The Perfect Prime Rib Recipe (2024)

A holiday meal to remember! Your guests will go crazy for this prime rib roast smothered in herbed bacon butter! It’s truly the perfect prime rib recipe!

The Perfect Prime Rib Recipe (1)

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Lets talk traditions…

When it comes to Christmas traditions, one that my family looks forward to is the Christmas Day prime rib roast. I grew up having ham on Christmas, but my husband was never a fan so shortly after we got married we changed our menu to prime rib and have never looked back! 🙂 It’s definitely an expensive treat, but it’s a once a year splurge that makes our holiday complete.

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So today I’m going to share with you just how easy it is to make this delicious holiday meal! It may seem intimidating but it could not be simpler, and I’m going to share with you my tips, tricks and techniques so you can get it just right! Just pretend I’m right there with ya holding your hand.

You’ve got this! 🙂

{Scroll down for the printable recipe}

First thing you want to do is to let your meat come to room temperature before doing anything else!

This is SUPER IMPORTANT!

Depending on the size and environmental temperature outside this can take anywhere from 30 minutes up to a few hours if it’s chilly in your house.

Pre-heat your oven to 450 now.

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Secondly, Notice the string?

Bakers twine is holding the bone rack to my roast. I have the butcher only half way remove it so I still get the delicious moistness and flavor that the bones provide, but it will be easier to cut the roast away from the bones and slice to serve later on.

Similar to when I’m making turkey, the next step is to take a wad of paper towels and the beef dry. On the turkey that ensures a nice crispy skin, but on the beef it’s helping our herbed bacon butter stick and create a delicious crumbly crust for that melt in your mouth beef.

Butter…More Butter…

Thirdly, and possibly the next most important is making our aromatic herbed bacon butter. So get out a small bowl, add everything in it, and give it a good mix together with a fork

Then using your best kitchen tools (clean hands) rub that buttery goodness all over your beef.

Sounds kind of dirty? Well, it is. 🙂

We’re almost at the homestretch!

Still with me?!

Put your prime rib roast into the oven.

450 degrees for 20-25 minutes, then lower the temp to 250 and cook for an additional 1.5-2 hours.

If you don’t have a meat thermometer, now is the time to invest in one. I personally use and love THIS ONE

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(affiliate link).

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120F is rare and 145+F is well done, so you’ll want thereading to be somewhere in that area when inserting the thermometer into the thickest part of the roast.

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Remove the roast from the dish and put it on a large cutting board to rest for 20-30 minutes. Tent it with tinfoil to keep it hot.

Make your Au Jus while the meat is resting.

After the meat has rested, cut and remove the string and cut the bones away from the meat. You can now slice the roast easily and effortlessly for your guests.

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The Perfect Prime Rib Recipe (8)

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Bacon Butter Prime Rib

★★★★★4.5 from 2 reviews
  • Author: Christine
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Description

A holiday meal to remember! Your guests will go crazy for this prime rib roast smothered in herbed bacon butter! It’s truly the perfect prime rib recipe!

Ingredients

Scale

  • PRIME RIB ROAST:
  • 6lb beef rib roast (partially boned and tied by butcher)
  • 6 tablespoons room temp. unsalted butter
  • 23 tablespoons coagulated bacon grease*
  • 2 teaspoons Kosher salt
  • 2 tablespoons dried Herbs de Provence
  • 1 tablespoon fresh ground pepper
  • 2 tablespoons minced fresh garlic
  • 1 teaspoon fresh chopped rosemary
  • 1 tablespoon fresh chopped Italian flat leaf parsley
  • * I always make bacon on Christmas morning and save the grease for the rib roast. If you don’t have it on hand then just use another tablespoon of butter in its place.

Au Jus

  • 2 1/2 cups beef broth (low sodium preferably)
  • 23 whole peeled garlic cloves
  • a few sprigs fresh rosemary
  • 1/2 cup red wine
  • 2 teaspoons Worcheshire sauce

Instructions

PRIME RIB:

  1. Preheat oven to 450
  2. Make herbed bacon butter
  3. Pat beef dry with paper towels and put in roasting pan
  4. Smear butter all over beef
  5. Before placing the beef in the oven add about 1 1/2 cups of broth to the bottom of the baking dish, and add in a few whole garlic cloves and rosemary twigs. This is going to be our base for our Au Jus later on.
  6. Put roast into 450 degree oven for 20-25 minutes. Then reduce temperature to 250 degrees and continue cooking until desired doneness. about 1.5 hours for medium rare.

MAKE YOUR AU JUS WHILE THE MEAT IS RESTING.

AU JUS:

  1. Put your baking dish over your stovetop burners and set them to medium low.
  2. Carefully remove the rosemary and garlic cloves
  3. Wisk in the Worcestershire and wine, scraping up all the bits from the bottom of the pan.
  4. Add in the remaining 1 cup of broth, reduce your heat slightly to a simmer for 3-5 minutes. Serve hot.

{OPTIONAL} HORSERADISH CREAM SAUCE TO SERVE ON SIDE:

  • 16 oz. sour cream
  • 3-4 tablespoonsWorcestershire sauce
  • 1 minced garlic clove
  • 1/4 prepared horseradish
  • salt and pepper to taste
  1. Combine all ingredients into mixing bowl, and mix well. Taste and adjust if needed.
  2. Keep chilled until ready to serve with prime rib.

Notes

*Rare: 120-125°F

Red interior which may fade to pink at the outermost edges

Medium Rare: 130-135°F

Pink with a deeper, nearly red center

Medium: 135-140°F

Mauve, uniformly colored interior

Well-done: 145°F+

Brown, no pink

**120F is rare and 145+F is well done, so you’ll want the reading to be somewhere in that area when inserting the thermometer into the thickest part of the roast. I personally remove the roast from the oven right around 130F since it will continue to cook while resting, this way I’m right on the money at 135-140 each time.

