Smoked Bone-in Ribeye Steak
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There's just something about a big ol' ribeye steak with a handle that brings out the true carnivore in us! These smoked bone-in ribeye steaks are smoked to almost done then seared on a very hot grill for a perfect finish.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 1-2 hours
- Smoker Temp: 220°F
- Meat Finish Temp: 135°F (medium rare)
- Recommended Wood: Cherry
- Bone-in Ribeye Steaks (¾ to 1 lb per person)
- Olive oil
- Jeff's Texas style rub recipe
Place the ribeye steaks on a cutting board
Note: This one was just over 2 lbs and was about 3 inches thick. Any size and/or thickness will work but thicker is better in my opinion.
Drizzle olive oil onto them.
Use a basting brush to coat the entire piece of meat with the oil.
Sprinkle a generous amount of Jeff's Texas style rub recipe onto the top, sides and bottom of the steaks.
Note: the Original rub recipe (Jeff's Naked Rib Rub) is also very good on steak and I have used it many times with excellent results.
Let the steaks sit on the counter for a few minutes while you get the smoker ready. You will notice that within a few minutes, the rub begins to draw some of the moisture out of the meat. The moisture then mixes with the rub ingredients and it creates a paste.
Place the steaks on a Bradley rack or a cookie sheet to make it easy to transport them to and from the smoker.
I used the Landmann propane smoker for this cook but any smoker will work great as long as it can maintain about 220°F.
Set it up for indirect cooking and use the water pan if your smoker was designed with one.
I recommend cherry wood for smoke but any smoking wood will work great for these.
Once the smoker is ready, place the steak right on the smoker grate or if you used the Bradley rack, you can just place the rack right on the smoker grate.
Keep the heat and smoke going for about any hour or until the internal temperature of the steak reads about 110-115°F.
Once the steaks reach an internal temperature of 110-115°F, place them on an already preheated gas or charcoal grill. The grill needs to be very hot.. the hotter the better in my opinion.
I used the Big Green Egg without the platesetter heated to around 550°F so I could get a good char very quickly.
(If you used the Original rub recipe on these, be careful as it does burn much easier than the Texas style rub recipe due to the sugar content.)
Keep a close eye on the steaks and do not leave them alone at all. Place them on the hot grill for about 2 minutes then rotate them 90° to get nice looking grill marks.
In 2 more minutes or so, flip them over and do the same thing on that side.
The amount of time it takes to get a good char is completely dependent on the temperature of the grill so it may take more or less than 2 minutes.
As an alternative, you can bring them into the house and place them under the broiler of the oven for this charring step. You will not get the coveted grill marks but you will get a great char and color and because the heat is working on the top of the steak instead of the bottom, you'll be able to easily see when it's had enough and is ready to be flipped over.
Leave the smoker going and if the charring is complete but the steaks are not to your desired doneness, you can easily place them right back in the smoker until the desired temperature is acquired.
When the ribeye steaks have reached your desired level of doneness (I recommend medium rare or 135°F for best flavor, tenderness and juiciness), lay them on the cutting board and cover loosely with a foil pan or piece of foil to allow them to rest for 10 minutes.
During the resting period, the juices in the steak will settle down and redistribute throughout the meat. The meat will also raise a few degrees in temperature.
Cut or carve the steak(s) as desired and serve immediately.
You will notice the perfect medium rare all the way from edge to edge and the lovely char on the outside. This process of cooking low and slow then charring the outside over very high heat, as I have described above, is the only way to make that happen.
You can obviously cook them to a higher internal temperature if that's the way you like to eat steak ;-)
Enjoy the perfectly cooked smoked bone-in ribeye steaks!
Printable Recipe
Smoked Bone-in Ribeye Steak
Ingredients
- Bone-in Ribeye Steaks (¾ to 1 lb per person)
- Olive oil
- Jeff's Texas style rub
Instructions
Step 1: Season Steak(s)
- Place the ribeye steaks on a cutting board.
