In partnership with Meater
Christmas is right around the corner, and if you’re on the hunt for some last-minute recipe ideas for holiday dinners, stop here at this Traeger Smoked Prime Rib with Caramelized Onion Horseradish Sauce. It’s a show-stopper and a delicious twist on a traditional holiday meal. It’s not too late!
TRAEGER SMOKED PRIME RIB FOR THE HOLIDAYS
Traditional holiday meals like prime rib and potatoes are one of our favorite things as the days are short, it gets dark early and comfort food is king. We love cooking up a prime rib for special occasions (and the occasional random Sunday dinner) and have found the best way to differentiate the cooks from each other is to adjust the seasoning and sauce the meat is served with.
For this prime rib, we cut off the bones from the roast before seasoning, which provided another area of surface for seasoning and flavor. We tied the cut rib bones back on the meat, which was sandwiched in a bunch of herbs, my Garlic Junkie seasoning and extra flavor. This procedure also makes it exceedingly easy to carve the roast when the cooking is done. Simply snip the string holding the bone plate to the roast and you have a gorgeous boneless prime rib to slice to your diner’s desire.
BONE IN IS BEST
Despite cutting the bones off the prime rib before seasoning, we think that a bone-in prime rib is the best cut you can use for a cook like this. The bones add extra flavor, structure and an impressive flair too. Additionally, when you prepare the bones like this, you are given an extra leftover treat in your cook– gorgeous beef ribs ready to be sauced and grilled and enjoyed after the holiday.
Much like a tomahawk or cowboy cut, a bone-in prime rib comes from the same part of the cow. In reality, a tomahawk steak is a one-bone prime rib with an extra long bone. And a cowboy steak is a thick-cut one-bone prime rib! If you’re cooking for a small group, you could definitely go for a smaller roast– one or two bones– and follow the same procedure. Or go a bit bigger (3-5 bones) and have some tender prime rib leftovers for another meal.
MEATER MAKES IT BETTER
We used our Meater thermometer system in this cook which helped ensure that we ended up with the most perfectly-cooked prime rib. The wireless technology makes it super easy to use– just stick the probe in the meat, pair it to the app and adjust the settings in the app for your desired finish temperature.
Especially in the winter months, cooking with a Meater is a must-do. It allows us to closely monitor the progress of a big important cook like a prime rib without having to constantly go out in the cold and open the grill. The temperature of the grill doesn’t fluctuate as a result, and your meat doesn’t end up poked a bunch of times as you insert a thermometer.
For this cook, we set the desired temperature for the prime rib to 120* and allowed it to rest a few minutes for the carryover cook to get it to 130*. By leaving the Meater thermometer in the meat while it rests, you are sure to be alerted when the internal temperature is perfect and your cook is done.
SEASONING YOUR PRIME RIB
In this cook, we used herbs and my Garlic Junkie as the main seasonings for the roast. We picked up a variety of herbs from the grocery store– parsley, thyme and rosemary– and sandwiched those into the cut section of the meat (between the roast and the bones) and seasoned the whole thing generously with Garlic Junkie. The strong garlic and herb flavors of the Garlic Junkie, paired with fresh herbs, make for an amazing crust on the prime rib. This is a Traeger smoked prime rib you won’t forget!
HORSERADISH SAUCE
Whenever a big roast like a prime rib is served, it’s become a tradition (and expectation) that it is served with horseradish sauce at our house. Everyone counts on it. For this cook, we took a bit of a detour and added some different flavors to the horseradish sauce, to add some park and difference.
CARAMELIZED ONIONS
To start, we took one white or yellow onion and sliced it super thin. Then it was sauteed in a small frying pan with lots of butter until the onions were soft, caramelized and golden. You want them to really cook– so they kind of melt into the sauce– and you end up with a little bit of French Onion Soup type flavor.
CHEESE TOO
In addition to the caramelized onions, we added a big pile of finely shredded extra sharp cheddar cheese to this sauce. If you would prefer a different flavor profile, consider using crumbled blue cheese in place of the cheddar– it would be a really delicious option. While the sauce is served cold or room temperature, adding the cheese that has been shredded on the finest setting of your box grater will add dimension and flavor to the sauce without bogging it down.
OTHER CARAMELIZED ONION HORSERADISH SAUCE INGREDIENTS
In addition to onions and cheese, our caramelized onion horseradish sauce included many of the old standards: mayo, sour cream, prepared horseradish, salt and pepper. We also stirred in a few leaves of thyme at the end. You could also add garlic (crushed or powder), lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, etc.
Make a double batch of the sauce if people who are dining with you are extra saucy-people (we have some of those in our family). It works great as a dip for later steak or veggies, or spread on a sandwich or crackers.
