The Best Prime Rib Roast Recipe
We have so many traditions in our family that revolve around food! Can anyone relate? Many years ago when my husband was still in dental school, we lived far away from our families and were not able to go home for Christmas, as did many of our friends, so we decided to have Christmas dinner together in the apartment clubhouse. I decided to try my hand at making prime rib and it was so good! Since then, making prime rib has become our Christmas dinner tradition. Over the years I’ve tweaked this recipe and I think this is the best Prime Rib Roast Recipe now that I’ve had time to master it!
Kitchen Essentials for Roasting a Prime Rib
Roasting a Prime Rib had always been something that intimidated me until I tried using this method to roast it. Getting this recipe down has taken some fine-tuning over the years, but I think this is the best method I’ve tried that usually makes the perfect prime rib. One of the most important tools you will need is a thermometer. The one I used here (linked below) is my favorite because you can insert it into the meat and it gives you an accurate temperature reading. It syncs to an app on your phone and works great. You will also need a baking sheet to prep the meat and a roasting pan with a rack.
One thing to consider is the quality of the meat. Prime rib roasts can be quite expensive so if your budget allows, get the USDA Prime or Choice as it’s the best option. Here’s a breakdown of what each grade is.
- “USDA Prime” – top 8% of all US beef (a bit harder to find), heavy marbling that is evenly distributed.
- “USDA Choice” – moderate marbling and is a high-quality option that is available in most supermarkets.
- “Select” – value-priced, less marbling, potentially less tender and juicy.
The Recipe
The Best Prime Rib Roast Recipe
Equipment
- Roasting Pan
- Thermometer
- Baking Sheet
Ingredients
- 1 jar beef base
- 1 cup montreal steak seasoning
- 1/3 cup sea salt (fine or coarse)
- 1-2 tbsp freshly ground course pepper
- 4-8 pound prime rib roast boneless or bone in, trimmed and tied
Instructions
- The night before cooking, unwrap the roast and let it sit uncovered in the refrigerator. This helps dry out the roast and the seasonings will stick to it better.
- Three hours before you want to start roasting the prime rib, take the roast out of the fridge, place it on a baking sheet, and let it come to room temperature
- Thirty minutes before you start roasting, preheat the oven to 500°F
- While the oven is heating up, rub the outside of the roast with the 1 jar beef base until it's completely covered. This is messy and your hands will be covered with the beef base as it's a bit sticky.
- When the roast is fully coated with the beef base, mix up the other seasonings in a bowl and stir. Then sprinkle them all over the roast and press down on it so that it sticks to the beef base and the roast. This is what helps give it a flavorful crust.
- You will need to do the calculations at this point to determine how long the roast will need to cook. Multipy the weight of your roast in pounds by 5. That's your total roasting time in minutes. For instance, if you have a 4 pound roast, 4 x 5 = 20 minutes. An 8 pound roast 8 x 5 = 40 minutes. This is important and you will want to remember this number as that is the amount of time you will roast the prime rib with the oven turned on.
- Once the roast is ready to go into the oven, set it in a roasting pan with a rack, fat side up. I always insert a thermometer into the deepest part of the meat, being careful not to hit the bone if it's a bone in roast.
- Put the roasting pan and meat into the preheated oven and roast it for however many minutes you calculated based on the weight of your roast. Set a timer. When the time is up turn the oven off and DO NOT OPEN THE OVEN for any reason for the next two hours.
- When the two hours are up after turning off the oven, take the prime rib roast out of the oven. It's already had time to rest so you can carve it up and eat it as soon as it come out of the oven. If you're using a thermometer, the internal temperature should be at 130° which is the perfect medium-rare. The outer parts of the roast will be more medium.
If you’re doing a bone-in prime rib roast, you can figure about two servings per rib and a boneless roast will be about two servings per pound. I prefer to do my roast without the ribs bones as it seems to cook more evenly. If you want to serve it with au jus you can use a packet of au jus mix or make your own out of the beef base. For the beef base, I prefer these two brands. I will link them at the bottom of the post. Better Than Bouillon and Tones Beef Base
Thanks so much for stopping by and I hope you give this Prime Rib Roast Recipe a try! It’s so delicious. I serve like to serve it with my Scalloped Potatoes with Fontina Cheese Recipe and my Homemade Braided Bread Recipe!
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Holly, thanks for the Prime Rib Recipe! It sounds so yummy!
We have friends over for dinner between Christmas and New Year’s and, in the past, have cooked a Crown Roast of Pork with Sausage Dressing. This year, I am going to do Prime Rib and use your recipe. I know it’s going to be so good!
Hope you enjoy this wonderful time of the year!