BBQ-Heroes

Rib roast with grilled vegetables

This year we wanted to do something for Christmas. We have earned it in 2020 shall we say. We bought a lovely rib roast from our favourite butcher and got to work. A rib roast is a beautiful piece of meat that you don’t want to ruin. We are going to explain how to prepare a tender and juicy rib roast and add a whole meal at the same time.

This is a 4.5 kilo rib roast with 2 ribs. Not exactly the largest you can find but big enough for our Kamado Joe Classic. And big enough to feed a group of 6 to 8 people. Because this is such a large piece of meat, we are going to brine the meat.

Before we start brining the roast, we place it on a rack in a frying pan. This way, the air can circulate around the meat, and you do not have to worry that moisture from the meat will end up in the refrigerator.

We only do the brining with salt. Only the molecules of salt are small enough to penetrate deeply into the meat. Any other seasoning will infuse no more than a few millimetres into the meat if it will at all. Salt does several things. It provides more flavour and also ensures more juiciness.

If you sprinkle salt on the meat, it will extract moisture from the surface. That’s because salt is hygroscopic. This moisture causes the salt crystals to dissolve, resulting in a concentrated brine on the meat. After about an hour, this brine is reabsorbed in.

If you want to know more about this process, we recommend that you take a look on the amazing website of amazing ribs.

For a thick piece of beef, you need to use a lot of salt. About a good teaspoon per kilo. To give the brine a chance to absorb into the meat, we leave it uncovered in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 days. It is nice if you have an extra refrigerator in the shed. Otherwise, you will have to discuss this before removing the milk from the fridge.

After brining, we sprinkle some dry rub over the meat. This dry rub is without salt because there is already enough of it in the roast. As mentioned, the dry rub will not provide more flavour in the meat, but it will create a beautiful and tasty crust. There will be fights at the table for these parts. Just wait and see.

We place the rib roast back on the grid in the pan and put it all in the Kamado Joe Classic. That fits exactly. The pan ensures that your barbecue stays clean. We are also going to smoke the rib roast. Because off the rack, the smoke can get everywhere. We tied the rib roast with butcher’s twine because the different layers of meat had come loose from the fat.

After about 3 hours at 140 degrees (284F), the meat has a core temperature of 45°C (113F). That’s when we start using the pan to cook some vegetables.

We have opted for Brussels sprouts, carrots, potato and onion. You are of course free to throw some other veggies in. Try to find vegetables that have approximately the same cooking time. We then put the rack with the rib roast back over the vegetables, and continue the cook.

About an hour later, the meat has a core temperature of 52°C (126F). We then let the meat rest so that we can roast the vegetables in the pan. The core temperature in the meat will rise for a few more degrees and eventually turn nice and medium-rare.

The vegetables are already a lot softer so try to stir them carefully. Before you realize it, your pan is filled with a baby snack that is really tasty but doesn’t look like it anymore.

After resting, we cut the meat from the bone and in half. As you can see, the rib roast is perfectly medium rare and still deliciously juicy. By resting, no moisture flows out. Resting ensures that the meat cools slightly and lets the muscles relax. As a result, the water that was driven out during the heating will flow back again and distribute itself.

Of course, it looks fantastic to serve this kind of meat in hefty slices, but no one has room for that on his plate. We prefer to cut the roast into smaller portions so that everyone can grab a nice piece. You will see that the parts with the dry rub crust are gone first.

Everything gets better with butter. We melted some butter and mixed in some fresh Italian herbs and garlic in it. You pour that over the meat before serving.

Ingredients

  • The rib roast
  • salt (1 teaspoon per kilo)
  • olive oil

For the dry rub

  • 2 tbsp mustard powder
  • 2 teaspoon of onion powder
  • 1 teaspoon of garlic granulate
  • 1 teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon of brown sugar

The vegetables

  • pre-cooked baby potatoes
  • Brussels sprouts in half
  • carrots
  • red onion in quarters

Instructions

  1. Sprinkle the rib roast with salt. Place the meat on a rack in a roasting pan. Leave it uncovered in the refrigerator for 3 days.
  2. After 3 days, coat the meat with a little olive oil and sprinkle it with the dry rub. Leave about a tablespoon.
  3. Prepare a barbecue with an indirect temperature of about 140°C (284F) and a chunk of smoke wood.
  4. Place the rib roast on the rack and in the roasting pan on the wire rack. Cook the rib roast to a core temperature of 45°C (113F).
  5. Remove the rack from the pan and add a little olive oil to the juices. Use a spatula to loosen the baked pieces on the bottom and put the vegetables in the pan.
  6. Sprinkle the remaining rub over the vegetables and give it a gentle stir. Place the rack with the roast back over the vegetables and close the lid until the meat has a core temperature of 52°C (126F).
  7. Let the rib roast rest under a piece of aluminium foil and roast the vegetables in the frying pan for a while over direct heat.
  8. Cut the roast into pieces and serve with the vegetables.

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