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This recipe will explain how to cook a the most mouthwatering, tender, and flavorful oven roasted Prime Rib with a delicious fresh herb crust and divine rich wine sauce. Everything you need to know to get perfect results is below.
Don’t be intimidated to make this expensive roast that is perfect for any special occasion dinner! This recipe works for any size roast. This is a standing rib roast recipe, meaning the roast is sold with the bones, but it can be used to make a boneless prime rib as well.
Looking for other impressive main dish recipes? You can’t go wrong with perfectly cooked Filet Mignon, Smoked Prime Rib, or Broiled Lobster Tails.
Reasons to Make This Recipe
If you’re looking for the best prime rib recipe, look no further. This recipe has been viewed well over 2 million times and continues to be everyone’s favorite holiday recipe.
- Best Christmas Dinner: Prime rib roast is an excellent cut of beef to enjoy for a special or holiday dinner. Why? Because you can buy various sizes of the roast that will feed anywhere from 4-20 people. Plus, by the nature of how prime rib cooks, you will end up with servings that range anywhere from rare or medium rare all the way to well done.
- Worth the Cost: Prime rib is an expensive cut of meat for good reason. The incredibly tender cut is marbled with fat in all the right places to yield the most delicious beef roast you’ll ever enjoy. That being said, it can be rather intimidating to spend that much money on a roast if you’ve never cooked one before. Never fear; I will walk you through everything you need to know to achieve perfect results.
- Amazing Sauce: During the cooking process, all of that wonderful fat marbling throughout the roast and the fat cap on top will render. I add wine and beef broth to the roasting pan that catches all of those flavorful herb infused drippings. Instead of making an au jus to serve, this amazing wine sauce gets reduced while the roast is resting.
- Simple and Easy To Make: This recipe has always been my favorite because it is actually incredibly simple. You’ll find that the roast turns out flavorful and moist because of the cooking method and the herb crust. The rich red wine sauce is the perfect accompaniment.
Prime Rib Roast Explained
A prime rib roast is an expensive primal cut of beef from the ribeye section that can be purchased as boneless or bone-in.
It is an extremely flavorful and tender, typically roasted whole, and known for its rich marbling and succulent taste.
They can usually be found at a local butcher, but during the holiday season, you can also easily find them at places like Costco and your local grocery store.
Boneless vs Bone-in Prime Rib Roast
A standing prime rib roast is sold with the beef ribs. It is referred to as a standing rib roast because the butcher separates the ribs from the roast but ties them together with kitchen twine. The roast stands on the bones, creating an insulating layer of protection.
The bones do not add to the flavor like they would if they were braised in liquid, however they do insulate the meat and are also quite delicious.
In my opinion, the perfect prime rib roast is cooked with the bones, but it is more common to find boneless prime rib sold in grocery stores and at the butcher shop.
Prime Rib Calculator: How Much Per Person
How much prime rib is needed per person is a very common question.
Prime rib roasts often range in size from 4-pounds all the way up to 20-pounds.
- Bone-in: A bone-in prime rib roast can contain anywhere from 2-7 bones. Since the ribs can be eaten and they add to the weight of the roast, they are factored into how much you will need to buy. Plan on about 1-pound per serving if you are buying a prime rib roast with rib bones.
- Boneless: If you are buying a boneless roast, you can plan on needing a minimum of a 1/2-pound per serving. I always round up, however, because we have big eaters and love to make leftover prime rib sandwiches with caramelized onions. We also use the meat to make French Dip sandwiches or add it to a massive baked potato.
How Long to Cook Prime Rib
This recipe uses a very high heat to first sear and seal the roast which creates a flavorful crust. Then, the heat is lowered and the roast continues cooking in the oven.
For that reason, this recipe does not take that long to cook, but the total cooking time completely depends on a number of factors:
- size of the roast
- starting temperature of the meat
- consistency of the oven
- final desired temperature of meat (rare, medium rare, etc.)
Using this recipe, a 5-pound roast will only take about 2 hours to roast, plus rest time.
For larger roasts, estimate an additional 10 minutes per pound.
Prime Rib Temperature
You must have a good thermometer in order to properly cook a prime rib roast.
Because I do not want to open the oven door while the roast is cooking, or pierce the roast to allow the juices to escape, I do not recommend using an instant-read thermometer.
Instead, I recommend using a meat thermometer that is inserted into the thickest part of the roast and designed to track temperatures over an extended period of time.
- Plan to remove your prime rib roast from the oven when it is at 10 degrees below your desired final temperature.
- The final prime rib temperature for rare meat is 120-125°F, medium rare is 130-135°F, and well done is 140-145°F.
- Keep a close eye on the internal temperature as it approaches your desired temperature. The rate at which the temperature increases will accelerate the closer the roast is to being cooked.
- When you cook for a crowd, the best rule of thumb is to remove your prime rib roast from the oven when it hits 120°F and allow it to rest for about 20 minutes while loosely tented with foil.
Most people prefer rare prime rib. If you target rare, the prime rib roast will be rare in the center and the ends will always be more well done, so you should have a variety for your guests.
Recipe Tip
Allow the roast to sit at room temperature for at least an hour prior to cooking. If the prime rib is taken directly from the refrigerator to the oven, the ends will be cooked much more than the center.
How to Cook Prime Rib in the Oven
Full instructions with ingredient quantities are located in the recipe card below, but here is a summary.
Step 1: Prepare the roast
Prior to cooking, set the roast out for at least an hour to allow the internal temperature to rise a bit. This will promote more even cooking.
