Prime rib claims center stage during holiday season for a very good reason. It is the king of beef cuts.
If you’ve ever carved into a prime rib at a big holiday meal expecting a juicy, perfectly pink interior only to discover a dry, overcooked roast, this recipe is for you.
This simple, foolproof “mathematical method” for making the very best prime rib will greatly increase your chances of success. Here is the formula: Multiply the exact weight times 5 minutes. For me it was 5.35 x 5 = 26.75 minutes, which we round up to 27.
You’ll cook your room-temperature prime rib at 500 degrees F for exactly that many minutes. (Twenty-seven minutes, in my case.) Then turn off the oven and wait 2 hours without opening the door. When the time’s up, remove the prime rib and slice into the most perfectly medium-rare meat you’ve ever seen. See? That’s all it takes to make foolproof prime rib cooked to a perfect pink that’s somewhere just a shade under medium rare. Just make sure you’re starting with a prime rib that has been brought to room temperature! This is critical in order for the math to work!
Now, while the method could not be easier, there are a couple things that this method requires: a full-size, modern oven with a digital temperature setting that indicates when it is preheated. Older ovens with manual controls can vary greatly, and the doors may not have the proper insulation. Here’s another pro tip for you: Because prime rib is expensive, you should always insert a probe-style thermometer to monitor the internal temp of your roast and avoid any chance of over-cooking. Set the probe alarm (125 F for medium-rare) just in case, and pull the prime rib from oven even if there’s still time left on the oven timer.
It’s called a standing rib roast because to cook it, you position the roast majestically on its rib bones in the roasting pan.
Beautifully marbled with fat, this roast is rich, juicy, and tender—a feast for the eyes and the belly.
It’s also very easy to cook. You just start it in the oven at a high temperature to get good browning on the outside of the roast, and then cook it at a lower temperature to make sure the meat in the center doesn’t get over cooked.