Roasted Prime Rib
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Ah…the prime rib. The star of Christmas dinners and casino buffets across the country. More properly referred to as standing rib roast (not all rib roasts have to be deemed prime by the USDA) because you can stand it on its own bones while cooking. The rib roast is one of nine primal cuts of the cow and certainly one of the more sought after cuts. When shopping for a rib roast you preferably want to buy a roast with the bones still attached. However, if you can’t find a bone-in roast right before Christmas ( like me, unfortunately) a boneless roast will suffice.
I personally like my beef on the rare side, so it’s important to check your meat with a thermometer pretty often. For this recipe you’re going to start out with a pretty hot oven. This is to get a good brown crust on your roast. We then lower the temperature to finish off the cooking. On average, you’re going to be looking at about thirteen minutes per pound for a cook time. But, I always tell everyone to judge by temperature not by time. So again, make sure you have a good thermometer.
Remember you should always rest your meat after cooking, and remember also that the meat will continue cooking a bit during that time. So plan accordingly. Target temperatures are as follows:
Rare 115°F – 120 °F
Med Rare 125°F – 130°F
Medium 135°F – 140°F
Medium Well 145°F – 150°F
As equally important as an after cooking meat rest, is to allow the roast to sit at room temperature for a bit. This allows the meat to dry and in turn, that will allow the roast to brown better.
A lot of recipes call for cooking the roast in a pan with a rack. I do it a bit differently. I cook it in a large cast iron skillet with no rack. This allows the meat to get nice and juicy while cooking in a nice butter/olive oil sauce.
The absolute best part of this recipe is the leftovers, like this Prime Rib Poboy.
Ingredients
- 1 standing rib roast (about 4 pounds)
- 1 teaspoon of kosher salt (you may need a little more salt and pepper depending on the size of your roast)
- 1 teaspoon of black pepper
- 6 tablespoons of butter (softened)
- 4 tablespoons of olive oil
- 1 teaspoon of rosemary
- 1 teaspoon of thyme
- 4 cloves of garlic (diced)
Instructions
Remove meat from the fridge and allow to rest at room temperature for at least a half hour.
Coat roast generously with salt and pepper. Allow to rest another half hour.
Preheat the oven to 500 degrees Fahrenheit. Add butter, oil, rosemary, thyme, and garlic to a bowl and mix well. Slather roast all over with butter mixture and pop in the oven in a cast iron skillet.
Cook at the high temperature of 500 degrees Fahrenheit for about ten minutes or until nicely browned.
Reduce oven heat to 325 degrees Fahrenheit and roast until internal temperature is where you want it on the chart above. (20-30 minutes)
(When you open up the oven to take the prime rib’s temperature be sure to base a little bit with the collected butter and juices in the skillet. Try not to open the oven too often as that will extend your cooking time.)
Take roast out of the oven and let it rest for at least ten minutes before carving. Remember though, the meat will continue to cook a bit after taking it out of the oven so be sure to pull from the oven a few degrees below your target temperature.
Enjoy with some au jus and/or a horseradish sauce. Keep checking for some leftover prime rib recipes (like our Prime Rib Poboy).
Prime Rib Benedict on Texas Toast 
Prime Rib Poboy 