The Perfect Prime Rib Recipe (2024)

FAQs

How do you cook prime rib so it is tender? ›

Start by cooking your prime rib at 500°F for 15 minutes and then lower the oven temperature to 325° F and cook for 10-12 min per pound for rare, or 13-14 min per pound for medium rare, or 14-15 min per pound for medium well. A meat thermometer is essential to ensure you cook it perfectly!

How to Season Prime Rib. A roast is a large cut of meat: it needs more seasoning than you might expect. Season it generously with kosher salt the day before roasting it and let it sit in the fridge uncovered overnight. When you take it out of the fridge before roasting, add pepper and any additional herbs.

A thermometer is the only way to guarantee perfectly cooked meat, and a good instant read thermometer is the best one for the job. Aim for 115 to 120°F for medium rare (125 to 130°F after resting), or 125 to 130°F for medium (135 to 140°F after resting).

Searing is an important part of roasting a prime rib. Searing the roast first will kill the surface bacteria, which is a nice touch, especially when you are roasting at lower temperatures.

Salt the Prime Rib Overnight

First and foremost, overnight salting is the most important step for prime rib. Others may try to fool you into thinking it's the resting stage, which is up there for sure, but it's not number 1. Rub a good quality kosher salt all over the meat the day before you want to cook it.

Remove the beef roast from the refrigerator 3 hours before you start to cook it. Sprinkle it with salt all over and let it sit, loosely wrapped in butcher paper. Roasts should be brought close to room temperature before they go into the oven to ensure more even cooking.

Do you cover prime rib roast when cooking? You can cover rib roast when cooking after searing it to help it retain some of its moisture, but it's not necessary. For the best results, leave the roast uncovered until you remove it from the oven or grill and place it at room temperature for resting.

Cooked low and slow in the oven and finished with a blast of heat for the juiciest, most flavorful, evenly cooked prime rib roast. Kenji is the former culinary director for Serious Eats and a current culinary consultant for the site.

Use Olive Oil Instead

If you are searing a roast with butter before or after cooking it, it is more likely to burn due to its low smoke point. Instead, David Rose recommends home cooks use olive oil or grapeseed oil to lessen any chance of the roast charring.

Prime Rib Roast, at room temperature (very important)

Sear the rib roast for 15 minutes at the higher oven temperature (450°F), and then turn the oven to the lower temperature (325° F) for the rest of the cooking time.

Is ribeye roast the same as prime rib? ›

Prime rib is simply a bigger, less-processed section of the cow's primal rib, while a ribeye is a piece of that rib section sliced into a smaller portion. Both cuts also share a reputation for being utterly delicious. The rib primal is tucked into an area of the cow that doesn't do much work.

For the best results, leave your prime rib roast out on the counter to come up to room temperature for two to three hours before cooking. It's not advisable to leave it much longer than three hours to help prevent the development of bacteria.

Prime rib is at its best cooked rare or medium rare — it should not be cooked past medium (140°F) or all the fat will melt out of the meat, leaving it tough, dry, and chewy. After the prime rib is cooked, make sure to let it rest for 30 minutes for the meat to reabsorb all the delicious juices before carving.

APPROXIMATE COOKING TIMES for the prime rib cooked at 350°F after the 20 minute cooking time at 450°F. Rare; cook 12-13 minutes per pound or to 130°F. Medium-rare; cook 14-16 minutes per pound or to 140°F (I would not recommend cooking a prime rib any more than medium-rare).

The second part of the cooking time is slowly finishing off the cooking process. This slower cook time really gives that fat on the prime rib time to render and seep into the meat, which adds a massive amount of flavor. Fat = flavor!

Heat the oven to 250°F with the rack in the lower middle position. Cook for 4 to 5 hours or until the internal temperature in the thickest part of the roast is 125-130°F for medium-rare prime rib, or 135-140°F for medium. Take out the roast and tent it with foil.

A good rule of thumb for purchasing bone-in prime rib is to buy one pound per person. A bone-in standing rib roast will feed about two people per bone. But if the roast is part of a bigger spread with plenty of other food, you can plan on 1/2 to 3/4 pound of prime rib per person.