My restaurant quality Prime Rib Roast Recipe, also known as a standing rib roast, is a cut of beef most people think is too difficult to cook at home. The truth is cooking delicious, quality prime rib at home couldn’t be easier with my standing rib roast recipe.
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Don’t wait for special occasions to make prime rib; it only takes 5 minutes to prep and 2 hours to cook the Perfect Prime Rib Roast, aka Standing Rib Roast.
If you have time, let the roast sit in the fridge overnight (or up to 3 days if time permits) to let the seasonings work their magic on the prime rib.
A prime rib roast is definitely the King of Beef, and the wow factor that comes with a cut of perfectly cooked prime rib is about as high as it can get.
Following my easy recipe will yield a perfect prime rib that’s rich, juicy, and tender. It’s not only a feast for the belly; it’s a feast for the eyes as well.
If you love beef, make sure to check out my Top Round Roast Beef and Garlic Herb Bottom Round Roast.
Ingredients
Let’s start by gathering the ingredients we need to make a Prime Rib Roast. In Chef Speak this is called the “Mise en Place” which translates to “Everything in its Place.”
Not only does setting your ingredients up ahead of time speed up the cooking process, it also helps ensure you have everything you need to make the dish.
*A Prime Rib Roast is considered a “Primal Cut of Beef.” A primal cut is a piece of meat initially separated from the carcass of an animal during butchering. Other primal cuts of beef are the loin, chuck, ribs, and round.
How much do I need?
A bone-in prime rib will feed 2 people per bone (about 1 pound per person, counting the weight of the rib bones). Use that guideline to plan how big of a roast you need. Of course, the number of sides and types of side dishes you are serving also comes into play. If you are planning a large meal with lots of accompaniments, you can scale back to ½ – ¾ pound prime rib per person.
If you can’t find a smaller prime rib roast at your local grocery store, a local butcher can probably help you out.
How do I know when it is cooked?
There is no getting around it; you need a meat thermometer to check on the internal temperature of the prime rib roast. You don’t want to keep opening the oven or taking the meat out to check with an instant-read thermometer. Invest in a good thermometer; it’s the best way to check the level of doneness of anything you cook in the oven or on the grill.
Roast your prime rib until the thermometer registers:
- 115-120˚F for rare
- 125-130˚F for medium rare
- 135-140° F for medium
- 145-150 F° for medium well
Please keep in mind that the meat temperature will continue to rise 5-10 degrees when it’s resting out of the oven, so don’t overcook the roast!
How to Cook a Prime Rib Roast
Follow along at home with my easy instructions to see how to cook a prime rib roast in your own kitchen!
- Pat the roast dry using paper towels.
- Rub meat with Dijon mustard ( your favorite brown mustard or olive oil).
- Season the roast with coarse sea salt, cracked black pepper and minced garlic.
- Place roast in the refrigerator uncovered overnight (or up to 48 hours). This allows the surface to dry, which helps the roast brown and maintain juiciness.
Room temperature
The most important thing to remember when roasting a large piece of meat, like a standing rib roast, is to let the beef warm to room temperature before roasting the meat.
- Preheat the oven to 475°F
- Place the beef on a roasting pan, fatty side up.
- Roast the prime rib roast at 475°F for 25 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 300°F
- Let the prime rib continue to cook for 15 minutes per pound of roast.
- Use a meat thermometer to check the temperature. Prime Rib should not be cooked beyond Medium doneness.
- Remove the roast from the oven and tent the entire roast with foil. Let the meat rest for a minimum of 20 minutes before serving (30-40 minutes is preferable). The meat will continue to cook after taking it out of the oven, and the internal temperature of the meat will increase by 5-10 degrees.
If you need a more well-done piece, use the ends (first cut), they will be more fully cooked. You can also place the cuts of prime rib in a pan with au jus and gently heat the meat to increase the doneness. My wife loves meat, well, well, well-done and using the au jus in a saute pan, I was able to serve her a perfectly cooked well done prime rib.
Enjoying a delicious prime rib dinner in your own home really makes a night extra special. Serve it up with homemade horseradish sauce, au jus (see the recipe notes for instructions), buttery smashed potatoes, and your favorite green vegetable.
And if you do have leftovers, they make an amazing prime rib sandwich!
Recipe FAQs
A prime rib roast, also referred to as a standing rib roast, is the cut of meat that’s taken from the back of the upper ribs of the steer. This section is typically made up of about seven ribs, which is what restaurants use. You can find a smaller 3 or 4-bone roast, which is better for home consumption. You really don’t want to cook a prime rib roast smaller than that.
It’s always best to start at a high temperature (450 – 475 degrees is the optimal range). After 25 minutes at this temperature, change to a lower temperature (250 -300 degrees) is used to finish cooking the roast.
One cooking method I have never been fond of is Reverse Sear. It starts out at a lower temperature, lets the roast rest briefly, and then blasts it at 500 degrees to get the outside crisp. I prefer the traditional method of roasting meats.
Although a ribeye steak and a prime rib are both cut from the same rib section of the beef, they do have some differences.
The ribeye is cut from between the 6th and 12th ribs, which are considered to be the most tender and heavily marbled part of the ribs.
The other big difference in taste and tenderness is a cut of prime rib is cut off of a cooked roast, whereas ribeyes are individual cuts seasoned and cooked to order.
