The Perfect Prime Rib Recipe (2024)

FAQs

How do restaurants make prime rib so tender? ›

How do restaurants make prime rib so tender? The secret to restaurant-style prime rib is cooking the meat super slow at low temperatures. I recommend cooking prime rib at no higher than 200 degrees F. This cooks the meat very slowly, turning the fat into butter and rendering the proteins juicy and soft.

Prepare herb rub.

Combine the salt, pepper, fresh thyme, rosemary, garlic and olive oil then rub it all over the outside of the roast. Place a bone-in roast with the bones down, in a cast iron, roasting, or other oven safe pan. Place a boneless rib roast on top of a rack, and then in your pan.

Cook until a thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the prime rib registers 130 degrees F for medium rare, 35 to 45 minutes of cooking time per pound. An 8-pound roast will take about 5 1/2 to 6 hours.

In the end, the thicker crust that we got from the final sear was not worth the vast swaths of rosy pink meat that were lost. We recommend a low, slow cook preceded by a good sear. Whatever crust you may get from the final sear is just not worth the risk to the rest of this exquisite cut of meat.

For best results, salt your prime rib on all surfaces with kosher salt at least 45 minutes before you start cooking it, and preferably the day before, leaving it in the fridge uncovered overnight. Initially, the salt will draw out some moisture and end up dissolving in it.

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.

Place the seasoned rib roast on a greased roasting rack in a roasting tray. 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.

Overcooking the Prime Rib

That's why prime rib is so expensive: it's a huge piece of extremely good beef. Therefore, it's important not to cook it beyond medium-rare. Going past that temperature means the roast will no longer be tender.

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.

Place the roast fat side up, bone side down, in a large roasting pan. Cook for 15 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 325°F. This allows the heat to sear the roast, trapping the juicy flavors inside while the rest of the meat cooks. On average, each pound of rib needs 15 minutes to cook (i.e., a 4 lb.

Do you cook prime rib covered or uncovered? ›

Leaving prime rib roast uncovered while roasting allows the meat to develop a nice brown crust. You should only cover the roast with aluminum foil if it is becoming too brown.

Prime rib should be cooked at 500F for 15 minutes, then lowered to 325F for the remainder of the cook time. A good slow roasting prime rib temp is 325F. It is the perfect temperature for medium rare prime rib.

Brown the roast at 500°F (or as high as your oven will go) for 15 minutes. Lower the oven to 325°F to finish roasting: Reduce the oven temperature to 325°F. Roast in the oven until the thermometer registers 115°F for rare or 120° for medium rare, and 130°F for medium.

Preparing the Prime Rib Roast

Pull the rib roast out of the fridge and let temper on the counter for three hours. USDA guidelines requires food not be held above 33°F (1°C) for more than 4 hours. A three-hour rest on the counter is well within time constraints.

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.

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.

For a bone-in prime rib, figure two servings per rib, while a boneless roast will yield two servings per pound. When trying to figure out how much time you need to roast your prime rib, use this simple calculation: weight of the prime rib (in pounds) x 5 = total roasting time in minutes.