Prime Rib Roast

By
Danilo Alfaro
Danlio Alfaro
Danilo Alfaro
Danilo Alfaro has published more than 800 recipes and tutorials focused on making complicated culinary techniques approachable to home cooks.
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Updated on 12/19/22
Prime Rib Roast

The Spruce

Prep: 24 hrs
Cook: 4 hrs
Total: 28 hrs
Servings: 4 to 8 servings
Yield: 1 roast
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
1548 Calories
123g Fat
0g Carbs
102g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 4 to 8
Amount per serving
Calories 1548
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 123g 158%
Saturated Fat 50g 248%
Cholesterol 376mg 125%
Sodium 325mg 14%
Total Carbohydrate 0g 0%
Dietary Fiber 0g 0%
Total Sugars 0g
Protein 102g
Vitamin C 0mg 0%
Calcium 60mg 5%
Iron 11mg 61%
Potassium 1474mg 31%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

This prime rib roast is cooked using a very traditional method of roasting it at a high temperature for a few minutes and then reducing the heat and finishing the cooking at a lower temperature. This technique produces a perfectly medium-rare prime rib with a gorgeous brown crust on the outside. It will work equally well for either a bone-in or boneless prime rib between 4 and 18 pounds. For a bone-in prime rib, figure two servings per rib, while a boneless roast will yield two servings per pound.

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Ingredients

  • 1 (4- to 8-pound) boneless beef rib roast, or bone-in, trimmed and tied

  • Kosher salt, to taste

  • Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Steps to Make It

  1. Gather the ingredients.

    Prime Rib Roast Ingredients
    The Spruce

  2. The night before you are going to cook the prime rib, unwrap the roast and let it sit uncovered in the refrigerator. This will dry out the surface, which makes it easier to get a nice brown color on the roast.

  3. Three hours before you want to begin cooking, take the roast out of the fridge and place it on a cutting board at room temperature.

    Prime Rib Roast
    The Spruce

  4. Half an hour before you start roasting, preheat your oven to 450 F and season the roast generously with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.

  5. When you're ready to cook, set the roast in a roasting pan with a rack, fat-side up for a boneless prime rib. Or for a bone-in prime rib, skip the roasting rack and just set the roast bone-side down in the roasting pan.

    Seasoned Rib Roast
    The Spruce

  6. Insert a meat thermometer or a digital probe thermometer into the deepest part of the meat, being careful not to hit bone. If you're using a digital probe thermometer, set it to alert you when the meat hits 120 F.

    Rib Roast with Thermometer
    The Spruce

  7. Roast for 20 minutes, then lower the heat to 325 F and roast until the meat's internal temperature reaches 120 F, which will be another 1 to 3 1/2 hours, depending on the size of your roast.

    Roasted Rib Roast
    The Spruce

  8. When the prime rib hits 120 F, take it out of the oven and transfer it to a cutting board and cover it with foil. Leave the thermometer in. You're going to want to rest the meat for 30 to 45 minutes, during which time the temperature will continue rising to around 130 F, which is perfect medium-rare and then drop back down to 120 F.

    Foil Wrapped Rib Roast
    The Spruce

  9. When it hits 120 F, it's fully rested and ready to slice and serve.

    Sliced Rib Roast
    The Spruce

  10. Try pairing it with a simple au jus recipe you can make while the meat is resting, or a creamy horseradish sauce. Also, feel free to serve it with a variety of delicious sides.

Tip

  • For medium-rare prime rib, take the roast out of the oven at 120 F. It will continue cooking until it reaches 130 F. If you prefer a medium prime rib, take it out at 130 F with a target temperature of around 140 F. Either way, you'll still want to rest the meat until it comes back down to 120 F before carving it.