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Prime Rib Roast Recipe
Ingredients
- 6 lb Prime Rib Bone-in roast will average between 5-8 pounds
- 1 tablespoon coarse sea salt
- 1 tablespoon cracked black pepper
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 2 tablespoon Dijon or brown mustard *can use olive oil instead
Instructions
- The night before you cook your Prime Rib, Pat the prime rib dry with paper towels.
- Rub meat with Dijon mustard ( your favorite brown mustard or olive oil).
- Season the roast with coarse sea salt, cracked black pepper and minced garlic
- Place roast in the refrigerator uncovered overnight (or up to 48 hours). This allows the surface to dry, which helps the roast brown and maintain juiciness.
- Bring Prime Rib to room temperature before roasting (takes 1-2 hours)
- Preheat oven to 475°F
- Place the meat on a roasting pan, fatty side up.
- Roast the meat at 475°F for 25 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 300°F
- Let the prime rib continue to cook for 15 minutes per pound of roast.
- Use a meat thermometer to check the temperature. Prime Rib should not be cooked beyond Medium doneness. For Rare take the roast out of the oven when the internal temp is 115°F. For Medium Rare, take the roast out of the oven when it reaches 125°F.If you need a more well-done piece, use the ends, they will be more cooked. Yu can also place the cuts of prime rib in a pan with au jus to make the meat more well done.
- Remove from oven, cover with foil and allow to rest for at least 20 minutes before serving. The meat will continue to cook after taking it out of the oven and the internal temp will increase about 10 degrees.
- Serve with au jus and creamy horseradish sauce
Ingrid Hendriks says
Followed instructions and the Prime Rib turned out perfectly!!
Chef Dennis Littley says
I’m happy to hear that, and I hope you find more delicious recipes on my website to try!
Jack says
With its rich and juicy texture, this roast is sure to become a family favorite! Loved your recipe!!
Hayley Dhanecha says
This recipe is wonderful! Minimum ingredients and effort but yielded great results. Perfect dish to enjoy with friends and family.
Tristin says
Made this for our New Years Eve celebration, it was the prime rib! Will be making this recipe every year.
Kathryn says
I love how easy and simple this prime rib is! I also love how you only need a handful of ingredients. This recipe is a keeper and it made the best dinner!
Mae Rosa says
I think the size of this cut of meat is in itself intimidating when one only makes it once a year. Esp for a special meal. But your recipe and directions nailed it! Perfectly seasoned, timed, and cooked as you specified. Thank you for posting this as our prime rib was the best ever! Even for grass feed beef cut. Will try again soon!
Ev says
We did a 5lb. Standing Rib Roast from Fresh Thyme. 1st time ever using this store. Will definitely buy from them next year. It had the right amount of fat which makes the perfect roast. We pre-ordered it from their butcher. They cut it the morning you are picking it up. It was $9.99 lb. $10. Off. So ours came to 7.99 lb. Weve purchased ours before from Walmart which didnt have a good amount of fat. Used Chef Dennis’s recipe. I didn’t see to use the mustard. We let it sit unwrapped in the fridge overnight. It Turned Out Fantastic. My husband said it’s the Best he ever has had. Hes 68 years old. We’ve had the Best Ever Prime at Jeffrey’s in Kranzburg, Mn. It cost us $34.99 each. This Was Just As Wonderful, My husband thought this recipe was The Best even better then Jeffrey’s. I didn’t keep this recipe so we had to search for it today and thank goodness he was able to find it. We removed ours at 115 degrees. All I can say is this is a Fantastically Wonderful Flavorful Recipe. I went back to Fresh thyme today to buy a ribeye. Hope Chef Dennis has a recipe we can try for this.
cindy says
I used your recipe and it is perfection! very ahem particular (critical) eaters in my family and this got RAVE reviews! so thank you, chef Dennis
Ann says
This cut of meat is so intimidating to me. Your post made it so simple and it turned out fabulous!
Veronika says
You were right! It really is fairly easy to make a prime rib roast at home! We cooked it medium rare and it came out perfect.
Amy Liu Dong says
We had this for Christmas and the meat was so tender, and delicious!
I’ll be making it again for New Year’s Eve!
megane says
Simple perfection! The hubster made this yesterday and I am making sure I get all the leftovers! Thanks for a great recipe.
Gloria says
It is so expensive to go out to dinner. Just cook the expensive roast at home and save money. Great for dinner parties.
Marta says
I made this prime rib roast for Christmas dinner and the entire family was in love. I never thought it could be so easy to make such an exquisite cut of meat, but your instructions helped a ton.
Barbara says
I just made it so so good the smell is amazing
Vickie Poynter says
I always make a Prime Rib roast for Christmas Eve dinner. Tried a few different recipes but never 100% happy with results. Searched for recipes from chefs and found this one and decided to try it. Wow…turned out perfect. I will use this one going forward. Followed the recipe exactly as written. Be sure you get a “Prime Rib Roast” as a lot of groceries only sell “Choice” meat. I purchased my Prime Rib Roast at Fresh Thyme this year and you could cut it with a fork it was so tender. Costco also carries Prime beef. I usually get it there but they were sold out. Fresh Thyme only had a 7 pound roast so I got it and so glas I did. Had leftover and it is just as good the next day. Thank you for this simple yet wonderful recipe.