The perfect Roasted Prime Rib for your holiday dinner is easier than you might think.

Prime Rib is one of our favorites for the holidays. With it’s seasoned brown exterior and it’s juicy pink interior, it’s so good! The thing about prime rib is that it’s not cheap, so you really want to cook it right because you’ve invested a good chunk of change. I’m walking you through it step by step so you can get it right! Don’t forget the sauces…mushroom sauce, horseradish sauce and a simple au jus will take it to the next level.

What you need:

prime rib roast
sea salt (or kosher salt)
fresh black pepper
rosemary
garlic
lemon
salted butter
chicken stock
onion
carrots
celery

Kitchen Tools needed for Roasting the Perfect Prime Rib:

There are a few tools needed for Roasted Prime Rib success:

instant read meat thermometer: (most important) for telling the internal temp of the roast so you can know exactly what temp is needed before you take it out of the oven
Roasting pan with v rack
Electric knife – for fast and easy cutting
cooling Rack and sheet pan – to rest the prime rib on in the fridge before roasting.

How to Prepare and Roast Prime Rib:

Season it: Season the prime rib on all sides with some sea salt and pepper. This can be done hours before roasting or up to 4 days before. The seasoned prime rib roast can go back into the fridge (uncovered) sitting on a sheet pan.
Room Temp Rest: When ready to start roasting, let the prime rib roast come to room temperature for one hour before roasting.
Make the Seasoned Salt: While the beef is coming to room temp, using a blender or food processor, blend together 1/4 cup sea salt, 2 sprigs of rosemary (stem removed), 2 cloves garlic and the zest of 1 lemon. Blend this all together until well combined.
Add the seasoned salt to the butter: Using a fork, add the blended seasoned salt to the one stick of softened butter. Use the fork to combine the butter with the salt.
Cover the Roast with the salted herb butter: Pat the prime rib with paper towels to dry the exterior. When dry, rub the flavored butter on all sides of the prime rib roast.
Preheat your oven to 500 F.
Place the roast onto a V rack in a roasting pan.
Add the onion, carrots and celery into the roasting pan under the v-rack. Add in the chicken stock.
Move the prime rib into the oven and roast: roast at 500 degrees for 15 minutes. After the 15 minutes reduce the oven temp to 325 degrees and continue roasting until you reach your desired meat doneness. These cooking times will vary (see the printable recipe below).
Remove it from the oven and let it rest: Cover it lightly with foil over the top. Allow it to rest for a solid 30 minutes before you start to carve it.
Carve it: When ready, carve the prime rib and serve with au jus and horse radish sauce.

Temperatures for Meat Doneness:

Here are the numbers to look for on your instant read meat thermometer to achieve your perfect meat doneness:

115-120°F for RARE
125-130°F for MEDIUM RARE
135-140°F for MEDIUM
145-150°F for MEDIUM WELL

Tips and Tricks:

Keep in mind that your prime rib roast will continue to cook after it is out of the oven, so it’s helpful to take it out of the oven at 5-10 degrees BEFORE it reaches your chosen doneness as it reads on the instant read meat thermometer.
Because ovens can vary, as well as the size and cut of meat, it’s really helpful to use a good instant read meat thermometer for prime rib success.
When ready to carve, be sure to cut across the grain (cut perpendicular to the lines of the meat).

Turn your Prime Rib into Ribeye Steaks:

If you want Prime Rib for your holiday dinner, but you are cooking for a smaller group, did you know that you can cut off portions of the prime rib before you cook it to enjoy later? Rib Eye steaks to cook at a later time, I love this tip! You don’t have to cook it all at once, if you don’t want to. If you have a vacuum sealer, like the Food Saver machine, you can vacuum seal the Rib Eye Steaks and freeze to enjoy later.

How to choose a good prime rib roast:

The first thing to look for when choosing a prime rib roast is good marbling. Marbling is the white fat that you can visibly see in-between the red uncooked meat. The fat is what gives the meat the best flavor, and it keeps the meat moist. We love the Costco meat department for the lowest price for really good quality prime rib.

Prime Rib with or without the bones?

It’s a personal choice to cook prime rib with or without the bones. Roasting with the bones ultimately does not add better flavor, it just looks impressive. The benefits of leaving the bones in while roasting is that the bones provide structure and support to the roast. The meat between the bones is delicious if you choose to roast with the bones. It is more expensive to roast with the bone in.
We chose a prime rib roast without the bones, mainly for ease when it is time to carve. If you choose to have the bones removed by a butcher, you will want to tie the prime rib up with string (cotton twine). The string will help the roast hold it’s shape and cook evenly. You can remove the string right before carving, after it has rested.

Season the meat well:

You will want to generously season your beef with salt. This can be done a day before roasting. Did you know you can even season it up to 4 days before roasting. Let it sit uncovered on a pan in your fridge. This will help dry out the surface, which will help the outside brown well while roasting.

How to Rest Prime Rib:

It’s so important to let your Prime Rib rest both before and after cooking. Before so that it can come to room temperature before entering the hot oven. Resting after cooking allows the juices of the beef to return back into the center of the beef, giving you a much more juicy steak…before you cut into it. Out of the oven, place the prime rib on a pan lined with foil and lightly cover the top with more foil. Let the prime rib rest for a solid 30 minutes before carving it. The foil will help it retain the heat.