PRIMARY INGREDIENTS
- Bone in prime rib roast
- Fresh herbs
- Garlic Junkie seasoning
- Mayo
- Sour Cream
- Yellow or white onion
- Prepared horseradish
- Butter
- Finely shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- Thyme
- Salt and pepper
WHY SMOKING PRIME RIB ON THE TRAEGER WORKS
There’s nothing quite like a slow-smoked prime rib on the Traeger. It’s tender, juicy, full of flavor and cooked perfectly. Especially when paired with a Meater thermometer, you are bound to have perfect results in your cook. The added flavor of wood-fired cooking comes through in the roast as it reverse sears, and the high heat that is possible in a Traeger for searing gives an amazing crust to the finished dish. Plus, by cooking it outdoors, you don’t have an oven to clean or smoke/grease in the house from the sear. Cleanup is a breeze!
STEP-BY-STEP
- Remove roast from the fridge and unwrap it on a cutting board.
- Using a sharp boning knife, carefully cut the bones (in one piece) from the roast, being sure not to remove too much meat from the bones.
- Season the roast all over generously with Garlic Junkie seasoning.
- Between the roast and the bones, sandwich a big handful of fresh herbs and some extra Garlic Junkie seasoning.
- Using kitchen twine, tie the bones back on to the roast, securing tightly.
- Transfer the roast to a wire rack over a cookie sheet and place it in the fridge for at least one hour– and up to over night.
- Preheat the Traeger grill to 225* with the super smoke feature.
- Place the prepared roast in the grill, with the Meater thermometer inserted, and close the lid.
- Set the desired temperature on the Meater app to 110*.
- Allow the roast to cook until it reaches 110*.
- Bump up the temperature of the grill to 400*, and leave the roast in the grill.
- Adjust the desired temperature on the Meater to 120*.
- Allow it to get very hot and sear the roast all over until the internal temperature reaches 120*.
- Adjust the Meater temperature one more time to 130*.
- Remove the meat from the grill, tent it with foil and allow to rest until the desired temperature reaches 130*.
- Slice with a sharp knife and serve with caramelized onion horseradish sauce.
- While the roast is cooking, make the sauce.
- Thinly slice the onion and cook in a saucepan with lots of butter until very soft, golden and caramelized.
- In a bowl, combine the mayo, sour cream, horseradish sauce, cooked onions and shredded cheese.
- Mix until well combined and season to taste.
- Set aside and serve your Caramelized Onion Horseradish Sauce with your Traeger Smoked Prime Rib.
Prime rib on the Traeger 
Roast ready for slicing
ALTERNATE RECIPES/PRODUCT LINKS
Here are some other holiday-relevant recipes to consider for the holidays:
- Planning Ahead: Prime Rib
- Pork Roast with Coleman’s Sauce
- Manhattan Roast with Asian Chimichurri
- And here’s a great use for Prime Rib leftovers
Products used in this cook:
- Meater Thermometer
- Traeger Timberline XL
- Messermeister boning knife
- Kitchen twine
- Garlic Junkie Seasoning
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Traeger Smoked Prime Rib with Caramelized Onion Horseradish Sauce
Equipment
- Cutting board & boning knife
- Kitchen twine
- Wire rack and cookie sheet
- Traeger grill
- Meater thermometer
- Small frying pan
- bowl and spoon
- Cheese grater
Ingredients
- 1 3-4 bone prime rib roast
- 1 cup Fresh herbs
- 1 cup Garlic Junkie seasoning
- 1 cup Mayo
- 3/4 cup Sour Cream
- 1 Yellow or white onion
- 8 tbsp prepared horseradish
- 4 tbsp butter
- 3/4 cup finely shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- Sprig of thyme
- Salt and pepper
Instructions
- Remove roast from the fridge and unwrap it on a cutting board.
- Using a sharp boning knife, carefully cut the bones (in one piece) from the roast, being sure not to remove too much meat from the bones.
- Season the roast all over generously with Garlic Junkie seasoning.
- Between the roast and the bones, sandwich a big handful of fresh herbs and some extra Garlic Junkie seasoning.
- Using kitchen twine, tie the bones back on to the roast, securing tightly.
- Transfer the roast to a wire rack over a cookie sheet and place it in the fridge for at least one hour– and up to over night.
- Preheat the Traeger grill to 225* with the super smoke feature.
- Place the prepared roast in the grill, with the Meater thermometer inserted, and close the lid.
- Set the desired temperature on the Meater app to 110*.
- Allow the roast to cook until it reaches 110*.
- Bump up the temperature of the grill to 400*, and leave the roast in the grill.
- Adjust the desired temperature on the Meater to 120*.
- Allow it to get very hot and sear the roast all over until the internal temperature eaches 120*.
- Adjust the Meater temperature one more time to 130*.
- Remove the meat from the grill, tent with foil and allow to rest until the desired temperature reaches 130*.
- Slice with a sharp knife and serve with caramelized onion horseradish sauce.
- While the roast is cooking, make the sauce.
- Thinly slice the onion and cook in a saucepan with lots of butter until very soft, golden and caramelized.
- In a bowl, combine the mayo, sour cream, horseradish sauce, cooked onions and shredded cheese.
- Mix until well combined and season to taste.
- Set aside and serve your Caramelized Onion Horseradish Sauce with your Traeger Smoked Prime Rib.
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