Easy Smoked Ribeye Roast on Traeger with Horseradish Sauce
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You’ll love the rich, smoky, melt-in-your-mouth flavors this slow-smoked Traeger ribeye roast! This garlic herb-seasoned boneless prime rib is bursting with savory tenderness that will have your guests raving. Served with a delicious horseradish sauce, the array of flavors makes the perfect celebratory meal for holidays or special occasions.
Nobody appreciates the traditional holiday classics as much as I do. I love a good smoked turkey this time of year, and there’s nothing better than a classic ham.
But sometimes you just want something different during the holidays, don’t you? Especially if you’re like me and have several different gatherings to attend. There are only so many times you want to throw some turkey or ham on your plate.
Not only will you appreciate having a different main course at one of your celebrations, but all of your guests will appreciate it, too. Is there anything more exciting than being presented with slices of beautifully tender, smoked prime rib made on a wood-fired grill? I think not!
But hey, it doesn’t have to be a holiday to enjoy this smoked ribeye roast! Also known as a boneless prime rib roast, this roast is one of the finest beef roasts you can buy. Characterized by its generous marbling and large pockets of fat, this meat is certainly rich, tender, and melt-in-your-mouth good.
Because it’s so tender, you can easily cook it to medium rare if you like your meat with a good amount of red.
And the best part? Smoking a ribeye roast on Traeger (or another type of pellet grill) is incredibly easy to do with just a few simple ingredients. With little effort, you’ll have flavorful prime rib to celebrate the holidays.
Ingredients
To slow-smoke a Traeger ribeye roast, gather the following:
- 4-5 lb boneless Ribeye Roast – You can use whatever size you need. This recipe easily scales up for larger roasts.
- Sprigs of Fresh Thyme & Rosemary – We love the fragrance and taste of fresh herbs, but dried herbs can be used if desired.
- Garlic Cloves – Mince 4 to 5 fresh garlic cloves, or more to taste.
- Coarse Kosher Salt – Coarse salt is important. Regular table salt will make your roast too salty.
- Black Pepper
- Olive Oil – Or go for some butter if you’re really feeling crazy. 😉
To make my incredible, healthy horseradish sauce, you will need:
- Sour Cream – Both regular and lite sour cream work well.
- Plain Greek Yogurt – We use nonfat, but you can use whatever kind you prefer.
- Grated Horseradish – Look for this in the deli section of a larger grocery store. You want pre-shredded horseradish, not a premade condiment.
- Garlic – The flavor of grated garlic is unmatched! I grate one clove into this sauce, but you can also use a teaspoon of minced garlic.
- Lemon Juice – This brightens the sauce and adds some acidity.
- Green Onions – We just use slices of the green tops for garnish for the sauce.
- Salt & Pepper
Ribeye Roast Smoking Instructions
To smoke your boneless prime rib roast and zesty horseradish sauce, follow the instructions below. The full list of ingredients and quantities can be found in the recipe card.
1. Rest Roast at Room Temperature
Remove the roast from the refrigerator and allow it to come to room temperature. This takes 1-2 hours for a 4 lb roast. This step isn’t essential, but it helps the roast cook more evenly, which is really important if you’re aiming for medium-rare.
2. Prep Roast & Rub
If your roast has a particularly large fat cap on top of the roast, you may wish to trim excess fat down to about 1/4 inch thick with a sharp knife.
Strip the leaves of thyme and rosemary from their stems and chop. Mince your garlic. You can also do this in a blender cup and do a quick blend if you wish.
Add your chopped herbs and garlic to a small bowl with the olive oil, 1-2 tbsp salt, and pepper. Rub the herby-garlic mixture all over the entire roast.
3. Warm Up Smoker
Turn the Traeger temperature (or other smoker) to 250 degrees F. While the smoker is heating up, place a meat thermometer into the thickest part of the roast through the top making sure to hit the center of the roast.