How much prime rib to buy per person?

You are going to want about 1 pound of meat per person. If you are serving a lot of other dishes at your dinner, you can plan for less meat per person.

How to Truss Prime Rib:

It’s really simple to tie your prime rib up with cotton twine before roasting it. Trussing prime rib is so needed, especially if the bones have been removed, it helps the meat keep it’s shape and prevents the meat from spreading while it roasts in the oven. Here is how to do it:

Slide the cotton twine under one end of the roast about 3cm from the end.
Bring the two ends around the roast, up to the top (the long end and the short end) wrap both ends around your two fingers – twice, then thread the short end through the loops around your fingers. Pull the short end through. This knot slides (you created a slip knot).
Slide the knot down toward the prime rib roast until tight, pulling the short end.
Cross the tied end over the free end around your fingers creating a circle shaped loop, and move this loop under and around the roast.
Repeat this loop process at every 2cm along your roast, stretching over the top and bringing the loop down around the roast.
When you have reached the opposite end, turn the roast over and measure about double the length of the roast with more twine and then cut the twine.
Loop around each horizontal line and pull the twine through until tight and continue this process, pulling the twine back toward the other end of the roast.
When you reach the end, tie the two ends together. Cut off any excess twine.

Roasted Prime Rib Recipe

Loaded with flavor roasted Prime Rib seasoned with garlic and herbs and cooked to perfection. Step by step directions and tips for prime rib with or without the bones.

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Prep Time 1 hour

Cook Time 1 hour 45 minutes

Resting Time 30 minutes

Author Kami | NoBiggie.net

Ingredients

5 pounds Prime Rib Roast
1/4 cup sea salt + more
1/8 cup fresh black pepper
2 sprigs rosemary stems removed
2 cloves garlic peeled
1 lemon zested
1/2 cup butter (salted) room temp
1 32oz. box chicken stock
1 onion cut into quarters
6-8 carrots peeled and cut into large pieces
4-6 celery sticks cut into large pieces

Instructions

Season the prime rib on all sides with the sea salt and a fresh black pepper. This can be done hours before roasting or up to 4 days before. The seasoned prime rib roast can go back into the fridge (uncovered) sitting on a sheet pan.
When ready to start roasting, let the prime rib roast come to room temperature for one hour before roasting. Now is a good time to tie up your roast with cotton twine if it has not yet (see directions in the post).
While the beef is coming to room temp, using a blender or food processor, blend together 1/4 cup sea salt, 2 sprigs of rosemary (stems removed), 2 cloves garlic and the zest of 1 lemon. Blend this all together until well combined.
Using a fork, add the blended seasoned salt to the softened butter. Use the fork to smash and combine the butter with the salt.
Pat the prime rib with paper towels to dry the exterior. When dry, rub the flavored butter on all sides of the prime rib roast. You can add a little olive oil to the butter mixture to help it spread more evenly if needed.
Preheat your oven to 500 F.
Place the roast onto a V rack in a roasting pan.
Add the onion chunks, carrots and celery into the roasting pan under the v-rack. Pour in the chicken stock.
Move the prime rib into the oven, and roast at 500 degrees for 15 minutes. After the 15 minutes reduce the oven temp to 325 degrees and continue roasting until you reach your desired meat doneness.  
For a rare center: roast until the instant read thermometer reaches 120 degrees F (about 10-12 min/ per pound).  For a medium rare center: roast until the instant read thermometer reaches 130 degrees F (about 13-14 min/ per pound) . For a medium center: roast until the instant read thermometer reaches 140 degrees F (about 14-15 min/ per pound).  For a Medium Well – roast until the instant read thermometer reaches 150 degrees F (about 15-17 min/ per pound).
Remove it from the oven and cover it lightly with foil over the top. Allow it to rest for a solid 30 minutes before you start to carve it.
When ready, carve the prime rib and serve warm with au jus and horse radish sauce.

Recipe Notes

The butter mixture will spread more evenly if the prime rib has come to room temperature, and the butter is softened.

Remember: meat will continue to cook after it is out of the oven, so it’s helpful to take it out of the oven at 5-10 degrees BEFORE it reaches your chosen doneness shown on the instant read thermometer.

Because ovens can vary, as well as the size and cut of meat, it’s really helpful to use a good instant read thermometer for prime rib success.

When ready to carve, be sure to cut across the grain (cut perpendicular to the lines of the meat).

Increase the seasoning listed in this recipe for larger cuts of Prime Rib.

Making This Recipe? Tag us on Instagram: @NoBiggie using the hashtag #NoBiggieRecipes, so we can see what you are making in the kitchen!

Why roast the vegetables in chicken stock underneath?

The addition of chicken stock and big cut vegetables like onion carrots and celery add additional moisture to the oven for the prime rib to cook in. We love to eat the roasted vegetables after the meat is done roasting. The carrots are my favorite!

What to serve with prime rib:

–fluffy mashed potatoes
-roasted vegetables (with this recipe!)
–mushroom sauce (featured in the photos in this post)
–roasted Brussels sprouts
–Christmas Salad
–homemade rolls

That’s it, as always we love to hear from you! Let us know how it goes: leave a comment and recipe rating.

Perfect Roasted Prime Rib