We eat prime rib once or twice a year. It’s a special meal and is reserved for evenings when we are joined by friends or family. It’s a rare treat and one that I look forward to. I have 5 primary guiding ‘rules’ when it comes to cooking (and buying) a prime rib (you can skip them and go right to the recipe after the last photo if you’d rather):
Rule #1 when cooking prime rib: trust your thermometer beyond all else.
There are plenty of recipes on the internet for cooking prime rib but most of them under-emphasize a key point: not all prime rib (or beef) is equal. Beef varies in many different ways, including:
- How it was raised (i.e. small farm vs. feedlot)
- What it was fed (i.e. grass vs. corn and more)
- The quality of life it led and how it was cared for
- How it was killed (large abattoir vs. limited options)
- How it was treated after death (i.e. dry aging or other options)
- How it was dressed (this amazing roast was prepared by Butchers of Distinction in Toronto; the roast was separated from the rack (which was crowned) and then tied in place; this makes is far easier to butcher and can affect cooking times)
A dry-aged roast (without a fat cap) will cook faster than the typical commercial roast. Cooking times range from 10-15 minutes per pound, with most people averaging the timing to about 12 minutes. Don’t rely on averages; check your roast when it’s 75% done it’s expected cooking time and watch it carefully.
Rule #2 You get what you pay for – and so does the cow.
A few years ago I wrote an article on the economics of grassfed beef. In that article I made an argument that a roast I purchased at $13 per pound was closer to $8 per pound when compared to the commercial roasts which were being sold for $5 a pound. It’s a detailed article and I won’t repeat all of it here other than to introduce that concept and address the cost of a quality prime rib.
Beef is expensive. Quality beef is even more so. The roast above was 8 pounds and cost $180. Including leftovers, it fed 15 people ($12 a person) and was the centerpiece of our New Years dinner. We split the cost with friends and ate an unbelievable 8-course meal for $60 (on an evening when many clubs were charging the same just to enter their premise). We eat far less meat than we used to but, when we eat it, we eat far better meat. Better in terms of it’s quality, taste and the ethics of how it was raised.
A high-quality prime rib should be served rare. We served this rare to everyone in the room and explained that it had been aged and, as such, it was meant to be rare. I offered to cook the meat further for anyone but asked them to consider trying it first. Not a single plate was returned. A ‘regular’ grocery store roast would likely turn many diners off if served so rare (this is purely from anecdotal experience).
For the cost of what I used to pay for a large sub, I get a single portion of prime rib. Further, the costs eliminate many restaurants from serving such high-quality meat; cooking a great piece of meat allows you to enjoy something you likely wouldn’t buy elsewhere.
Rule #3 Patience is a virtue. Let it rest.
I let this rest for more than 45 minutes. When we sliced it, the roast lost less than 2 teaspoons of juice. It was served warm (but not hot) and it was extremely moist.
Rule #4 – Keep it Simple, Let the Meat Shine
Cooking Prime Rib, like many expensive dishes (including sashimi and lobster) is remarkably easy to cook. When I cook something like this I swear I can hear a voice taunting me the entire time. It screams things like, “You’re gonna f#$* me up!!!” It’s easy to lose your nerve when cooking an immaculate piece of meat like this but stay confident! Like many indulgent ingredients (including cooking lobster and sashimi), cooking a prime rib is remarkably straightforward. Don’t poke it, prod it or open the oven a lot to ‘check it out.’
Keeping it simple also applies to seasoning it; salt and pepper are all you need.
Rule #5 – Use timers
This is a new rule for me. I almost forgot to turn the oven done after searing the meat. That would have destroyed it. It’s easy to get distracted with guests and other kitchen demands. Don’t rely on your brain when a stop watch will do the work for you!
Ok, enough of the preamble, let’s get to cooking a prime rib:
How to Cook Prime Rib Roast – Ingredients
- 1 prime rib roast (for full portions, count on 1 rib for every 2 people)
- Coarse salt
- Pepper
- Cooking rack (you can use carrots if needed)
How to Cook Prime Rib Roast – Instructions
- Calculate approximate cooking times:
- Multiply the weight of the roast (in pounds) by 12 minutes per pound. This will give you approximate cooking time.
- Multiply approximate cooking time by 75% – this will give you the first time to check the roast.
- Remove the roast from the fridge at least 3 hours before cooking it. This will allow it to return to room temperature which makes uniform cooking easier to achieve.
- Preheat oven to 550 (yep, that’s hot!). Arrange the racks so that the roast will fit in the oven as high as possible (this allows you to use a bottom rack to roast veggies if needed).
- Place roast on roasting rack inside a roasting pan (the photos show the roast resting on a cookie sheet as the roasting pan was still in the oven cooking vegetables).
- Scatter all sides with salt and pepper.
- Place temperature into the thickest part of the roast (ensuring not to touch bone)
- Once the oven comes to temperature, place roast in oven and set the timer for 12 minutes.
- Reduce the temperature to 300 degrees. Set timer based on 75% of cooking time (from step one). Check temperature at that point.
- Roast is done when it reaches 120 degrees.
- Remove roast from oven, tent loosely with tin foil for at least 30 minutes. I prefer to wait until it’s warm but cool enough to touch and carve (our 8-pounder waited around 45 minutes before carving).
Eat and enjoy!
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