Another Christmas has come and gone. I hope all of you had a restful day, nothing too stressed, few family arguments, much laughter and memorable moments. I spent my day with my immediate family and we enjoyed a classic Prime Rib Roast with the usual fixins’ and some Greek touches. For as long as I can remember, I’ve been doing Prime Rib as instructed by my father and his years of wisdom working in the restaurant industry.
Prime Rib Roast is one of the most enjoyable holiday or Sunday dinners one can prepare and eat and I’m going to show you how I do it. First, ensure you have the highest grade of beef (AAA), that it’s a “bone in” Prime Rib and that the cap is included/tied to the roast. A successful Prime Rib needs that fat which melts and protects the beef and offering more flavour.
If you are using a frozen Prime Rib, allow to slowly thaw in your fridge and dry-age the beef for 2-3 days (uncovered) in your fridge. My method for roasting Prime Rib is to roast under high heat until the beef has attained a nice brown colour then I reduce the oven temperature to anywhere from 300 – 260F. An instant-read meat thermometer is your friend here and I urge you to go buy one. They are inexpensive, they’ll save you from family arguments and in the end, make you look like a champ.
Prime Rib Roast au Jus
1 Prime Rib Roast, cap on – bone in
vegetable oil
sea salt
black pepper
garlic powder
onion powder
fresh thyme
ground dried mushrooms (optional)
- Peel and cut some onions and slice into equally thick rounds and place on the bottom of your roasting pan. Place some bay leaves on the onions and set your Prime Rib on top. The onions will elevate your beef, keep the pan from drying/burning and give your “au jus” more flavour.
- Ensure that the Prime Rib has been brought to room temperature before roasting. Brush the cap and sides of beef with oil then season the cap of your beef with lots of salt then sprinkle with pepper, garlic and onion powders, ground dried mushrooms and thyme. Lightly season both sides of the beef with the same rub ingredients. Pre-heat your oven to 500F and set the rack in the lower-middle position (ensure an evenly cooked roast).
- Insert a meat thermometer into the top of the roast, right in the center. Place your roast in the oven and turn the oven light on. Keep the oven closed (some smoking will occur) and watch for the moment when your roast turns a deep brown colour (20-30 minutes). Once your roast has achieved that deep-brown colour, reduce the oven’s temperature to 300-260F. Allow the roast to cook until the thermometer has reached an internal temperature of 120F for rare, 140F for medium and 160F for medium-well.
- Carefully take your roast out of the pan and place on a large plate/platter and tent with foil. Allow to rest for 60-80 minutes (don’t worry, the meat will still be warm at service).
- Use this time to make your au jus and Yorkshire Puddings. Pour the beef drippings from the roasting pan into a fat separator and reserve the separated beef jus and fat (separately). Pour hot water into the roasting pan and scrape/loosen the brown bits and strain.
- Pour the beef jus into a pot and add 2-3 bay leaves and bring to a boil. Taste for to adjust seasoning (add water if too salty or add some beef stock to enhance) and reduce by a third. Keep warm until dinner service and remove bay leaves.
- To carve your Prime Rib, cut off the butcher’s twine and place the roast upright on it’s side to expose the rib bones vertically. Secure the roast with a fork and cut off the rib bones and reserve for making beef stock and a Beef Barley Soup.
- Now flip the roast back to it’s natural sitting position and remove the fatty cap. Carve your slices of beef and arrange on a platter. Serve with Yorkshire Pudding and the gravy boats full of jus.
Cooking Time for Rare (120°)
(3) Ribs, 7 to 8 lbs. 15 minutes at 500°, Then approx. 1 ½ hours at 300°
(4) Ribs, 9 to 10 lbs. 15 minutes at 500°, Then approx. 2 hours at 300°
(5) Ribs, 11 to 13 lbs. 15 minutes at 500°, Then approx. 2 ½ hours at 300°
(6) Ribs, 14 to 16 lbs. 15 minutes at 500°, Then approx. 3 hours at 300°
(7) Ribs, 16 to 18 lbs. 15 minutes at 500°, Then approx. 3 1/2 hours at 300°
70 Responses
It is indeed about the “pursuit of delicious food”, Peter. Your prime rib looks wonderful and, as usual, your photos are over the top.
Looks like a delicious dinner at your house. I cooked prime rib yesterday for the first time and followed Elise’s recipe which worked perfectly. It’s actually quite similar to what you did, starting with very high heat for a bit, but then I lowered the heat to 325 for the rest of the time. I like your idea of adding some water to make au jus, great tip.
Hope you’re having a wonderful Christmas.
Looks gorgeous. If a bit of both methods results in that, I’ll take a second helping please. :) Your Yorkshire puddings came out lovely too. Both dishes have always intimidated me.
That looks delicious! yum!
ΧÏονια Πολλα!
Peter, you are SO right about that — not being a “know it all.” I think there is a point where most good cooks fall into that bubble.
I made a ribeye roast on Christmas and was pondering the same exact thing for mine! Do I do my usual? Which is high heat for a short amount of time, then I turn of the heat and let it sit for an hour. Or, do I do the slower 2 hour cooking on low heat? Well, I ended up doing a combo for mine also and it turned out very good.
