looked pretty 'til the flour went on, then appearances changed drastically! LOL!!! It'll turn around soon and start to reveal it's secrets again, I'm sure...

Thanks...sure is a monster to undertake...it's gonna be a great experience for me, and confidence builder for myself and others who haven't pulled the trigger just yet.

LOL! I knew I better explain the idea before someone asked "what the heck happened to your masterpiece?!?!?!?!?!?!?"


Thanks, just havin' a fun B-day today while I share some of the experience here...I haven't had any major flops so far, so as long I'm paying attention to my thermo-probes and times, I should be able to transform the beast into a feast!!!!!! LOLOLOL!!!!!

I had never thought about it being a really great thread myself. I'm just doing something I love to do, and waiting to see where the ride takes me!

Thanks for all the nice B-day wishes folks, and, believe me, as with any day I can spend in my smokin' sanctuary, this IS a fun day!

Eric

 

[tigerregis]

Sorry to be the grinch here, but nomenclature is important. Rib eye is a boneless cut. What you have is a trimmed full rib, if it has seven bones.
Nevertheless, I hope it turns out beautiful and y'all have a Merry Christmas.

 

[forluvofsmoke]

That's why we love the forums here, good point and well taken as well. I did forget to mention, this is a 7-bone, if the pics didn't show it. You may be a "newbie" to the forum, but all of us here are still learning things along the way...thanks for the clarification, and setting my mind straight.

Thanks!

Eric

 

[forluvofsmoke]

I did bump temps up to ~260* on the grate probe after about the 3 hour starting time. I/T looked a little too slow on the rise for my comfort, so I wanted to get a bit more push going for some momentum through the 140* range. This will also help develop the crust better at these higher chamber temps.

If I had to guess right now, I'd say this probably will hit a stall in the mid-140* range...I'm shooting for 150*+ due to most of the guests and family don't like beef that rare, so the trick is not drying it out while getting a slightly more done finished product than most of us would normally try to do, myself included. This goes along with part of my original plan for using any and every available moisture conservation method. I love med rare rib steaks, prime rib, etc, but They are tasty at any level of doneness in my book as long as the moisture is still there.

Oh, also, I did go with a wet water pan today, adding hot tap water about 30 minutes into the smoke, after the smoker temps were up high enough to avoid developing condensation in the smoke chamber....been there with my SNP once...dark, smokey water dripping out every crevice imaginable...not a pretty site.

Grate temp & timer..having issues getting good pics of these today with my cell-cam:


IT thus far:


A quick peek revealed something I wanted to share...the meat's moisture sweating out is being absorbed into the flour coating as planned...looks like it's going to come together so far...I'll look again later and decide about the butter-based misting..that would make a nice finishing touch if I can get a nice glossy dark & crispy bark...oh man, I better shut my pie-hole before I have to fill it with some food!!!!!!!! LOLOL!!!!:





Some cracking in the un-formed crust from a bit meat shrinkage is apparent here with a closer view of the crust...and, I noticed some bones peeking out as well from shrinkage...things are slowly on the move...looks like very good signs of great things to come:





Well, this seems to be coming together nicely at this point...my fingers are crossed for no upsets later. OK, I know better than that...I can identify problems, and will adapt and overcome! LOL!!!!!

Thanks!

Eric

 

[meat hunter]

The suspense on this one is killing me. Ive been checking in on this post every 30 minutes at least LOL.

 

[forluvofsmoke]

Well, we hit the 140* IT @ just under 5.5 hrs elapsed time, which would be an actual time in the 40-140* range of 4.5 hrs, so I think were doing OK still. The extra length of the full rib with bone in has quite an impact on cooking times, I think.

I've kept chamber temps up so I've had 255-260* grate temps under the beast up to this point.

My last check on internal temp (IT/time on left, grate temp/timer on right):



And, this is looking too good right now to mess with it by misting with anything...the flour coating has nearly all been grabbing up some meat juices. The thin fat-cap is pulling up tightly as it shrinks and the bones are more prominent now as well. I'm thinking KISS method now, and just decided to push the grate temp to ~275-290* for an improvement on the crust before reaching pulling temps:




More later as this un-folds! I'm getting excited about this baby now!!!!!!!!

Eric

 

[forluvofsmoke]

I changed the internal temp probe angle and depth. I targeted just a bit deeper and closer towards the center of the beast. The temp dropped a few degrees, but nothing major...just double checking my probe position to avoid any dissapointments and starting to second-guess anything.

I may have hit a small plateau @ ~147*, and it seems to be waking up already after just 3/4 hour...nice progress. Chamber spiked just a couple minutes prior to this set of pics @ 295 on the grate...I dialed it back down to ~280*.


Planning on pulling to foil and rest @ 155* for about 45-60 minutes, depending on how everything looks as this progresses.

Got a bit hot, but, a spike like this will aid in crust formation/carmelization, so I was OK with that...I just didn't want to get my probe sensor fried in the process...LOL!!!!!!:


IT, time, grate temp & total elapsed time:


No pic of the meat this time...just keeping that chamber heat rolling now.

