By the pages of orders we’ve been receiving for Christmas, it is apparent that many of you will be enjoying prime rib with your families this Holiday season. It seems like out of all the Holiday favorites: turkey, ham, prime rib, etc… We get the most questions and people feel the least confident about prime rib… Plus I’ve also been noticing that people have been searching for it and finding this blog. So without any further adieu, here’s a tutorial on how to cook the PERFECT Holiday prime rib for your family!
Photo via Google Images
Simple and Easy Tutorial for Cooking the Perfect Prime Rib
First of all there are plenty of ways to dress this recipe up and add flair. First choice you’ve got to make when cooking a prime rib is do you want a standing prime rib or a boneless prime rib…? A standing prime rib roast is one that is bone-in (has the rib bones attached) and is sized by the number of ribs. A whole standing prime rib roast is 7 ribs. A boneless prime rib is sized by the pound. For a bone-in prime rib you figure about one rib per person for large eaters or one pound per person but note that there may not be a rib for every person. For boneless prime rib, you figure one half pound per person.
First preheat your oven to 450 degrees. Season your roast with a simple rub such as salt, pepper, garlic powder and onion powder. You can get fancier here if you’d like but in reality, a good quality roast needs no frills and will stand out on its own. Place the roast in a roasting pan bone side down or basically, fat side up. After 15 minutes of cooking your roast at 450, turn your oven down to 325 degrees for the remainder of the cooking time. What cranking the oven up to 450 does is sear the outside of the roast, allowing the juices to stay inside. Below is a cooking chart for achieving a rare prime rib roast:
Cooking Time for Rare (120°)
(3) Ribs, 7 to 8 lbs. 15 minutes at 450°, Then 1 ¼ to 1 ½ hours at 325°
(4) Ribs, 9 to 10 lbs. 15 minutes at 450°, Then 1 ½ to 2 hours at 325°
(5) Ribs, 11 to 13 lbs. 15 minutes at 450°, Then 2 to 2 ½ hours at 325°
(6) Ribs, 14 to 16 lbs. 15 minutes at 450° Then, 2 ¾ to 3 hours at 325°
(7) Ribs, 16 to 18 lbs. 15 minutes at 450° Then, 3 to 3 ¾ hours at 325°
About a half hour to an hour before expected end of roasting time, check the temperature with an instant read meat thermometer. Make sure to insert the thermometer into the thickest part of the meat, not touching any fat or bone in doing so. When the internal temperature of your roast reaches 120-125 degrees (for rare to medium rare), pull it out of the oven and cover it with foil. A resting period of 15-20 minutes is important to allow the meat to firm up and juices to re-absorb into the meat. It’s also important to note that the roast will continue cooking while it’s on the counter. So depending on what level of doneness you like your meat, a safe bet is to pull it at 5-10 degrees BEFORE the desired temperature.
| Rare | 125–130 °F |
| Medium rare | 130–140 °F |
| Medium | 140–150 °F |
| Medium well | 150–155 °F |
| Well done | 160-212 °F |
For the juiciest and not overcooked prime rib, we recommend rare to medium. Once the roast is done resting, use a sharp knife to carve the roast and enjoy! We hope that with this simple tutorial it will take the intimidation away from enjoying a delicious prime rib with your family this Holiday season! Good luck and Happy Holidays!
For a printable of this tutorial, click on the image below and print!
I heard this before but, tonight I am in the mood to say something on the Holiday mystic Prime Rib. dinner. I like to comment about portions. To me, one of the biggest unpunished crime is, waist of food. How in hell we are supposed to believe people vote for the right candidate at the poll, when, the bastards don’t even know how much can eat? I am very specific at my table on Christmas day. I cut to order all the Prime Rib they want, but, since there are young people around, all get the same message. ” I give you as big slice as you want but, you leave some on the plate, next year you are not welcome here” A half inch slice is plenty, even them, some are cut in half, A full Prime Rib could be (easily) 20 pound and more. So, 20 divided 7 = 2.85 less the cooking shrinkage let say 2.50 of meat for each Rib. You find me a man the eat 2.50 # of meat on Christmas day. and I can tell you what his first name is, ,it start with a P. Not for Paul, not for Peter, not for Pasquale, but, P in this case stand for Pig.
The only thing I would like to change on the cooking chart is the 160- 170 degree for well done. I like to change that with: 160-170 RUINED. Each rib feed 3 people very comfortably, 2 half inch slices with no bones, the third one with the bone, and so forth. A 7 rib feed your 18 guests if you lucky or, 18 relatives if you are not. lol.