Prime Rib and Ribeye

• The full prime rib, or standing rib roast, is a massive piece of meat containing the first seven of a steer's ribs and the tender, well-marbled muscles attached to them. It's an expensive cut, so smaller portions containing 2 to 4 ribs are often sold for smaller and less-extravagant meals. To aid easy cooking and carving, butchers often cut away the heavy rib bones and leave behind just the tender beef. This is referred to as a rib eye or ribeye, and it's one of the best cuts for rotisserie cooking.

Dem Bones

• A bone-in rib roast provides a remarkably showy centerpiece for your meal, but from a practical perspective those bones present a few problems. First, they interfere with the even cooking of your roast by insulating one side of the ribeye from your heat source. Second, they throw off the roast's balance. A ribeye is easy to center on your spit, enabling it to turn evenly and reducing the wear on your rotisserie's motor. A bone-in roast is harder to center properly, and if it's off-balance it can quickly burn out the motor. Finally, smaller ovens and grills might just not be large enough to accommodate the large rib bones.

Preparing Your Roast

• To get your ribeye ready for the rotisserie, sear it in a large skillet and then season it thoroughly with salt and pepper or your favorite spice rub. If it's held together with butcher's twine, test the loops and knots to make sure they're tight. If not, retie it with fresh twine. Slide the main spit lengthwise through your roast, then use the secondary clips or forks to fix it in place. Give the spit a couple of spins in your hands to judge how well it's balanced. If it's off badly, remove and reinsert the spit and then secure it in place again. Now you're ready to cook.

Cooking Your Roast

• If you're using a rotisserie oven, preheat it to the correct temperature and then snap the spit into place and set your timer. The rotisserie on your grill requires a bit more setup. If you have a gas grill, rake your coals to either side of the rotisserie and lock your spit into its bracket. On a gas grill, light the side burners, but not the middle, underneath the rotisserie. In either case, put a drip tray underneath the rotisserie to catch the fatty drippings. This prevents flare-ups, and you can use the drippings to baste your roast. Slow-roast the beef at 225 F until it reaches your desired degree of doneness. The USDA recommends cooking beef to 145 F for safety's sake; medium-rare beef is cooked to 130 F.