Place the roast on a rack in a roasting pan with the fat side facing up. If using a bone-in roast, place the bones underneath the roast. Pour the beef broth and and some of the red wine to the pan.
Meanwhile, mix together a mixture of olive oil, fresh garlic, rosemary, thyme, salt and pepper in a small bowl.
Spread the herb mixture over the top of the roast. Insert a meat thermometer into the center of the roast.
Step 2: Roast in oven
Cook the prime rib in a preheated 450°F oven for about 20 minutes. Then reduce the oven temperature to 350°F and, without opening the oven door, continue cooking until the desired internal temperature is met and remove the pan from the oven.
Remove the roast from the rack and transfer it to a large plate or cutting board. Loosely tent the roast with aluminum foil to keep it warm while it rests.
Step 3: Reduce the wine sauce
Finally, you’ll add more wine to the drippings in the pan and reduce the sauce over heat to serve alongside the roast.
Side Dish Recommendations
I always make horseradish sauce to accompany prime rib. If you’d like an alternative to the wine sauce, you can make a homemade au jus.
- Homemade lobster bisque makes a fantastic starter to this fancy meal.
- Brown Butter Mashed Potatoes, Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes, or Gorgonzola Celery Root Mashed Potatoes for your starch.
- Wilted Garlic Spinach, Garlic Parmesan Oven Roasted Asparagus, or Roasted Green Beans as a dark green vegetable.
- Homemade Dinner Rolls or Cornmeal Yeast Rolls with butter are also heavenly!
FAQs
Look for well-marbled meat with a thick layer of fat on top for added flavor and juiciness. Choose a roast with a bright red color.
Slicing the roast is easiest with an electric serrated edge knife.
Any kind of dry red wine will work. May people choose a red wine like Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot for a rich and complementary flavor. I will typically use a Pinot Noir.
Yes, both can be made a day ahead and stored in the refrigerator. Bring to room temperature before using.
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Video
Equipment
Ingredients
- 5 pound beef prime rib roast I prefer bone-in where the bones are cut and then tied to the roast, weight can vary, increase herb crust ingredients if size of roast doubles but not wine and broth
Wine sauce:
- 750 mL red wine one bottle, divided
- 2 cups beef broth Might need more, see note below
Herb crust:
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons garlic minced
- 2 tablespoons fresh rosemary minced
- 2 tablespoons fresh thyme minced
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
Instructions
- For best results and even cooking, set roast out at room temperature for at least an hour prior to cooking. When ready to cook, preheat oven to 450°F and ensure top rack is low enough such that the roasting pan will be in the middle of the oven.
- Prepare roast: Using a roasting pan with a rack, add 2 cups of wine (reserving the rest for later) and the 2 cups beef broth to the base of the pan. Set the 5 pound beef prime rib roast in the rack with the fat side up. Insert meat thermometer into center of roast, avoiding contact with the bones.
- Add herbs: In a separate bowl, mix 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, 2 tablespoons garlic, herbs (2 tablespoons fresh rosemary and 2 tablespoons fresh thyme), 1 tablespoon kosher salt, and 1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper and spread this mixture on top of the roast.
- Roast in oven: Place roasting pan in hot 450°F oven for 20 minutes, then reduce heat to 350°F and continue cooking until the internal temperature reaches 115 to 120°F for medium rare (125 to 130°F after resting), or 125 to 130°F for medium (135 to 140°F after resting). And remember, a roast will continue to rise by 5 to 10°F as it rests. Total cooking time will depend on size of roast and initial temperature. NOTE: Keep an eye on the liquid in the roasting pan as the roast is cooking. If it appears that the liquid is evaporating, add additional beef broth. If all the liquid evaporates, the contents on the bottom of the pan will burn.
- Rest: Once removed from oven, transfer roast to plate or cutting board, loosely tent with foil, and allow to rest for at least 15-20 minutes. Leave the thermometer inside the roast so you can monitor the temperature.
- Make red wine sauce: While the roast is resting, Transfer any liquid and drippings from the roasting pan to a saucepan. Add the remaining wine, heat until the mixture starts to bubble around the edges, then reduce heat as low as you can to maintain a gentle simmer. When the roast has finished resting, skim off any fat from the wine sauce and serve warm sauce alongside the roast. You may strain this sauce before serving, if desired.
- Serve: Slice prime rib roast and serve with red wine sauce on the side.
Notes
- Allow meat to sit at room temperature for at least an hour prior to cooking.
- Keep a close eye on the internal temperature as it approaches your desired temperature. The rate at which the temperature increases will accelerate the closer the roast is to being cooked.
- Any kind of dry red wine will work. I will typically use a Pinot Noir.
- Be sure to let it properly rest if you want a perfectly cooked, tender, juicy roast.
- A 4-5 pound roast should take approximately two hours to cook. There are many factors impacting total cook time including the size and starting temperature of the roast, the accuracy of your oven temperature, and how consistently your oven cooks.
- Slicing the roast is easiest with an electric knife.
- NOTE: Keep an eye on the liquid in the roasting pan as the roast is cooking. If it appears that the liquid is evaporating, add additional beef broth. If all the liquid evaporates, the contents on the bottom of the pan will burn.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This post was originally published in November 2016 and has been updated with process photos, helpful information, and cooking tips. Don’t worry – I didn’t change the recipe!
I just want to say THANK YOU for not having us jump through hoops to get a really good recipe. I see many I’m going to try out this week. Thank you very much 😊
Thank you!!! I hope you love it. Enjoy and happy holidays!
ABSOLUTE PERFECTION!!! I followed directions exactly and this is hands down the best prime rib I’ve ever made. Thank you. It will be at our Christmas table again this year.
Love it!