4. Smoke Your Ribeye Roast on Traeger
Place your ribeye roast fat cap up, directly on the grill grates. Close the lid and let it smoke at this lower temperature until the internal temperature of the roast reaches 120 degrees F.
For a 4-lb roast, this takes 2 hours. Add an additional 30 minutes per pound for larger roasts.
5. Rest Roast
When the roast reaches 120 degrees F internally, remove it from your Traeger grill and cover it with aluminum foil. Increase the grill to the high temperature setting (about 450 degrees F) to prepare for the reverse sear. Let the roast rest for 20 minutes.
The temperature of the roast will continue to rise while it rests, even as much as 10 degrees. While it rests, you can prepare your horseradish sauce (instructions in the next section).
6. Reverse Sear
After the rest, place your roast back in your hot Traeger. Close the lid and let your roast sear to crisp up the crust on the outside of the roast. Keep an eye on the temperature, and flip your roast every 5-10 minutes to sear a new side. You will sear your roast for as long as it takes to reach your final desired temperature. For medium-rare doneness, aim for 135 degrees F. It will take about 15-20 minutes, but be prepared to pull the roast off sooner if the temperature is climbing.
Check out the Ribeye Roast Tips section for additional information.
7. Slice
Remove from the grill and place on a cutting board. Slice the roast against the grain. Place slices on a serving platter with the horseradish sauce.
8. Serve the Ribeye Roast
Serve immediately after searing and slicing.
Zesty Horseradish Sauce
1. Prep Horseradish
Chop your grated horseradish into smaller pieces if you wish. You could also leave it long, but smaller pieces are easier to eat.
2. Combine Ingredients
Add your chopped horseradish, sour cream, and Greek yogurt to a medium-sized mixing bowl. Grate one clove of garlic into the bowl. Alternatively, you can use 1 tsp minced garlic. Add 1/4 tsp each of salt and pepper.
3. Add a Splash of Lemon Juice
Squeeze a bit of lemon juice into the mixing bowl and stir everything to combine. Do not squeeze the whole lemon–you only need a splash. If using jarred lemon juice, start with 2 tsp and whisk/taste.
4. Top with Green Onion
After mixing the sauce, garnish with slices of green onion greens. You can also use chives.
Ribeye Roast Tips
-For the initial smoke at 250°F, it takes about 30 minutes per lb to reach 120 degrees.
-Since you rest the ribeye roast while you heat the grill to high for the reverse sear, you do not need to rest it again once it’s done.
-The temperature will rise as the roast rests. Because of that, you don’t want to cook it far past 120°F internal temperature before pulling it off to rest unless you prefer your meat more well done.
-Always slice against the grain for the most tender meat.
-If you want a perfect medium-rare, you may wish to end the reverse sear at 134°F internal temp and watch the thermometer. Slice when it hits 135°.
-If the temp doesn’t move after a couple of minutes, it likely won’t move at all, and you can put it back on the grill to finish it out that last degree, then slice and serve immediately.
Ribeye Roast Internal Finishing Temperatures
The chart below shows the internal temperatures you want to aim for for your desired level of doneness for your ribeye roast:
Serving Suggestions & Related Recipes
Serve this tender prime rib recipe (ribeye roast) with other winter seasonal favorites, such as:
If you are having a large gathering and want to serve multiple main dishes, check out my Beef Recipes section or any of the delicious recipes below:
- Spatchcocked Traeger Turkey Recipe – This turkey could easily be made earlier in the day and kept warm sliced in the crockpot while you smoke your boneless rib roast.
- Traeger Pineapple-Cherry Glazed Ham
- Christmas Brisket is also a festive & delicious choice! Paired with a class of my Yule Mule Ginger Mocktail, you’ll have yourself a very festive meal.
- Sirloin Tip Roast Beef in the Instant Pot is also a great meat that is just dressed up enough to be suitable for special occasions.
- For a more casual meal, you can’t go wrong with Traeger Smoked Burgers.