Oh, and that’s a funny story about your dad going into the kitchen and messing with the food — my mother in law does the same thing!
By the looks of that Prime Rib, I’m pretty sure that recipe is a keeper as is. It seems like you had a beautiful holiday table. Xronia Pola kai pali!
Looks perfect. This is so nice to be able to enjoy spending time with the family during the Holidays. Hope the snow stopped in Toronto. It does not stop here.
Roast beef is my bestest thing of all to eat! So, I really hope you saved me some?
Seriously Peter, you’ve done a great job there, it all looks lovely and very yummy.
Looks wonderful, as usual! Merry Christmas Peter!
I’m LOL-ing at the vision of your father creeping into the kitchen to make the ‘necessary’ adjustments. While I can’t offer any firsthand knowledge on the roasting procedure, I can say that the piece of prime rib looked cooked to perfection to me. Don’t mess with it!
Peter,
I have to borrow your recipe for New Year’s eve dinner. it looks so delicious, and mouth watering.
Cheers,
Elra
P,
That Prime Rib is cooked to PERFECTION.
and I never realized that Yorkshire pudding was much like a popover. Go figure.
Stace
Greetings from Norway! The meat looks lovely, and what splendid yorkshirepuddings!
Oh, dang. That looks really effing fantastic. The jus can fill up the Yorky puddings like little gravy clouds.
i’d love some of this meal – not something we can cook with greek cuts of meat – looks delicious, especially with all the trimmings!
Lovely Yorkshire puddings. It feels like I’m right back in Oxford. Nice and puffed to perfection.
I love your attitude, as always.
I didn’t use the same heat/method, but I did use all the same herbs and seasonings. It was awesome.
I hope you had a fantastic Christmas Peter!
Very tasty looking rib roast, Peter! We did ours on the smoker this year, and while it was a fun change, I think we’ll go back to the classic roast next year.
Oh, yummy! I love Yorkshire Puddings! That prime rib looks gorgeous…
Cheers,
Rosa
Oh, yummy! I love Yorkshire Puddings! That prime rib looks gorgeous…
Cheers,
Rosa
Oh, yummy! I love Yorkshire Puddings! That prime rib looks gorgeous…
Cheers,
Rosa
Oh, yummy! I love Yorkshire Puddings! That prime rib looks gorgeous…
Cheers,
Rosa
Oh, yummy! I love Yorkshire Puddings! That prime rib looks gorgeous…
Cheers,
Rosa
Oh, yummy! I love Yorkshire Puddings! That prime rib looks gorgeous…
Cheers,
Rosa
Oh, yummy! I love Yorkshire Puddings! That prime rib looks gorgeous…
Cheers,
Rosa
Oh Peter it looks just perfect!!! I love the yorkshire puddings they are one of my favorites! Hope your Christmas was wonderful and full of food and fun!
Wow! You’ve done a fantastic job with that prime rib roast Peter. The Yorkshire puddings are a nice touch too! PS Greek fathers always know better…but I’m sure you know that
I made Yorkshire Pudding to go with my standing rib roast! But I did mine in a larger oval baker, because I didn’t think of the muffin cups. Your prime rib is beautiful; so glad you had a good day, Peter.
Well, the prime rib looks great but these golden potatoes are .. something else! Merry Christmas Peter and thank you for all the goodies you shared with us throughout the year.
That prime rib looks perfect! Really. Absolutely perfect!
We’ve not done prime rib before but we do our turkeys in similar fashion – 30 minutes on high heat and then the rest of the cook at 350*F. You really need that color on the outside that only comes from high heat.
That looks just perfect! I’m not sure what cut is the equivalent in the UK. Is it a regular beef but cut off the bone?
Glad you had a great Christmas and best wishes for the New Year.
I’ve never made this with beef. I usually make something similar with pork chops. However, it does look delicious
Your prime rib is perfectly cooked. What a wonderful dinner, a perfect holiday meal.
Best wishes to you for a very happy New Year.
This is perfectly cooked. I completely agree about the blast of high heat, finishing slow. What a gorgeous holiday meal!
A quintessential Christmas dinner, right down to the Yorkshire pudding. Good going, Peter! I think it would have been fun to be seated at your holiday table.
Feed me Seymour, I mean Peter.
What a wonderful antidote for over-turkeying. Please set me a place…
I’m with you: high heat for a few moments than slllllooow cook.
Love that crust!
This looks absolutely nice and tasty!!!nice food Peter how ever!!! Gloria
I am so happy to see prime rib here. I was so fortunate to have prime rib two nights in a row at two different homes, prepared different too. One was on rotisserie on Christmas Day, the other was undercooked a day ahead for Christmas Eve, then sliced and blasted (2 min per side) in a wildly hot pan with cajun spices. Yours looks fabulous Peter. Glad to hear you are enjoying the holidays. Your dad is cute.
LL
Magnificent dinner Peter! I love the smell of a prime rib roasting in the oven. Your Dad sounds fun. You know what they say…Like father , like son!
A perfect meal! Happy holidays!
