Smoked Ribeye Steaks

Want to smoke juicy steaks on the Traeger? Try my super-simple smoked ribeye steaks recipe uses just 3 ingredients. It’s an easy and delicious smoker recipe for dinner that’s barely any work. I’ll teach you how to throw ribeye on the pellet grill and get them right the very first time you try ’em…

HEY THERE — Are you on instagram? I post quick, easy smoker recipes there @sipbitego.

Why smoking ribeyes is a great pellet grill recipe…

• Simple seasonings.
• Learn why you use two temperatures for smoking steaks like ribeye. 
• Use my low and slow method to infuse BIG smoky flavor. 
• Add even more flavor by using strong hickory wood pellets as seen in the Sip Bite Go demo.
• Use boneless ribeyes or smoke bone-in ribeyes. 
• New to smoked foods? See my step by step video for beginners (scroll to bottom of page). 

How long does it take to smoke ribeye

Plan for about 2 hours of smoke time for ribeye steaks (like the ones in the Sip Bite Go demonstration that are 2-3 inches thick) to reach the initial temperature goal. 

Then you’ll raise the temperature to high heat to finish smoking them for about 30-60 minutes more. 

So plan for about 3 hours total.

Ingredients

Here’s what you need to make ribeye steaks on the smoker.

• Ribeye steaks (1 LB each, about 1.5 inches – 2 inches – 3 inches thick)
• Olive oil
• BBQ rub (or steak seasoning with fine sea or kosher salt and pepper in it)

How to smoke ribeyes on Traeger Grills

Now I’ll walk you through it…

Quick look at this low-temperature-smoking ribeye recipe

1. Preheat the smoker and prepare ribeye steaks with seasoning. 
2. Smoke ribeye at a low temp.
3. Flip.
4. Then smoke ribeye at a high temp to finish it with a nice crust. 
5. Rest rest for 10 minutes at a minimum, and enjoy.

Detailed recipe steps

1. Let steaks rest for 15 minutes on the counter to come up to room temperature. (optional)
2. Preheat Traeger Grills or Pitt Boss, Masterbuilt, or whatever pellet grill you’re using to 200 degrees F. We prepped the pellet with Hickory wood chip flavored pellets.
3. Prep ribeye steaks for smoking. Drizzle all over with olive oil. Sprinkle with BBQ rub, all over, then massage it into the steaks. Let steaks rest about 15 minutes with seasonings to absorb flavor while the smoker preheats.
4. Smoke ribeyes for about 90 minutes to 2 hours, or until they reach an internal temperature of 120 degrees F. (This is a very rare smoked ribeye temp, so FYI, you’ll continue smoking them to your desired temperature in the next step.) Remove steaks momentarily and cover with foil if desired. 
5. Raise the smoker temperature for ribeye to 500 degrees F. Now we’re going to blast them with heat to get a delicious, flavorful crust. (Otherwise, you’d just have a gray outside and that’s not the most tasty way to serve them.) 
6. Continue smoking ribeye steaks, basically sear them on the smoker, directly on the grill grates, at the higher temperature of 500 degrees F until done, flipping halfway through if desired. This step will be quick. (For my recipe demo in the Sip Bite Go video, I put the steaks back in and the internal temperature was 119 – they came down in temp by 1 degree F while waiting for the Traeger to preheat – then I flipped them at 125 degrees F, and took them off the grill around medium-rare temperature – about 130-135 degrees F). 
7. Remove smoked steaks when they reach your desired temp, as measured with an internal read thermometer.
8. Finish ribeye steaks by letting them rest about 10 minutes before serving. 

Smoked ribeye temperature chart

• Rare smoked ribeye (125-130°F) is still red inside.
• Medium rare smoked ribeye steaks (130-140°F) is red to pink inside.
• Medium ribeyes (140-150°F) is mostly pink.
• Medium well (150-160°F) has just a slight bit of pink inside.
• Well cooked (160°F) has no red or pink inside.

Toppings for smoked ribeye

• Have herbs in the fridge? Make my easy compound butter for steak.
• Make a bourbon butter.
• Creamy peppercorn sauce.

More ways to smoke ribeye on the Traeger

• Reverse sear ribeyes on a gas grill by smoking them first, taking it off the grill when it hits around 180-200 degrees F internally. Then instead of raising the temperature of the pellet grill, you’ll use a gas stove or charcoal grill to finish cooking the steak at a high temperature around 500 degrees F in just a couple minutes. 
• Smoke high and hot, quickly at 450-500 degrees F. This method doesn’t pick up as much of a smoky flavor though, due to the short cook time.

FAQs 

More Tasty Grill + Smoker Recipes

• Smoked mac and cheese
• Smoked brisket flat
• Smoked wings
• Traeger tri tip
• Smoked turkey breast
• Whole smoked turkey
• Smoked Traeger pizza
• Smoked onion rings
• Traeger smoked ham
• Smoked whole chicken
• Smoked jalapeno poppers
• Smoked corn on the cob
• Traeger beef ribs
• Smoked leg of lamb
• Smoked shrimp
• Grilled chicken wings
• Grilled skirt steak
• Flank steak marinade
• Grilled potato wedges
• Smoked pulled pork
• Want more? See my lineup of easy smoker recipes

See my favorite smoker tools and seasonings in my Amazon Storefront.

Meat thermometer recommendations

Every home chef needs a reliable meat thermometer to cook food perfectly. 

On Sip Bite Go, you’ll often see me using:

1. Meater thermometer – a fancy wireless thermometer that connects to a phone app – gifted to me from a Traeger partnership.
2. ThermoPro digital thermometer – which has a wire that connects the thermometer to a display box outside the oven/grill. 

It’s like being psychic! The great thing about either of the thermometers above is that I don’t have to take the food out of the oven to know the temperature. 

How to use ‘em… What I do is stick the digital thermometer in steak, pork, chicken, whatever… Then put the food in the oven, on the smoker, or grill.

While the meat cooks, it reads the temperature so I know exactly what temp meat is as it’s cooking. Without having to take it out and check. It’s really difficult to overcook food when you know exactly what temp it is inside!

Why I wrote this steak recipe

You’ve probably noticed that mastering all different sorts of steaks with various kitchen appliances is a hobby in my house. This cut of meat ranks right up there with other favorites like this grilled skirt steak, smoked flank steak, and coulotte. 

We love grilled ribeyes cooked on super high heat, which are ready pretty quickly on the gas grill. And then we love super low cooked sous vide ribeye steak, especially with a mayo sear. 

So it wasn’t long before perfecting how to cook ribeye on outdoor pellet smokers made it onto our bucket list. 

Waiting over 45 minutes for a steak to be cooked doesn’t phase me anymore, as we start preparing for dinner around breakfast time!

I was so eager to see how tender the smoker would make the meat the first time I tried it. It was a difficult debate to choose between the reverse-sear method, where for a portion of the time, the ribeye smokes at a high heat, to give it a seared crust. 

But actually, I find the brown crust of this recipe to be perfect. It’s a pretty easy set it and forget it smoker recipe, and one I definitely recommend for an upscale BBQ menu, served with a side of smoked mashed potatoes or smoked mac and cheese. 

Are you a foodie, too?

Hey home chefs, hope that answers all your questions about how to smoke a ribeye steak. 

In the future, I’ll have more on exactly how to smoke a ribeye roast and other Traeger smoker recipes for beginners.

For more smoked food inspiration, follow me on Instagram @sipbitego. And for more deliciousness, subscribe to the Sip Bite Go channel and see the Sip Bite Go recipe collection.