How to Cook Prime Rib

Name: How to Cook Prime Rib
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 120 min
Total time: 310 min
Ingredients: 7 lbs Prime Rib; 5 cloves crushed fresh garlic; Kosher salt (quantity dependent upon size of prime rib); Fresh ground pepper corn; 3-4 celery stalks for bed of roaster (optional)

by Dan from Platter Talk Published: Dec 26, 2019 Updated: Sep 23, 2020 About 9 minutes to read this article.

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If you have ever wanted to know how to cook prime rib, you can find out right here.

Our family has been making prime rib for years, and there are many ways to make this holiday classic.

Whether you like your prime rib rare, or well done, we will show you how to make it just the way you like it!

How to Roast Prime Rib

This is a meat lover’s post. If eating meat offends you, then please, skip this one.

If however, you or someone close to you enjoys a sublime prime cut of beef now and then, this is a post you will want to take a closer look at.

What you Need to Make the Perfect Prime Rib

Prime Rib
Garlic
Salt
Pepper
Butter

The Different Grades of Prime Rib

When you look for a prime rib to buy, you may see that there are two grades to choose from.

Prime Grade
- “Prime” is the highest grade of prime rib and the most expensive, about 25% higher in price than the choice grade.
- The prime grade of prime rib is heavily marbled with streaks of fat to make it more tender and flavorful.
Choice Grade
- “Choice” grade of prime rib is the second-highest rating and indicates beef that has less marbling.
- This is the type of prime rib most often served in restaurants.

Bone-In or Boneless Prime Rib

The next thing to consider is whether you want to make a prime rib with the bone-in, or boneless.

There are also a couple of things to consider, depending on if you go with a bone-in or boneless cut.

Bone-in
- Bone-in prime rib can be more challenging to slice.
- Figure on a pound per person with a bone-in prime rib.

Boneless
- Easier to cut for serving.
- Figure on about ½ pound for each person.

Prime rib, uncooked, surrounded by carrots and celery and seasoned with a dry rub.

Allow your roast to get to room temperature before placing it in the oven.

Start at Room Temperature

Take your prime rib out of the refrigerator a couple of hours before you place it in the oven.

Allowing it to reach room temperature before roasting helps ensure that it roasts evenly throughout.

How to season a Prime Rib

For the best prime rib, all you need to season it with is garlic, salt, and pepper.

Garlic
- Chop or mince the garlic and then use your hands to apply an even coat around the meat.
Salt
- Apply a generous layer of salt around the entire prime rib.
- I prefer to use kosher salt for it’s larger crystals.
Pepper
- Sprinkle a generous layer of fresh ground black pepper around the whole piece of prime rib.

Allow the seasoning to flavor the meat for an hour or two while it sits on your counter-top.

The Fat Cap

Prime rib will have a fat cap that insulates the meat while it cooks and adds some nice flavor under high heat.

Score the fat pad (without cutting into the meat), to allow some of the seasoning to penetrate the meat for added flavor and rendering.

Seasoned prime rib, ready to go in the oven.

Seasoned prime rib with garlic butter, kosher salt, and fresh ground black pepper.

Using Garlic Butter to Season Prime Rib

In the above photo, I compounded about a half-pound of butter along with a head of minced garlic.

I rubbed this garlic butter compound all over the meat and then added the kosher salt and pepper.

In addition to the extra flavor, the butter provides a nice crispy finish to the exterior surface of the meat.

My Two Methods of Roasting Prime Rib

I use two methods of making prime rib; both give me the same excellent results.

One method is temperature-based; the other is all about time.

Both methods have a couple of things in common:

Both start with a high oven temperature, which is lowered.
Both use “carryover cooking, which is when the prime rib continues to cook after it is removed from the oven.

Let’s take a look at both of these methods.

Temperature-Based Method of Making Prime Rib

Remove prime rib from the refrigerator a few hours before placing it in the oven to allow it to come to room temperature.
Season the prime rib a,s shown above.
Preheat oven to 400° F.
Place in oven.
Reduce heat to 300°
Keep prime rib in the oven until it is 5-7°F less than this temperature guide below.
Remove from oven and tent loosely with foil, for 15 minutes to allow for carryover cooking.

These are final doneness temperatures. Your “pull from the oven” temperature should be 5-7°F (3-4°C) below the temperatures shown (depending upon the size of the prime rib roast) to allow for carryover cooking.

Time-Based Method for Making Prime Rib

This method is a bit simpler as there is not temperature measuring involved.

Same as step one above.
Same as step two above.
Same as step three above.
Reduce heat to 375° when you put the prime rib in the oven.
After one hour, turn the oven off (do not open door).
An hour before you want to eat, turn the oven back on to 375°.
Roast for an hour at 375° and then remove from oven, tent the meat loosely with foil and allow to rest for 15 minutes before carving.

For Both Methods:

Place rib on a few stalks of celery or some potato wedges (slathered with olive oil or melted butter.

The celery will give the au jus some nice flavor, and the potatoes are a great one-and-done side dish!

If you want to treat yourself to something special and delicious, consider learning how to roast prime rib.

Although you can season an oven-roasted prime rib with anything, I use just three or four ingredients in my seasoning:

Fresh garlic
Kosher salt
Fresh ground pepper
Sometimes butter

How to Use Leftover Prime Rib

Prime Rib Phyllo Pot Pie
- Savory and simple comfort food that is the perfect home for leftover prime rib.

Leftover Prime Rib Enchiladas
- A versatile and delicious leftover recipe the whole family loves.

Leftover Beef Tacos
- This easy recipe for tacos and versatile and can be made with leftover beef, chicen, or pork.

When selecting a prime rib, besides choosing how to season it, you also have the option of “bone-in” or a boneless prime rib.

I don’t believe there is any difference in the flavor between the two.

If you choose bone-in, the roast should be placed in the roaster, with bone on the bottom.

Give this recipe a try; chances are if it is your first time making a prime rib, it will not be your last.

This post is dedicated to my sister Ann, who we lost far too early. One of the funniest and smartest people I have ever known, I miss you every day and will always be thankful for the love, the laughter, and the incredible food you fed me and the many lessons on how to roast prime rib.

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