Why You’ll Love This
I can’t even begin to tell you how angry and disappointed I have been with overcooked prime rib made in my kitchen.
When you spend that kind of money on a good piece of beef, you want it to be perfect and full of flavor, right?
Prime rib is perfect for a special occasion or holiday dinner. You can purchase various sizes depending on the number of guests.
I found a video of Method X from Food Wishes that walks you through the method in detail. This cooking method works perfectly.
This closed-oven method “sears” the roast at a high heat of 500 degrees F, helping it develop a heavenly herb butter crust, then cooks the roast using the residual heat from the oven until it reaches a perfect medium rare.
The temperature of the prime rib when cooked is slightly warm, and with the au jus, each bite is ah-mazing! So here is how it’s done.
Looking for some great side dishes to serve with the prime rib. Try our whipped potatoes, brussels sprouts with dipping sauce, twice baked potatoes, arugula fennel salad, or roasted green beans and mushrooms.
What You’ll Need
Prime Rib – We recommend a good quality bone-in prime rib roast (USDA Prime cut) that weighs about 5 pounds. Decide how many people you are serving. Generally, you can count on one rib for serving two people.Unsalted butter, dried or fresh rosemary, kosher salt, and fresh cracked black pepper – These ingredients are all you will need for a flavorful, tender rib roast.
How to Cook a Prime Rib Roast
The prime rib needs to come to room temperature before roasting. This step is critical in the process. Let the prime rib sit out on the counter for at least 3 hours.
500 Rule Prime Rib Method
This method of cooking prime rib is also known as:
Foolproof prime ribPrime rib 500 rulePrime rib 500 degreesNo peek methodClosed oven methodOven off method
Mix the softened butter, herbs, garlic, kosher salt, and black pepper in a small bowl. Pat the roast dry with paper towels. This will help the compound butter adhere easier. Brush the herb butter crust mixture all over the roast. Don’t worry about covering the bones, just cover the fat cap and meat. Place roast in a shallow roasting pan. There is no need for a roasting rack. The bones on the prime rib keep it lifted off the pan for the heat to circulate. No matter what method you use (traditional or Method X), you should always have a probe-style thermometer inserted so that the internal temperature can be monitored to avoid any chance of over-cooking. Set the probe alarm to 125 F. for medium-rare, and pull the roast from the oven even if there’s still time left on the timer when the meat thermometer reads 125 degrees F. Now you use the formula for roasting. Multiply the exact weight times 5 minutes. For me, it was 5.81 x 5 = 29.05 minutes, which we round to 29. (The cooking time will be different for larger or smaller cuts of meat.) Preheat the oven to 500 degrees. You will be roasting at high heat for the number of minutes you just calculated. Place the roast in and cook for the exact amount of minutes required by the formula. After that time, turn the oven off and set a timer for 2 hours. DO NOT OPEN THE DOOR FOR ANY REASON DURING THE 2 HOURS. Remove the roast from the pan. You don’t want it to keep cooking. Remove the bones for easier slicing. Or have your butcher do this for you and tie them back on with butcher string when purchasing the prime rib. Look at that perfect medium-rare prime rib! Slice and serve with a side of au jus. I hope you will be as impressed with yourself as I was when this beauty came out of my oven.
Prime Rib Temperature
Prime rib is best served rare to medium rare in our opinion. Using the closed oven method the prime rib does not rise in temperature much at all once removed from the oven. It might rise 1-2 degrees. This is why we pull it out at about 123 degrees F.
For a rare – 115 degrees F.For a medium-rare – 120-125 degrees F.For a medium – 130 degrees F.
Tips
Use a clean oven, you will be cooking at high heat and the butter can burn in the pan. You can place some potatoes in the bottom of the pan to help prevent the butter from burning and smoking.Be sure to get the chill off the prime rib before cooking. Leave it at room temperature for about 3 hours.Line the roasting pan with aluminum foil for easy cleanup.Use a probe-style thermometer and remove the roast from the oven and the pan when it reaches 125 degrees F, even if there is still time remaining. We like it more on the rare side of medium-rare so we pull it out of the oven when it reaches 123 degrees F. Keep a close eye on the temperature. It tends to accelerate the closer the roast is to being done.Don’t use an instant-read thermometer because it will require you to keep opening the oven, releasing the heat.Many factors impact the total cook time for this prime rib recipe, including the size and starting temperature of the roast, the accuracy of your oven temperature, and how consistently your oven cooks.Let it rest for at least 15 to 20 minutes.
