The Closed-Oven Method for Cooking a Prime Rib Roast (2024)

FAQs

Should prime rib roast be cooked covered or uncovered? ›

Keep the rib roast uncovered while you cook it to allow it to brown on the outside. You can also give it a little extra sear in a hot pan for a few minutes on each side after it's finished roasting.

Rule #7: Season Well, and Season in Advance. For best results, salt your prime rib on all surfaces with kosher salt at least 45 minutes before you start cooking it, and preferably the day before, leaving it in the fridge uncovered overnight.

How do restaurants make prime rib so tender? The secret to restaurant-style prime rib is cooking the meat super slow at low temperatures. I recommend cooking prime rib at no higher than 200 degrees F. This cooks the meat very slowly, turning the fat into butter and rendering the proteins juicy and soft.

Start by cooking your prime rib at 500°F for 15 minutes and then lower the oven temperature to 325° F and cook for 10-12 min per pound for rare, or 13-14 min per pound for medium rare, or 14-15 min per pound for medium well. A meat thermometer is essential to ensure you cook it perfectly!

Brown the roast at 500°F (or as high as your oven will go) for 15 minutes. Lower the oven to 325°F to finish roasting: Reduce the oven temperature to 325°F. Roast in the oven until the thermometer registers 115°F for rare or 120° for medium rare, and 130°F for medium.

Rub the prime rib with olive oil. In a small bowl, combine the salt, pepper, herbs and garlic powder. Rub this mixture onto the prime rib. Place the prime rib in a roasting pan, fat-side up, and insert an ovenproof meat thermometer so the tip is centered in the thickest part of the roast.

Place the roast fat side up in a shallow baking pan; then add some basting liquid to the bottom of the pan. I like to use red wine on the bottom of my pan to give the juices even more of a robust flavor, but water or beef stock will work just as well.

Salt the Prime Rib Overnight

Rub a good quality kosher salt all over the meat the day before you want to cook it. Now, place it in the refrigerator overnight, UNCOVERED in order to enhance the beefy flavor while dissolving some of the proteins, which yields a buttery-tender, juicy roast.

Cooked low and slow in the oven and finished with a blast of heat for the juiciest, most flavorful, evenly cooked prime rib roast. Kenji is the former culinary director for Serious Eats and a current culinary consultant for the site.

Heat the oven to 250°F with the rack in the lower middle position. Place the seasoned rib roast on a greased roasting rack in a roasting tray. Cook for 4 to 5 hours or until the internal temperature in the thickest part of the roast is 125-130°F for medium-rare prime rib, or 135-140°F for medium.

Why do you salt prime rib before cooking? ›

The salt helps trap the heat to better cook the prime rib. “It conducts the heat and seals it,” says Betz.

For a bone-in prime rib, figure two servings per rib, while a boneless roast will yield two servings per pound. When trying to figure out how much time you need to roast your prime rib, use this simple calculation: weight of the prime rib (in pounds) x 5 = total roasting time in minutes.

The Benefits of Slow Roasting

First, slow roasting produces a Prime Rib that is tender, juicy, and has evenly cooked meat.

Let it sit on the counter for 2 to 3 hours before smoking; this will help it cook more evenly.

We recommend a low, slow cook preceded by a good sear.