The finish is coming soon, I promise! LOL!! I know there's a few of you getting about as itchy as I am...such is the life of a smoker..hah-hah-hah!!!!!

OH BABY!!!!! Probe just hit 155*!!!!!!!! Gotta go!

Eric

 

[forluvofsmoke]

LOL!!! ME too brother, me too!!!!!!!!!



My daughter started an Aujus Gravy for me after I tossed the frozen block of beef base into a saucepan. This is mixed with a store bought Aujus gravy mix. The beef base was made during my last big burn, the packer brisket...process/recipe/pics are contained in this thread:
http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/for...ad.php?t=85756

On to the beast, shall we?


This is a 12" x 18" pan for size comparison, which I loosely lined with foil (shiney side towards the meat for better radiant heat refection back to the meat)...ready to probe and wrap:


Lower camera angle here:






Foiled with 1 long sheet, end-to-end, from an 18" wide roll, approx. 40" long...edges were overlapped and folded, as were the ends...perfect match for this size of roast):


Size comparison...ready for toweling and resting:


Pulled @ 156* actual temp...IT climb after about 10 minutes in the foil:



Frozen Beef Base for Aujus:


Into the pot after a 1-minute nike-box ride to release the block from the container:



IT is now @ 161* after peaking @ 162*...been resting for about 35 or 40 minutes (I think)...I kinda lost track of the elapsed time when I foiled it now in all the excitement...LOL!!!! That's OK though, as I'm going partly by IT for slicing anyway. I'm thinking a drop of at least 15* below peak reading, or 60-75 minutes here.

Beef is finishing getting happy, I'm already happy, and the feast will follow soon...

More to follow ASAP!

Thanks!

Eric

 

[walle]

Eric,
You've probably gathered about a 1000 points on this, so let me give you your 1001st!

for not only an aboslutely awesome roast, but for trying your wife's flour trick. I can just imagine that crust has to be close to a good o'l homemade chicken fried steak - good and crunchy, enfused with all of that rub... MAN!

Great job! I think you should celebrate your birthday at least once a month this next year

.
Thanks for sharing,
Tracey

 

[forluvofsmoke]

Thanks Tracey, yeah I'd love to do these very month!!! I must say this came out great!

Anyone waiting in suspense to get one started for Christmas Day better get busy right now! LOL!!!!!

You won't be dissapointed, I promise!!!!!!

Final pics and full review ASAP...I'm still eating while uploading, etc.

Back soon!

Eric

 

[beer-b-q]

Looks like someone is having a great birthday dinner...

 

[forluvofsmoke]

My wife called to me from her chair while I was serving freshly sliced roast beast (er, beef), and said she will now refuse to ever cook Christmas dinner again!! LOL!!!!!!! (she's serious)

I'll let the pics roll from here...they'll tell most of the rest of the story on their own, but, I'll point out what I was looking at in specific on a few.


IT and elapsed time when I grabbed my knife and steel...the kids and wife were at attention in the living room as all the chit-chat went silent...they know what the sound of a knife drawn over a steel means:


Red juices still present as a bone poked a hole in the foil when I lifted the beast out of the resting pan/towels:





Foil juices from resting...pretty good amount...will it be juicy, or did I loose it in the foil? (suspense filled moment here):


8 oz measured liquids with about 1.5 oz being rendered fat:


OK, this thing is just so pretty, I can hardly bring myself to do the final procedure, but the crew (and I) are getting VERY HUNGRY already! LOL!!!!!!!!:





I sliced off the end cap with all the crust and saved it for my plate..heh-heh-heh...benefits of being the birthday-boy, as well as the chef:














My hog-trough with a mid-slice and the end cap slice on top of it:





An appetizer of festive holiday tortilla chips and broccloi, cheese and mushroom dip...this was good, but definately not necessary with the above:


Folks, this has got to be a amoung the best of my smokes thus far...absalutely everything came together beautifully today. We're still talking about this here & there (little comments and such).

My wife, kids and guests alike are very impressed with this...I'm quite happy myself. The crust was ever so slightly softened due to the foiling and could be firmed up again by tossing into the smoker @ 300-325* for 20-30 minutes...still quite nice as it was though. I had to break the crust with my knife to start the slices several times, so it was actually pretty crisp...not real thick but very well developed...gotta hand it to my wife for this one brothers & sisters.

Man, what a day to be alive and have such a great family, and great friends here on the forum to share such a success with!

I'll come back on as I find my words for a more complete review...for now all I can say is I am very happy to be here and have had the opportunity to give this offering to SMF's members and guests! By all means, if uyou have and questions, fire away...I may not remember everything from today, but some picking at my brains will jog the memory pretty quickly.

Folks, get your dry rub ready and grab that roast! Christmas is just around the corner...time's a wastin'!!!!!!!!!! LOLOLOL!!!!!!!

This was my best birthday gift ever...being able to pull this off, with all the threads that got me thinking about it when my wife mentioned Christmas dinner...man, what a treat indeed!!!!

