A little disappointed

[saintsfan]

Smoked a select bone in rib roast for about 4.5 hours in hickory. Forgot to put some water or liquid of some kind in the smoker.  Meat was good but somewhat dry.  Only got one drip of drippin in the drip pan the whole time.  Not very juicy. Could this be because it was Select or me forgetting to put some liquid in the smoker or both.  Wasn't even able to make au jour sauce since no drippins.  Even with my mistake and the select meat I would have thought there would have been more drippins.  Any thoughts

Jim

 

[gregbooras]

Hey Jim,

Sorry that your smoke did not go as planned, it happens!

I would suggest dry brining your meat next time for a few days, it will add flavor and help keep the meat moist. Also did you use a rub and what temp did you pull the roast from the smoker?

Greg

 

[saintsfan]

Hey Greg

Yes I used MR. Stubbs Beef rub and took the meat out at 140 degrees and let sit for about half an hour wrapped in foil

 

[gregbooras]

Hey Jim,

If it was 140 it should have been medium so I would not expect it to be dry.

I sure others will chime in, normally this cut of meat is very juicy, unless you got a bad cut of meat.

Greg

 

[swthorpe]

Sorry to hear about the dry result, Jim.  Pulling the meat at 140IT should have been fine.  While adding a juice pan in the bottom of the smoker might help, I doubt that the lack of a juice pan would have created the issue.  I recommend trying the smoke again and see what happens. 

 

[SuperDave]

When I pick my roasts, I pay very close attention to fat marbling. If you selected a lean roast with little fat, there isn't much that can be done.

 

[saintsfan]

I believe that was the problem, I didn't inspect the meat thoroughly.  To me it is the only reason I didn't get the juicing I wanted

Jim

 

[DivotMaker]

Jim,

Not sure what technique you used to smoke your bone-in rib roast, but you might try this"

Prime Rib  (This is a Prime cut, but I get the same results with Choice).

I find the standing rib roast to be the best smoke of the year, for me, and really look forward to it, when I can find one!  I use a really low-and-slow approach, with a reverse-sear at the end.  What you end up with - even with a USDA Choice cut - is a beautiful, medium-rare roast from edge to edge.  I would suspect that a Select cut wouldn't be much different.  One of the biggest mistakes folks do, with a bone-in rib roast, is either a) sear first, or b) cook at too high of a temperature.  Don't worry about what the outside looks like - that can be finished at the end.  Instead, worry about what the interior looks like!

 

[Jimbo]

I suspect it was because of the "select" grade. They have very little marbling.