Prep Time:  30 mins
Cook Time:  7-9 hrs 40 mins
Total Time:  8-10 hrs 10 mins
Servings:  10-12

Truly mind-blowing entrees like this Tomahawk prime rib roast don’t come around that often, but it gets better: once you’ve got the meat, the smoker, and a sharp knife, most of the battle is already fought for you! With the slightest know-how, you’ll kick your entertaining skill up a fistful of notches. Be careful about setting that new standard — this isn’t your typical “it’s the weekend” prime rib roast. Take a long, longing look above and meet the newest superstar of your hosting repertoire. And if you think we’re talking a big game here, we have the perfect counter-argument already lined up: try one. We dare you to disagree.

Ingredients

  • 1 prime rib tomahawk roast, 6-bone (roughly 30 lbs)
  • 1 cup fresh rosemary, picked off the stem
  • 4 cups canola oil
  • 1 cup fresh parsley
  • 1 cup minced garlic
  • 12 Tbsp dijon mustard
  • 8 Tbsp kosher salt
  • 8 Tbsp black pepper

Items You'll Need

Instructions

  1. When you set down the roast, place it on a cutting board with the bone side facing downward and the fat cap up. Carefully trim away most of the thick, hard fat and excess fat from the fat cap — if you leave the lion’s share of it where it is, the hard fat won’t render into the meat (and it’ll prevent the herb crust from sticking to the roast).
  2. Excess fat’s all gone? Awesome! Next a suggestion: slice free a thick, 1/2-inch sliver from the bottom edge of the roast (or, to put it differently, the opposite side of the bones). The reason here is twofold; on one hand, this helps the roast stand up for an incredible presentation once cooked. Incidentally, that strip sizzling on the grill makes a great treat for the cook.
  3. Diva Q holding up whole 6-bone trimmed prime rib roast on butcher block
  4. In a food processor, blend the following ingredients: canola oil, mustard, parsley, rosemary, garlic, salt, and pepper. Pulse the ingredients to chop herbs evenly and combine these elements into that one-two punch of incredible flavor.
  5. With your roast still facing bone side down, pour about ¾ of this blended concoction over the top. Hand-spread and pat until completely coated. Focus on spreading most of it in a thick layer across the protein side of the roast (that’d be the side you shaved off all that fat from). Use the remainder to lightly tuck under and thinly coat the underside of your roast.
  6. Whole tomahawk prime rib roast coated in herbs being loaded onto pellet grill
  7. For best practices, cover the roast tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
  8. Ready to cook? Great! Preheat your smoker to 225°F, then position your roast in the center of the bottom cooking grid. Close the lid and roast until your meat thermometer registers an internal temperature of 100°F.
  9. Afterwards, raise the smoker’s temperature to 400°F and cook until your innermost roast reading registers reaches between 125°F–130°F.
  10. Smoked tomahawk prime rib roast coming out of the smoker before resting
  11. Tent the roast with foil and allow it to rest for about 90–105 seconds per pound, or in the ballpark of 1 3/4 minutes. Seeing as math is at best a necessary evil, we’ll take on the arithmetic for you — this recipe will call for about 40 minutes of rest. That’s our gift to you. Mind saving us a tomahawk? We’ll happily take the smallest one off your hands.
  12. Standing the roast up with the bones pointing upwards, slice out the individual tomahawks by cutting between each bone from the top straight down to your board. For best results, use a sharp knife and cut very cleanly — with only slight effort, it should be a hot knife tearing through cold butter. Try to not saw the meat; you’ve come this far for perfection, haven’t you?
  13. Diva Q slicing the fully rested and ready roast into steaks
  14. That’s all, folks! Serve and enjoy.