This garlic-crusted Prime Rib Recipe was one of the first prime rib roast recipes posted online (way back in 2013!!) and has 100’s of 5-star reviews (scroll to the bottom to read them). It’s one of the most popular standing rib roast recipes for good reason- the buttery soft interior melts in your mouth while the garlic-crusted exterior provides a flavorful contrast. Readers come back year after year to make this Christmas dinner favorite!
Pair this Prime Rib Roast Recipe with our Prime Rib Rub, Prime Rib Au Jus, and Horseradish Sauce for Prime Rib and you’ve got a knock-out holiday meal.
If you’re looking for an easy and tasty Prime Rib Recipe, congrats! It means you’re awesome enough to realize a Prime Rib Roast is the way to go for your holiday meal. This Prime Rib Recipe, as well as our Sous Vide Ribeye, Smoked Beef Tenderloin and Beef Wellington are three of our favorite special occasion recipes.
Other melt-in-your-mouth Prime Rib Roast Recipes: Sous Vide Prime Rib and Smoked Prime Rib.
How To Cook Prime Rib
Cooking prime rib roast is easier than it sounds. If you’re new to cooking prime rib roast than you probably have one thought running through your head in the days leading up to the holiday: “please don’t let me screw up this expensive piece of meat.” We’ve received a ton of emails lately asking “How to Cook Prime Rib”.
Have no fear, Foodie and Wine is here to help you make your first prime rib! We’ve tried countless cooking methods and Prime Rib recipes over the years and this prime rib recipe is the clear winner. In case you were wondering, yes a standing rib roast is one and the same.
This prime rib recipe used an easy method to “char” and then “cook” the bone-in prime rib roast (or boneless prime rib). The very high temp, in the beginning, starts the cooking process (reverse sear method), heats the oven to a high enough temperature to slow cook the roast, AND provides a nice char on the outside of the roast.
Our favorite prime rib recipe combines flavorful prime rib seasonings with the best cooking practices to help you nail your prime rib recipe. Pair it with a little Prime Rib Au Jus for a steakhouse finish. Look at this thing of beauty:
Prime Rib Cooking Time
Calculate your initial cooking time by allowing 5 minutes per pound of meat. For example, a 9 lb. prime rib roast would cook at 500 degrees F for 45 minutes while a 6 lb. prime rib roast would cook for 30 minutes.
After your initial cooking time is finished, turn off the oven and let the garlic-crusted prime rib sit for 2 hours. It’s imperative that you DO NOT OPEN THE OVEN DOOR. This will let the heat escape. After 2 hours, the center of your prime rib roast will be 135 degrees F, which is medium-rare. If you prefer a higher finished temperature, just keep the oven door closed until your desired “pull/remove from heat” temperature is reached.
New model ovens can cool down faster than older models due to the internal fan. If you find your oven is too cool after the 2 hour wait time (and the roast isn’t quite at 135 degrees F), turn the oven back on to 500 degrees F. Only keep it on until the oven gets back up to 500, then turn it off. Again – keep the OVEN DOOR closed to keep the heat in. As long as you have your digital thermometer you have nothing to fear!
Prime Rib Roast Temperature
This Prime rib recipe, and all other prime rib roasts, are measured by temperature vs. time to reach your desired doneness. Below are the “final doneness temperatures”. Your “pull/remove from the heat” temperature will be below the final temperatures, by 5-7°F. We prefer to cook prime rib medium rare, but it’s definitely a personal preference. Most folks we speak to like a rare prime rib roast.
- Rare Prime Rib: 120-129°F
- Medium Rare Prime Rib: 130-134°F
- Medium Prime Rib: 135-144°F
- Medium Well Prime Rib: 145-154°F
- Well Done Prime Rib: 155-164°F
Ingredients For The Best Prime Rib
Only a few ingredients are needed to make this standing rib roast:
- Prime Rib Roast – Bone in Prime Rib or Boneless Prime Rib
- Prime Rib Rub Ingredients – Kosher Salt, Dried or Fresh Herbs (Thyme and Rosemary), Onion Powder, Garlic Powder, Black Pepper
- Misc – Extra Virgin Olive Oil and Minced Garlic (or Sliced).
Prime Rib Recipe Equipment
You only need a few kitchen supplies, on top of the prime rib ingredients, to successfully make a perfect prime rib:
- Roasting Pan or Tray – We use a large roasting pan, however, you may get away with a cast-iron pan if you’re cooking a prime rib on the smaller size.
- Large Cutting Board- Large slabs of meat require large cutting boards. Now is the time to upgrade if you’re using a small one.
- Meat Thermometer – Using a digital meat thermometer is A MUST!
- Optional: If you bone and tie your prime rib, you’ll also need cooking twine.
Easy Prime Rib Recipe Tips
- Using a digital meat thermometer is A MUST! Part of cooking a prime rib includes leaving the oven door shut for hours. Unless you’re able to position your manual thermometer so it’s still in view through a closed oven door, spend an extra few bucks and go digital. You won’t regret it.
- Your prime rib roast will increase in temperature the longer it rests. If you plan on resting your rib for 20-25 minutes, to cook other items, only cook your roast to 115 degrees. Your roast will rise in temperature to approx. 135 degrees after a 20 minute rest period.
- Wondering how much prime rib to cook? Check out our How Much Prime Rib To Serve Per Person guidelines.
- Take the meat out of the refrigerator at least 4 hours before cooking, so it comes to room temperature (or close to it). This allows the meat to evenly cook inside and out.
- You can’t go wrong with the rub! We heavy up on garlic and thyme, but if rosemary is your thing feel free to double the amount we call for.
- While not mandatory, we like to bone and tie our Prime Rib, if using a bone in beef roast, so it’s easier to cut after being cooked. If you’re not sure how to do this, watch this YouTube video. It’s incredibly easy to do or the butcher can do it for you.