- If you’d like a more economical roast that tastes just as good (if not better!) than a ribeye roast, check out my smoked picanha recipe.
Nutritional Information
The nutrition stats in the photo below represent an estimate based on my chosen ingredients in my macro-counting app of choice. Your stats may vary depending on the size of your roast, etc.
For 1/8 of this recipe (including the horseradish sauce), the nutritional information is as follows:
- Calories: 762
- Protein: 62 grams
- Fat: 54 grams
- Carbs: 5 grams
Recipe Notes
This easy Traeger recipe can be made on any smoker. If your smoker cannot get hot enough to sear, you can do the final sear in the oven.
If you happen to have any leftovers (this meat is irresistible, so you probably won’t, but just in case….) it will keep well in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 4-5 days.
FAQ
Ribeye roast and prime rib come from the same cut of meat. Typically, the difference is that a ribeye roast would be boneless, and a prime rib roast would be bone-in.
You can smoke a ribeye roast at 250 degrees F for 30 minutes per lb.
The internal temperature of a ribeye roast should be 135 degrees for medium-rare. For medium, aim for 140 degrees F.
Make this Ribeye Roast Today!
I’d love to hear how it goes for you. Please leave a comment and review! It means the world!
Ribeye Roast on Traeger with Zesty Horseradish Sauce
Equipment
- Traeger Grill or other smoker
Ingredients
For the Ribeye Roast
- 4-5 lb Ribeye Roast boneless prime rib
- 3 sprigs Thyme or more to taste
- 3 sprigs Rosemary or more to taste
- 4-5 cloves Garlic
- 1-2 tbsp Kosher Salt
- 1/2 tbsp Black Pepper
- 2 tbsp Olive Oil
For the Zesty Horseradish Sauce
- 2-3 tbsp Grated Horseradish *see notes
- 1/2 cup Greek Yogurt
- 1/2 cup Sour Cream
- 1/4 tsp Salt
- 1/8 tsp Black Pepper
- 1 clove Garlic
- 2 tsp Lemon Juice
- 2 tbsp Sliced Green Onion Tops
Instructions
- Remove your ribeye roast from the refrigerator 1-2 hours before you plan to smoke it. Let it rest at room temperature.
- Heat your smoker to 250 degrees F.
- Strip the leaves from the thyme and rosemary stems. Peel your garlic cloves. Mince the herbs & garlic with a knife, or use a blender to chop them small in a blender cup.
- Mix the herbs & garlic with the olive oil, salt, & pepper. Stir.
- Spread your rub all over the outside of the ribeye roast coating every inch of it.
- Bring your ribeye roast out to your smoker and place the roast directly on the grill grates. Close the lid and let the roast smoke until it reaches an internal temperature of 120. This will take about 2 hours for a 4 lb roast. Add 30 minutes for each additional pound.
- When the internal temperature reaches 120 degrees F, remove the ribeye roast from the smoker and cover in tin foil. Let the roast rest for 15-20 minutes. Meanwhile, set your Traeger to "High" or about 450 degrees.
- While the roast is resting, prepare your zesty horseradish sauce. Chop your grated horseradish into small pieces and add to a mixing bowl.
- Add the greek yogurt, sour cream, salt, and pepper. Grate a garlic clove into the sauce, and squeeze about 2 tsp lemon juice into the sauce. Whisk together and top with sliced green onion tops.
- After your roast has rested 15-20 minutes, place it back on your Traeger to do the reverse sear at high heat. Watch the temperature closely to pull the roast off the grill at your desired doneness. Aim for 135 for medium rare.
- Turn your ribeye roast onto a new side every 5-10 minutes until the roast reaches your desired temperature. This takes about 15-20 minutes.
- Remove the roast from the grill when your desired temperature is reached. Slice the roast against the grain and serve immediately with the horseradish sauce.
Video
This is delicious! Definitely one of my favorites 😀 I’ll take me a smoked ribeye anytime