Keywords: prime rib cook time, prime rib, prime rib roast, standing rib roast, rib roast, cooking prime rib, prime rib rub, how to cook prime rib, rib of beef, prime rib steak, beef rib roast, Christmas roast, prime rib cooking time

I encourage you to try this recipe any time of year! New Years, Valentines Day, a birthday, Easter….Prime rib is the perfect meal for any special occasion and now that you know how to prepare it easily, it can be the next shining star on your holiday table. Just don’t forget to PIN IT! So you can come back to it later!

Need a side dish to pair this with? Here’s some of my favorites…

  • Bacon Mushroom Green Beans
  • Garlic Chive Smashed Potatoes
  • White Cheddar Cranberry Macaroni and Cheese
  • Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes
  • Heavenly Holiday Hash Browns

Yum!

I hope you loved this super special, yet still easy, and crazy delicious recipe!

Talk to you soon friends, take care!

XO

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The Perfect Prime Rib Recipe (2024)

FAQs

How do restaurants make prime rib so tender? ›

How do restaurants make prime rib so tender? The secret to restaurant-style prime rib is cooking the meat super slow at low temperatures. I recommend cooking prime rib at no higher than 200 degrees F. This cooks the meat very slowly, turning the fat into butter and rendering the proteins juicy and soft.

What is the most important thing to do before roasting a prime rib roast? ›

Room Temperature: To cook evenly, the roast must not be cold - let it stand at room temperature, loosely covered, for about 2 to 4 hours. This time can vary. If you don't let the roast come to room temperature, your roast won't cook evenly, and you'll end up with well-done slices on the end and raw meat in the center.

Do you cook prime rib with fat up or down? ›

Place the roast fat side up, bone side down, in a large roasting pan. Cook for 15 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 325°F. This allows the heat to sear the roast, trapping the juicy flavors inside while the rest of the meat cooks. On average, each pound of rib needs 15 minutes to cook (i.e., a 4 lb.

Do you cook prime rib covered or uncovered? ›

Do you cover prime rib roast when cooking? You can cover rib roast when cooking after searing it to help it retain some of its moisture, but it's not necessary. For the best results, leave the roast uncovered until you remove it from the oven or grill and place it at room temperature for resting.

Is prime rib better cooked slow or fast? ›

You'll cook the prime rib low and slow in the oven, then crank up the heat at the end to achieve a crisp outside. This method has several advantages: the prime rib loses less juice to the bottom of the roasting pan and it cooks evenly all the way through.

Why do you salt prime rib before cooking? ›

The salt helps trap the heat to better cook the prime rib. “It conducts the heat and seals it,” says Betz.

Why is my prime rib always tough? ›

Prime rib is at its best cooked rare or medium rare — it should not be cooked past medium (140°F) or all the fat will melt out of the meat, leaving it tough, dry, and chewy. After the prime rib is cooked, make sure to let it rest for 30 minutes for the meat to reabsorb all the delicious juices before carving.

How to cook prime rib Bobby Flay? ›

Make small slits all over the prime rib and fill each slit with a slice of the garlic. Season liberally with the salt and coarse pepper, place on a rack set inside a roasting pan and roast for about 2 hours until medium-rare, or until a thermometer inserted into the center of the meat registers 135 degrees F.

What is Paula Deen seasoning? ›

The ingredients listed in order are: "sea salt, granulated garlic, black pepper, granulated onion, ground cumin, and other spices". I have used the recipe listed on this site and included equal amounts of garlic powder and onion powder.

How to cook Gordon Foods prime rib? ›

Remove meat from plastic bag and place in baking dish. Cook for 45 minutes at 400 degrees F. Turn oven down to 275 degrees F. and cook for an additional 30 to 45 minutes.

Should I season prime rib night before? ›

Step 1: Season Overnight

You want to use a significant sprinkling of kosher salt because the salt both tenderizes the muscle and flavors the meat all the way to the bone. Once you've seasoned it, wrap the roast in plastic wrap and allow to sit in the fridge for at least 12 hours (up to 48 if desired).

Should you pre season a prime rib? ›

Leave the roast uncovered in your fridge for at least 1 day and up to 4 days. The pre-salting and air-drying will ensure a delicious roast with a browned, beefy crust. Take your meat out of the fridge and keep at room temp for about 3 hours before you plan to cook the prime rib.

What's a good price for prime rib? ›

Prime-grade prime rib costs about $17 a pound, while Choice-grade prime rib goes for about $13 a pound. Additionally, some butchers offer dry-aged prime rib--Prime-grade rib roasts that have been aged for up to a month to tenderize the meat and concentrate its flavors. Dry-aging adds another $2 to $3 to per pound.

What gives prime rib its flavor? ›

The second part of the cooking time is slowly finishing off the cooking process. This slower cook time really gives that fat on the prime rib time to render and seep into the meat, which adds a massive amount of flavor. Fat = flavor!

How many hours does it take to cook a prime rib? ›

Heat the oven to 250°F with the rack in the lower middle position. Cook for 4 to 5 hours or until the internal temperature in the thickest part of the roast is 125-130°F for medium-rare prime rib, or 135-140°F for medium. Take out the roast and tent it with foil.

Should you salt prime rib the night before? ›

Salt the Prime Rib Overnight

Rub a good quality kosher salt all over the meat the day before you want to cook it.

What is the rule for prime rib? ›

A good rule of thumb for purchasing bone-in prime rib is to buy one pound per person. A bone-in standing rib roast will feed about two people per bone. But if the roast is part of a bigger spread with plenty of other food, you can plan on 1/2 to 3/4 pound of prime rib per person.

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