- Note: This one was just over 2 lbs and was about 3 inches thick. Any size and/or thickness will work but thicker is better in my opinion.
- Drizzle olive oil onto them.
- Use a basting brush to coat the entire piece of meat with the oil.
- Sprinkle a generous amount of Jeff's Texas style rub onto the top, sides and bottom of the steaks.
- Note: the Original rub (Jeff's Naked Rib Rub) is also very good on steak and I have used it many times with excellent results.
- Let the steaks sit on the counter for a few minutes while you get the smoker ready. You will notice that within a few minutes, the rub begins to draw some of the moisture out of the meat. The moisture then mixes with the rub ingredients and it creates a paste.
- Place the steaks on a Bradley rack or a cookie sheet to make it easy to transport them to and from the smoker.
Step 2: Smoke ’em up
- I used the Landmann propane smoker for this cook but any smoker will work great as long as it can maintain about 220°F.
- Set it up for indirect cooking and use the water pan if your smoker was designed with one.
- I recommend cherry wood for smoke but any smoking wood will work great for these.
- Once the smoker is ready, place the steak right on the smoker grate or if you used the Bradley rack, you can just place the rack right on the smoker grate.
- Keep the heat and smoke going for about any hour or until the internal temperature of the steak reads about 110-115°F.
Step 3: Finish on the Grill (optional but very good)
- Once the steaks reach an internal temperature of 110-115°F, place them on an already preheated gas or charcoal grill. The grill needs to be very hot.. the hotter the better in my opinion.
- Keep a close eye on the steaks and do not leave them alone at all. Place them on the hot grill for about 2 minutes then rotate them 90° to get nice looking grill marks.
- In 2 more minutes or so, flip them over and do the same thing on that side.
- The amount of time it takes to get a good char is completely dependent on the temperature of the grill so it may take more or less than 2 minutes.
- As an alternative, you can bring them into the house and place them under the broiler of the oven for this charring step. You will not get the coveted grill marks but you will get a great char and color and because the heat is working on the top of the steak instead of the bottom, you’ll be able to easily see when it’s had enough and is ready to be flipped over.
- Leave the smoker going and if the charring is complete but the steaks are not to your desired doneness, you can easily place them right back in the smoker until the desired temperature is acquired.
Step 4: Rest and Serve
- When the ribeye steaks have reached your desired level of doneness (I recommend medium rare or 135°F for best flavor, tenderness and juiciness), lay them on the cutting board and cover loosely with a foil pan or piece of foil to allow them to rest for 10 minutes. During the resting period, the juices in the steak will settle down and redistribute throughout the meat. The meat will also raise a few degrees in temperature.
- Cut or carve the steak(s) as desired and serve immediately.
- You can obviously cook them to a higher internal temperature if that’s the way you like to eat steak ?
- Enjoy the perfectly cooked smoked bone-in ribeye steaks!
Just a suggestion for those that like lots of smoky flavor. I really love lots of smoke flavor so I bought a pellet tube on Amazon for $13. I fill it up with whatever pellets I’m smoking with on my Camp Chef smoker, get it burning, then place on the splash plate below the grates away from the food. It’ll smoke a good 4 hours and adds a lot more smoke. I like it best on pork, but it also works well for chicken and beef. I know it’s a matter of taste for me, but family and friends rave about my smoked meat. I love the Camp Chef, but the food has a more subtle smoke flavor than I’m used to so I ramp it this way.
Good Morning,
I am preparing a 4+lb boneless ribeye roast for the smoker. It will not be cut into steaks. How would I smoke it compared to the bone in chops? We prefer med/med rare. I don’t have a real accurate thermometer.Can you suggest a basic time frame to do this? I have a Green MT grill and can hold a temperature pretty well.
Thank you so much.
Donna
My smoker is usually burning Hickory wood, any recommended adjustments (i.e. to the rub) if I’d like to try this with my next larger smoking session? I have an offset firebox smoker (Bandera) and considering trying the sear on a grate in the firebox.