The Perfect Prime Rib Recipe (2024)

FAQs

How do you get a perfect prime rib cooked? ›

Cook the prime rib at 500 F for 20 minutes. Then, turn the heat down to 325 F and cook it for another 1.5 hours – or until the internal temperature reaches. Once it's done, allow it to cool for 40 minutes under a foil tent. Then, slice it, serve with your favorite mashed potatoes, and enjoy!

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.

What is the most important thing to do before roasting a prime rib roast? It's critical to allow the prime rib roast to sit at room temperature for at least an hour before cooking it. This will help thaw the meat and raise its internal temperature to ensure it cooks more evenly.

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.

You'll cook the prime rib low and slow in the oven, then crank up the heat at the end to achieve a crisp outside. This method has several advantages: the prime rib loses less juice to the bottom of the roasting pan and it cooks evenly all the way through.

Step 1: Season Overnight

This is a hefty cut of meat. Because of its density, it requires extra time for the salt in your seasoning to penetrate deep into the roast. The day before you plan to cook, you should generously season it with salt and pepper (and we mean generously).

You're looking at roughly 25 MINUTES PER POUND. and you're going to need a meat thermometer to be able to check the doneness of the meat. Start checking at the 1/2 way point and keep checking about once an hour. Pick out the thickest part of the beef to measure, to see how far you are to your preferred doneness.

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.

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. And with the freezer method, you can get a harder sear without worrying about a gray ring from the beginning.

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.

Should I put water in the bottom of my prime rib roast? ›

Place the roast fat side up in a shallow baking pan; then add some basting liquid to the bottom of the pan. I like to use red wine on the bottom of my pan to give the juices even more of a robust flavor, but water or beef stock will work just as well.

Prime rib has a large “eye” of meat in the center, which is juicy, tender, and marbled with fat. This eye has a fat-marbled muscle around it, and the whole thing is surrounded by a thick cap of fat. This means that prime rib is tender, juicy, and extremely flavorful because the muscles aren't heavily used.

First things first, wrap leftover prime rib tightly in plastic wrap, preferably keeping it intact rather than slicing it. This will help keep as much moisture inside as possible.

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!