How to Cook Prime Rib

Guide Note

Prime rib is a special treat. But with a hefty price tag, you want to make sure you know what you're doing when you fire up the oven. This guide to roasting the best prime rib will fill you in on all the secrets you need to make sure you get the most out of your meal.

Table of Contents

Prime Rib Tips

  1. If you can, get your meat from a butcher.
  2. Ask for the "first cut."
  3. Plan on serving about one rib for every two people.
  4. Ask your butcher to reserve the trimmings for you, if you'd like to make a side dish like gravy or Yorkshire pudding.
  5. Use a meat thermometer when cooking.
  6. To make carving a snap, ask your butcher to remove the meat from the bones. Roast your meat with the bones attached by a string; then you just need to cut the string and carve when the meat's done!

Introduction

  • Roasting a prime rib is not complicated, but that doesn't stop prime rib, also known as a standing rib roast, from being an elegant main course at any meal.
  • A standing rib roast is so called because it "stands," or rests, on the ribs while cooking. This means the meat doesn't need to sit on a rack while roasting. And it means you don't need to worry about anything beyond selecting the best meat (perhaps with the help of your local butcher), and using a meat thermometer to make sure you cook your prime rib properly!


Step 1: Gather Your Ingredients

Roasted Prime Rib. (Creative Commons photo by Ernest Andrade)
Roasted Prime Rib. (Creative Commons photo by Ernest Andrade)

Select Your Meat

  • There are several considerations in selecting your roast:
  1. How much meat should I buy?
  2. Where should I buy it?
    • If you have a local butcher, it's time to visit him! You'll get better quality meat, be able to pre-order should you so desire, and specify any additional requests.
  3. Is there a difference in grade?
    • The top grade of meat is USDA Prime. If your local butcher carries it, that's your best choice.
    • If you can't buy USDA Prime, USDA Choice should be fine, as long as you select a well-marbled piece.
      • (Marbling refers to the white fat you see in the meat—it's what gives the meat its moistness and flavor).
    • There is a wide range in quality within the choice grade, so make sure to look at several pieces of meat side by side to compare them.
  4. What should I ask for?
    • Ask for the first cut, ribs 10-12, from the small end of the roast. This meat is leaner, and also gives you more meat (because there's less bone) for your money.
  5. Remember the trimmings!

TIP: To make carving easier, ask your butcher to carve the meat off the bone, then re-tie the ribs back on. When the roast is done, you just snip the string, remove the ribs, and slice the meat!

Other Ingredients You'll Need

Step 2: Gather Your Tools

A Roasting Pan. (Creative Commons photo by Jennifer Dickert)
A Roasting Pan. (Creative Commons photo by Jennifer Dickert)
  1. Roasting Pan that will fit the roast with at least 1-2 inches of space around it.
    • Don't use a non-stick pan, as it makes it more difficult to remove drippings.
  2. Baster to remove drippings while cooking.
  3. Large Glass Measuring Cup to hold the drippings.
  4. Meat Thermometer
    • This is the single most important tool you'll use in roasting the meat.
      • The best meat thermometer to use for a roast has a remote probe. A temperature sensor stays inside the meat while the unit itself stays outside the oven, displaying the temperature. This allows you to view the temperature of the meat as it changes, and means you don't need to keep opening the oven door (and therefore lower the oven's temperature).
      • Some models have alarms you can set, to alert you when a pre-set temperature is nearly reached.

Step 3: Roast the Meat

  • Cooking time varies depending on the shape of the roast, how cold it is to start, the fat content of the meat and how true your oven is.
  • You can plan on about 20 minutes a pound for a standing roast—but this is just an estimate you can use to time your dinner. Do NOT use time estimates to cook your meat. Cook by temperature. And it's important to remember that the meat will continue to cook while standing, after you remove it from the oven.
  1. Allow the meat to come to room temperature, but for safety's sake don't leave it out for more than 1-2 hours.
  2. Preheat the oven to 450°F. This initial high temperature will let you sear the meat.
  3. Season the meat, to your taste. Here's one suggestion:
    • Rub a cut onion over the meat, then rub meat with salt and pepper.
    • Remember to check the other recipes on this page if you'd like more elaborate seasoning ideas.
  4. Place the meat in the roasting pan, fat side up.
  5. Place the trimmings you got from the butcher in the pan, as well as your quartered onions.
  6. Put the roasting pan in the oven.
  7. After 15 minutes, remove the meat from the oven.
  8. Turn the temperature down to 325°F.
  9. Insert meat thermometer into the roast.
    • Make sure the thermometer doesn't touch a bone.
    • Meat can have harmful bacteria on the surface from the slaughtering process, equipment from the processing plant, or other contamination. Proper cooking will kill harmful bacteria on the surface of a solid cut of meat, but any bacteria that is forced inside the meat won't be killed unless the meat is cooked to a temperature of at least 160°F. By waiting to insert the meat thermometer until after you've seared the outside, you can enjoy meat that is not well done without worrying about bacteria from the surface of the meat causing food poisoning.
  10. Return the roast to the oven.
  11. Keep an eye on the drippings—if it looks like a lot are accumulating, use the baster to bring them into a measuring cup as the meat is cooking.
  12. Remove the meat from the oven when it's 5-10 degrees under the final temperature you want (remember, it will keep cooking outside the oven. This means that you should remove it from the oven at:
    • 115-120°F for rare meat
    • 125°F for medium rare
    • 135°F for medium
    • 155°F for well done

CAUTION: The FDA considers any beef cooked to less than 145°F to be in the Danger Zone.

Step 4: Your Final Preparations

A Prime Rib Dinner. (Creative Commons photo by Peter Van den Bossche)
A Prime Rib Dinner. (Creative Commons photo by Peter Van den Bossche)
  • A few more minutes and your meal will be ready.
  1. Let the meat to sit, allowing the juices to settle for 15-30 minutes.
  2. When you're ready to serve, simply cut the strings that hold the meat and bones together.
  3. Carve and serve. And enjoy!

Additional Prime Rib Recipes

  • Williams-Sonoma: Slow-Smoked Rib Roast
  • Williams-Sonoma shares the secrets of grilling a prime rib roast.

Resources for How to Cook Prime Rib

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