Merry Christmas to all!

Eric

 

[csmith2884]

nothing less than

Happy Birthday - Merry Christmas

 

[meat hunter]

OMG, OMG, OMG, OMG, OMG!!!!!!

You know, there really should be a warning, kinda like we do on the jokes section. You know, to warn people hey this is a PG joke or an R rated joke.
Only here, the warning should be.

"Caution. Viewing this thread can lead to severe bouts of uncontrollable salivating and urges to sniff your computer monitor"

Absolutely the very best Whole Ribeye I have seen. I think I can actually taste it?

Well deserved. It was a long wait, and I even put off opening presents tonight with the kids so I didn't miss anything. Ok, I made that last part up, but I have checked in on a regular basis. Great Job.

The only thing I have to figure out now is, who do I send the bill to for my shorted out keyboard? You or Jeff........

 

[deltadude]

Nice job, is it just me or was the meat a tad over med?

What would you do different, if anything?

BTW I was at Winco today picking up some odds and ends, and noticed they had a lot of Ribeye Roasts. Select grade like yours, I was amazed at the price $3.94. If I wasn't so broke I would have bought a half dozen and stick them in the freezer. One of the butcher guys was working on the meats case, and I asked him about those Ribeye. He said he already had taken a couple home and they cooked up real nice and tasty. It was difficult seeing those prices, after just having left the Butcher with my ordered New York Strip Loin 15 lbs spending just over $130 for USDA Prime. If I was smoking the N.Y. strip I would have strongly considered taking that hunk of meat back, and getting the Ribeye - select as Smoking will easily overcome any taste or tender difference between select and prime. But, I'm not smoking the N.Y. Strip Loin as I have to cook it in my sis oven 70 miles from my home.

Anyway, great photos, very informative, job well done!

P.s.
Beef stock simmering on stove now, going to turn part of it into a semi-demi-glace for sauce tomorrow and sunday.

 

[forluvofsmoke]

Thanks, it's been a great ride today!

That's just way too darn funny!!!!!!!!!!!! I read this 3 times to make sure I got it all, 'cause I couldn't read it from start to finish without breaking out in laughter! Man, it's still getting me right now.......


Thanks for joining me for a great day of smoke!

Eric

 

[forluvofsmoke]

Thanks, yes, with the red juices that leaked out of the foil into the cutting board trough and the deep overall meat color, I'd say just past medium...really good eating. The temp indication of the probe may have been over/closer to med-well, it sure didn't look and or eat like it though. The juices were just oozing out...this thing could have rested for about 4 or 5 hours, would have still been hot enough to slice and drop straight on the dinner plate, and probably would have still be busting open with juices in every bite. I couldn't even believe my own eye (or mouth).

I know this may sound like I'm trying to pump this thing up, but most of us had trouble walking away from our dinner plates tonight...seconds and thirds were being sliced out as I was trying to sort/upload pics for the finished plate. Word here is: "restaraunt's can't touch it"...one from my BIL was "you should set up a joint next to the Prime Rib restaraunt (actual name), 'cause you'd put them into a hurt-bag full of competition"...he doesn't like their owner or manager very well, I guess.

As for doing anything different...right now I'm still absorbing the whole experience, but, can't think of anything I would change, especially if I wanted to repeat the level of doneness.

OK, I guess the brain picking is paying off now. Right off the top, I guess I would start the smoker very similar to the temps I used, but go to a steady 250-260 as I originally planned on during the start of this project instead of dropping back to ~225 for the first ~2 hours (I think it was 2). This would speed things up alittle and definately not dry the roast out. Then, as I was getting closer to the finish/pull target temp, I would do the same and crank the heat to a bit under 300* for the benefit of getting that nice crust finished up...this wouldn't like take much time though, as the higher smoking temp would develop the crust more prominently without jacking it up for 45-60 minutes like I did today.

If I wanted to go med-rare when finished, I'd pull it at 145*, rare at 140* (no higher for sure)...considering how well this large roast held it's heat and actually climbed from carryover by 6*, this would be my plan. I'm not 100% sure how a 3 or 4 bone might act according to this, as the total mass of the roast is so much less. Foiled shiney side in, and no cooler, just a couple large bath towels to wrap, really held it in well. A butt or picnic shoulder, being of much lower mass may not hold in the heat as long as this either, for example.

BTW, there was a nice light smokey flavor in the crust and slightly into the meat...wife said she loved it, as did all the rest of us. That cherry instead of hickory was a good last minute change, thanks to oneshot for suggesting it...

It does sound like you've had some tough decisions to make on meat purchases...and money's always part of the equation, too...it sure would be nice if we could all just walk in and grab a case-lot of anything our heart desired. I guess things would get kinda boring on smokin' day then, though...hmm...never thought about it that way before...

That's all I can think of for now, other than the excitment hasn't even begun to wear off yet!!!!! LOL!!!!!!!!!!

Good smokes to you, my friend, and have a very Merry Christmas!


Eric