When it comes to holiday meals, everyone understands the purpose of turkeys and ham. I’m sure each and every one of you here have fond memories at the dinner table eating a turkey with mashed potatoes and gravy, or a glazed ham with cheesy potatoes, all surrounded by good company. When it comes to our most memorable meals it is impossible not to have a perfectly cooked prime rib come to mind. I’m not sure there is a better way to show love and gratitude to your family than cooking prime rib for them for a holiday meal!
When it’s done right, prime rib is juicy, tender, and decadent. Prime rib comes from the rib roast, and rather than slicing into individual ribeye steaks, it’s cooked whole then sliced or shaved when it is served. You have to be careful not to overcook it. It’s important to use a meat thermometer to check progress as it cooks. Without a meat thermometer it will be hard to tell whether it’s rare or well-done. In all reality, a meat thermometer is an essential tool for cooking meat, both to ensure you get the doneness you want but also in a lot of cases to make sure things are cooked to a temperature that is safe to eat.
To get started there are a few pieces of equipment that are essential. I already mentioned needing a meat thermometer. You’ll also need a roasting pan with a rack of you’re using a boneless roast. The roast will sit on the rack in the roasting pan, rather than just in the bottom of it. If you have a bone in roast, you can use a cast iron dish and place in bones down if possible. If it falls over while cooking, don’t stress!
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To get started, preheat your oven to 500 degrees. Pull your rib roast out of its package and pat it dry with paper towels. Spoon oil and seasoning evenly over the whole roast. It helps if you use a bbq brush or just get in there with your hands, which is my preference! Once seasoned, set the roast on the rack in the roasting pan or on the cast iron dish bone side down.
Place the roast in your 500-degree oven and cook for 15 minutes. Then reduce the oven temp to 325 and cook depending on the doneness you desire.
Rare: 120 degrees F (about 10-12 min/pound).
Medium Rare: 130 degrees F (about 13-14 min/pound)
Medium: 140 degrees F (about 14-15 min/pound)
For a 5-6lb roast, check the roast after an hour with your meat thermometer. You want to check the center most part of the roast. Once the roast hits an internal temperature of 5 degrees shy of your desired doneness, pull the roast out of the oven.
One of the more difficult things with a prime rib is cooking to the temperature that everyone prefers. If you temp in the very center of the roast then just know the edges will be cooked to a higher doneness.
If your goal is medium-rare when you slice to eat, be sure to pull the roast at 125 degrees. For those of you that like medium, ask for the edge pieces. They’ll have cooked a bit more than the center.
When you reach the internal temperature that you desire, pull the roast out of the oven and let it rest at room temperature for 15-20 minutes. It will have a ton of residual heat and allowing it to rest will give it time for all of its juices to redistribute evenly throughout the roast before you start slicing into it.
The Best Oven Roasted Prime Rib
Equipment
- Meat Thermometer
Ingredients
- 5 pounds beef prime rib* if larger, double the spices/seasonings
- Sea salt
- 2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tsp fresh rosemary
- 1 tsp fresh thyme
- 4 cloves fresh minced garlic
- 1/4 cup olive oil or butter
- horseradish for serving optional
Instructions
- Step 1: Bring meat to room temperature by removing prime rib from the refrigerator one hour before cooking. Prime rib roast will cook better and more evenly when it’s at room temperature.
- Step 2: Season it on all sides with salt and cover it loosely with plastic wrap as it comes to room temperature.
- Step 3: Adjust oven racks: When you are ready to cook the prime rib, lower/adjust your oven rack so the meat will cook in the center of the oven.
- Step 4: Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F.
- Step 5: Mix together seasonings w/ oil: salt, pepper, rosemary, thyme, garlic, and olive oil.
- Step 6: Pat the roast with paper towels. Spoon seasoning over it, rubbing it onto all sides.
- Step 7: Get the meat on the rack and/or pan. If you have a bone-in roast, place the bones down, inside a roasting cast iron pan, no rack needed. For a boneless roast, place on a rack inside the pan.
- Step 8: Bake at 500 degrees for 15 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees and continue baking until desired level of doneness. The meat will continue to cook as it rests out of the oven so remove it from the oven 5-10 degrees before it reaches your optimal temperature. Use a meat thermometer to check the temperature of the meat.Rare: 120 degrees F (about 10-12 min/pound).Medium Rare: 130 degrees F (about 13-14 min/pound)Medium: 140 degrees F (about 14-15 min/pound)
- Step 8: One of the more difficult things with a prime rib is cooking to the temperature that everyone prefers. If you temp in the very center of the roast then just know the edges will be cooked more.
- Step 9: Remove prime rib from the oven and tent it with foil. Allow it to rest for 20-30 minutes before carving. It will have a ton of residual heat and allowing it to rest will give it time for all of its juices to redistribute evenly throughout the roast before you start slicing into it.
- Step 10: Carve prime rib roast by slicing against the grain into about ½ inch thick slices. Serve with horseradish, if desired.
