Meals · Roasts, ribs & slow cooker
Prime rib roast
A three-bone standing rib roast crusted with salt and pepper, started in a blazing oven and finished at a moderate heat until rosy all the way through. The roasting pan gives up a dark, beefy jus. It is simpler than its reputation, as long as you trust a thermometer.
- Time
- 235 min (70 prep + 165 cook)
- Servings
- 8
- Per serving
- 812 kcal
- Protein
- 47 g
Ingredients
- 1 standing rib roast, 3 bones, about 6 lb prime rib, ask the butcher to cut off the bones and tie them back on
- 1 tbsp salt
- 1 tbsp black pepper, coarsely ground
- 2 tsp garlic powder (optional)
- 1 tsp dried rosemary (optional)
- 1 1/2 tbsp beef tallow, soft
Jus
- 2 cups beef broth, low-sodium
Steps
- Pat the roast dry and rub it all over with the salt. Stand it on a rack in a roasting pan, bones down, and refrigerate uncovered for at least 1 hour and up to 24.
- Heat the oven to 500°F, with a rack in the lower third. Stir the pepper and, if using, the garlic powder and rosemary into the tallow and spread it over the top and sides of the roast. Push the probe of a leave-in thermometer into the center, away from the bone, if you have one.
- Roast for 15 minutes, then turn the oven down to 325°F without opening the door. Roast until the center reads 120–125°F, which takes about 1 3/4–2 hours for this size, because it goes in cold from the fridge. Start checking after 1 1/4 hours; size and shape change the time, so the thermometer decides.
- Lift the roast onto a board, cover it loosely with foil and rest it for 30 minutes. It will climb to about 130–135°F, rosy medium-rare. For medium, take it out at 135°F. The USDA's safe minimum for whole cuts of beef is 145°F after a 3-minute rest.
- While it rests, pour the fat out of the roasting pan and keep the brown bits. Set the pan over medium heat, pour in the broth and scrape it all up. Boil for 8–10 minutes, until reduced by half, and strain into a jug.
- Cut the string, lift off the bones and carve the meat into slices about 1/2 inch thick. Serve with the jus. Leftovers keep 4 days in the fridge; warm slices gently in the jus so they stay pink. The meat freezes for 3 months.
Good to know
Is there a leaner roast that works this way?
Yes. A sirloin tip roast takes the same treatment, at about 86 instead of 31. Buy about 5 lb of boneless roast, and start checking the temperature after 45 minutes, because it has no bones to slow it down.
Do I really need a thermometer?
Yes. A roast this size can be anywhere from rare to well done at the same hour on the clock, so this is not one to guess at.
What if I am not strict carnivore?
Fresh rosemary, thyme and chopped garlic in the rub are the traditional choice.
Per
- Calories
- 336
- Protein
- (24%)
- 20 g
- Fat
- (76%)
- 28 g
- Carbohydrates
- (1%)
- 1 g
- of which sugar
- <1 g
- Fiber
- <1 g
- Sodium
- 509 mg
More meals
Computed from the ingredients with our published formula, not yet kitchen-tested. How
As written, 6493 kcal goes into the pot and 2182 g of ingredients comes out as about 1930 g of food: 336 kcal per 100 g. Cooking moves water and energy density is the score's biggest lever, so the dish is scored as cooked, not as an average of its parts. Every ingredient links to its food page, with the same data and score. The label's percentages are each macronutrient's share of the calories. The full formula.