Lovely stuff, Peter. I can just taste it. Glad you enjoyed a great feast with family!
Am jealous of all the photos you managed… somehow we managed to get good prep pictures, but none of the final product! yeesh…
I love a nice rare prime rib, even though my Yorkshire puddings are always absolute rubbish. As always, I have another question: your roasted potatoes looked like they were just dry roasted in the oven (with some olive oil, etc), right? Do you ever make the kind of roast potatoes that are so wonderful from Greek restaurants? They almost seem like they’ve been braised in a lemony liquid….I searched your blog for the recipe, but couldn’t find it (yet).
Come to MAMA! That looks fab.
That looks simply delicious Peter. You’ve pursued it and you’ve found it, as you always do! Hope your holidays were happy :)
Oh my gosh, sweet petey! I don’t think I could ever pull this off (why is my glass always half empty?) ^_^
Oh I miss yorkshire pudding (my days in UK). Your prime rib is making me hungry!
I just woke up and this prime rib is making my mouth water. I would hate to think what would happen if I we all the way awake…It is beautiful if meat can be beautiful.
Oh my goodness gracious I am in love.
This is the kind of dish that inspires that “Christmas Envy” I keep talking about. Why do I eat sprial ham when other people get stuff like this?
First of all, Xronia Polla Peter! I read your last couple of posts and have been salivating over the wonderful food, but this prime rib really did it for me. What a great festive dish!
Peter – Thank you for this post… I have never had much success making a decent rib roast, but thanks to following your tips step by step, I got it right – for once. :)
Happy Holidays to you!
The roast looks beautifully cooked … love it =)
Congrats to you for actually getting that last shot. I never get that far on a holiday. But the roast you describe is what we had. A gorgeous rub w/ a blast of heat in the beginning, then a slow cook. The crust was amazing. Your roast looks amazing, too, and you’re not doing yourself justice for describing it as anything close to grey. Just a gorgeous dinner if you ask me.
heheh i just had to come here and say i know how you feel.. sorta. Tonight I cooked (a homemade mac and cheese dealio, nothing big) and as you probably know by now, I don’t cook. That’s what we have Peter for ;) but anytime i DO cook, it is IMPOSSIBLE to keep him out of the kitchen changing my dials, moving my stuff, adding things to my dish. It’s hilarious cause I have a short fuse, but all in fun. and usually, i am doing it wrong and he actually saves the dish, but STILL!
Tonight I actually knew what i was doing and had it all under control and he comes and changes the temp on the bacon (let’s not forget though that the grease had already jumped to the other burner and started a small fire… but I HAD IT UNDER CONTROL ;) hahah) and I even made a darn good bechemel sauce all on my own.
so there. ;)
-Christey at FotoCuisine.com
My fiance is always messing around with my dishes, just like your Dad. It drives me nuts! ;) Your prime rib is cooked to perfection. This is absolutely one of my favorite meals. Great photos!
Peter, made this too. I started with a blast of high heat and ended with the low heat. Barbara Kafka style.
Ours was a smash, except that my daughters loser boyfriend came for dinner and he totally picked around his food for 10 minutes . What is not to love about twice baked potatoes,and prime rib of beef (roasted to perfection_? stupid boy.
Peter, made this too. I started with a blast of high heat and ended with the low heat. Barbara Kafka style.
Ours was a smash, except that my daughters loser boyfriend came for dinner and he totally picked around his food for 10 minutes . What is not to love about twice baked potatoes,and prime rib of beef (roasted to perfection_? stupid boy.
Peter, made this too. I started with a blast of high heat and ended with the low heat. Barbara Kafka style.
Ours was a smash, except that my daughters loser boyfriend came for dinner and he totally picked around his food for 10 minutes . What is not to love about twice baked potatoes,and prime rib of beef (roasted to perfection_? stupid boy.
Peter, made this too. I started with a blast of high heat and ended with the low heat. Barbara Kafka style.
Ours was a smash, except that my daughters loser boyfriend came for dinner and he totally picked around his food for 10 minutes . What is not to love about twice baked potatoes,and prime rib of beef (roasted to perfection_? stupid boy.
Peter, made this too. I started with a blast of high heat and ended with the low heat. Barbara Kafka style.
Ours was a smash, except that my daughters loser boyfriend came for dinner and he totally picked around his food for 10 minutes . What is not to love about twice baked potatoes,and prime rib of beef (roasted to perfection_? stupid boy.
Peter, made this too. I started with a blast of high heat and ended with the low heat. Barbara Kafka style.
Ours was a smash, except that my daughters loser boyfriend came for dinner and he totally picked around his food for 10 minutes . What is not to love about twice baked potatoes,and prime rib of beef (roasted to perfection_? stupid boy.
Peter, made this too. I started with a blast of high heat and ended with the low heat. Barbara Kafka style.
Ours was a smash, except that my daughters loser boyfriend came for dinner and he totally picked around his food for 10 minutes . What is not to love about twice baked potatoes,and prime rib of beef (roasted to perfection_? stupid boy.
Peter, looks like I’ve missed a lot. This roast looks great. Prime rib has always one of those things I’ve wanted to make, but I never have enough people to justify making it.