- You can use a bone-in prime rib or boneless prime rib. The flavor won’t be affected if you go with boneless. Totally up to you. The recipe instructions stay the same.
- Plan out your cooking schedule so you leave ample time to cook your prime rib roast to your preferred doneness. Also, the side dishes we cook usually take 30 minutes. While our meat is resting we have the side dishes prepped and ready to pop in the oven the minute the meat is removed.
- Beef Drippings – prime rib doesn’t put out a ton of pan drippings, so if you’re making homemade beef gravy or au jus, you’ll need to supplement with beef stock.
- Use the leftover bones from this beef prime rib to make Instant Pot Bone Broth.
What To Serve With Standing Rib Roast
In addition to this Prime Rib Recipe, we’re making a few other dishes this holiday season.
- Slow Cooker Mashed Potatoes– We’re BIG mashed potato fans and this potato recipe is our favorite. Think creamy, soft and low maintenance. They pair perfectly with this prime rib recipe.
- Air Fryer Baby Potatoes – another low-maintenance side dish everyone will love.
- Air Fryer Mushrooms – quick and easy! Two flavor options to choose from.
- Roasted Mushrooms in Garlic Butter Sauce – Pan-seared mushrooms drenched in a savory garlic butter sauce. We also have an Instant Pot version.
- Sautéed Mushrooms – Tender mushrooms soaked in red wine, thyme, garlic, and other savory herbs.
- Spinach and Feta Phyllo Cups – Our easy “go-to” appetizer on Thanksgiving and Christmas. A step up from basic spinach dip.
- Sous Vide Carrots or Sous Vide Corn on the Cob would be a match made in heaven.
Use the leftovers to make a killer Prime Rib Sandwich! This is our favorite way to use up leftover standing rib roast.
How To Store Leftover Prime Rib
Leftover prime rib is easy to store and grub down on at a later date. Transfer the roast to a Ziploc bag, or other air-tight container, after it’s cooled. Place in the refrigerator and store for up to 5 days.
Ideally, you only want to slice off the beef you’ll be enjoying immediately and leave the rest as one whole roast vs. individual slices. It’s easier to re-heat and keep the desired texture when stored as a whole.
Other recipes, perfect for the holiday season or special occasions: Baked Lobster Tails, Instant Pot Roast Beef, Instant Pot Turkey, Smoked Turkey , or Smoked Turkey Wings.
Prime Rib Drink Pairings
Wine- Bordeaux, Riojo, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Malbec
Beer- Brown Ale, Porter, Stout, Amber Ale
Still, have questions? Feel free to leave a comment below and we’re happy to answer!
Equipment
Ingredients
Prime Rib
- 1 2-6 Bone Prime Rib Roast (Boned and Tied)
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 3-4 clove garlic (Sliced or Minced)
Prime Rib Rub
- 1 tbsp Dried Thyme
- 1 tbsp Dried Rosemary
- 1 tbsp Black Pepper
- 1 tbsp Onion Powder
- 1 tbsp Garlic Powder
- 2 tbsp Kosher Salt
Optional Serving Sides
Instructions
- Remove the prime rib from the refrigerator 4 hours before cooking.
- OPTIONAL: Minutes before cooking, bone and tie the roast.
- Cut 1/2" slits on the top of the roast and insert minced or sliced garlic.
- Rub the outside of the roast with high quality olive oil.
- Combine the rosemary, thyme, kosher salt, black pepper, onion powder and garlic powder and spread evenly over the roast.
- Let rest while the oven pre-heats to 500 degree F (260 degree C).
- Transfer the roast to a roasting pan, bone side down.
- Insert the thermometer into the center of the roast and place in the oven (2nd rack from the bottom).
- Calculate your initial cooking time by allowing 5 minutes per pound of meat (a 9 lb roast would cook for 45 minutes while a 6 lb roast would cook for 30).
- This will provide a nice crunch on the exterior. The seasoning rub will get charred but that's what creates the deeply savory crust.
- After your calculated cooking time is up, turn the oven off but DON'T OPEN THE OVEN DOOR.
- After 2 hours the center of your roast will be 135 degrees F, which is medium-rare.
- If you prefer medium just keep it in the oven until it reaches 150 degrees F.
- Remove from the oven and let rest for 10 minutes.
moshe
Tuesday 11th of April 2023
i did this for 2 bone 4 pound rib roast it was excelent thank you! im doing it again for a large crowed a 7 bone in 20 pound roast would i still cook it at 500 for 5 minutes a pound that would be 500 for an hour and 40 minutes or should i cook it differently?
Vernette
Saturday 1st of April 2023
Where do you position the oven rack when cooking this?
Darcey Olson
Saturday 1st of April 2023
Right in the middle!
Eva
Sunday 1st of January 2023
When cooking with a bone in roast.. do I calculate the 5 min/pound time with the weight of the meat with the bone or guesstimate the weight without the bone?
Darcey Olson
Sunday 1st of January 2023
With the bone!! Enjoy
Linda
Saturday 31st of December 2022
Well I just got my roast ready to put on the grill. The two things I am doing differently is, I made a paste with the olive oil and the seasoning and put it on the rib roast and I’m going to put it in our rec tec grill instead of the oven so the time will be different. I have a digital thermometer for the the grill so I’ll know when to take it off. I will do the 500 degrees and then lower the temperature as another recipe for my rec tec says to do. Looking forward to trying this. I’ll let you know how it turns out on the pellet grill.
Sarah
Saturday 24th of December 2022
I’ve been making this recipe for 4 years now! People talk about it all year! Thank you so much for sharing.. I did have a question, mine spits and just ruins the inside of my oven, is there a way to tent with foil etc? To try to minimize this?