How To Cook A Prime Rib Roast (Prime Rib Recipe)

How To Cook A Prime Rib Roast (Prime Rib Recipe) with step by step instructions so you can make the best prime rib roast recipe ever! Believe it or not, prime rib is easy to cook and the salted olive oil and herb crust creates amazing flavor.

This is the perfect roast beef for a dinner party or holiday gathering. Since you pre-prep this roast a day or two in advance, all you have to do is roast the day of your dinner. Horseradish sauce and au jus instructions also provided. So easy! 

Jump to:

• You'll Love This Prime Rib Recipe
• What To Serve With Prime Rib
• Ingredients and Tools
• How To Make Prime Rib
• How to Make Horseradish Sauce
• How to Make Au Jus
• Cooking Tips
• Common Questions
• 📋 Recipe
• Related Recipes
• How to Share This Recipe
• 💬 Comments

You'll Love This Prime Rib Recipe

It Tastes Amazing

I have made this recipe many times and each time it comes out melt-in-your-mouth, tender, and juicy. It gets rave reviews and has wonderful flavor from the olive, salt, and herb crust.

Oven Roasted

Oven-roasted prime rib is my favorite way to cook prime rib. By starting the oven at a high temperature and reducing the temperature as the roast goes into the oven helps to ensure that the roast will be very moist.

Foolproof

If you follow the step-by-step instruction below, and you have an instant-read thermometer, then you will end up with a foolproof roast.

Prime rib roasts are expensive cuts of meat and I used to worry about messing it up! No one wants to ruin and expensive roast that they are serving for guests. With that said, never guess the temperature of the roast. I use an instant-read thermometer and cook the roast until it reaches between 125 degrees F and 130 degrees at its thickest point.

Remember that some guests like rare and others will like their meat cooked longer. The inside of the roast will be the rarest and as you work your way out it will be medium rare, medium, and so on. I like to ask my guests how they like their roast and try and give them a slice done to their liking.

Easy and Prep Ahead

One of the best things about this roast is that you can prepare it 1 to 2 days ahead of time. All you have to do the day of your dinner party is remove it from the refrigerator 1 hour before roasting, then bake in the oven! So easy.

Minimal Ingredients

This prime rib recipe has only a few very basic ingredients - the roast, olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic, and fresh herbs. So simple!

Low Carb and Keto

Prime rib is naturally low carb and keto-friendly. No sugar or additional carbs are used in the crust. Making the horseradish sauce you provide additional fat.

While the protein is high compared to fat content, I would adjust my remaining fat and protein consumption to accommodate something this delicious roast any day!

fat 28.5 g | net carbs 2.5 g | protein 41.4 g

What To Serve With Prime Rib

Here is a perfectly easy dinner party menu that you could even serve buffet style if you like!

The french onion soup can be made ahead and reheated in a slow cooker. The horseradish sauce and layered salad can be made a day ahead. The prime rib can be prepped ahead and you'll have to do is pop it in the oven. The zucchini carrot casserole can also be easily doubled or tripled for a larger crowd.

Easy Dinner Party Menu:

• French Onion Soup
• Roast Prime Rib with Horseradish Sauce 
• Zucchini Carrot Casserole
• Make-Ahead Layered Salad
• Assorted rolls

Ingredients and Tools

Tip: the key to a perfect roast is a thermometer! If you don't already have one you will need one.

Ingredients

• prime rib roast
• kosher salt
• garlic
• herbs (use fresh! if you're going to spend $$ on a roast, make sure to use the best herbs)
• olive oil

Tools

• wireless thermometer, or this instant-read thermometer
• roasting pan with rack
• aluminum foil
• large cutting board
• sharp knife

How To Make Prime Rib

Here are step-by-step instructions on how to cook a prime rib roast.

1 to 2 Days Prior to Dinner:

Insert Garlic

Make small slits in the prime rib roast, just large enough to insert sliced garlic evenly around roast. See photograph.

Note: An alternative is to mince garlic instead and add it to the herb mixture below.

Apply Herb and Salt Crust

Mix olive oil, herbs, and pepper in a small bowl.

Rub mixture all over roast.

Cover entire roast in kosher salt, patting on firmly.

Wrap tightly in foil and refrigerate for 1 to 2 days prior to roasting the beef.

Day of Dinner:

Roast In The Oven

Remove roast from refrigerator and foil, 1 hour prior to roasting. Preheat oven to 500 degrees F. Set prime rib on the rack of a roasting pan.

Place roast in the oven and immediately turn down to 300 degrees F. Roast until the temperature of the roast reaches 125° to 130° degrees F at its thickest part. This will take approximately 20 minutes per pound, but ovens can vary.

Tip: Use a thermometer to determine the exact temperature - don't guess! A thermometer is a MUST

Let Stand

Remove roast from the oven, tent with foil, and let stand for 15 to 30 minutes prior to serving. Remove salt crust, cut the twine and remove ribs (see note below).

Note: for easy carving, my butcher cut the rib eye muscle from the bones and tied the bones back on for roasting. You can see from the pictures that the roast was tied and that once the string was cut after roasting, all of the bones were easily removed! I didn't know that they did that and it made it super easy to carve! 

Serve

Slice into 1/2" to 3/4” thick slices. Serve with horseradish sauce and beef juices (au jus) if desired. See recipes below!

How to Make Horseradish Sauce

• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 to 2 tbsp horseradish
• 1 tbsp chives, minced
• optional, 1 tsp dijon mustard or lemon juice
• salt and pepper to taste

Mix sour cream, horseradish, chives, and a pinch of salt and pepper in a small bowl. Adjust horseradish to your desired taste. Some horseradish can be spicy, start with 1 tbsp and add as you go. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Set aside until ready to serve. Can be made ahead of time.

How to Make Au Jus

Typically au jus is made with pan juices, a little beef broth, and is then slightly thickened with flour.

You can buy commercial au jus mix and make ahead of time, or you can also find a recipe online and make without pan juices. This option can also be made ahead of time.

Because this prime rib recipe has a salted crust the pan juices may have become too salty. Remove any large salt chunks in the bottom of the pan before using the juices. Make sure to use low salt or no salt beef broth, and add your salt after.

Au Jus With Pan Drippings:

• 1/2 cup beef drippings (remove any salt crust)
• 2 cups low salt beef broth
• 1-1/2 tbsp flour (keto-friendly option: 1 tsp of xanthan gum whisked with 1 tbsp olive oil)
• salt and pepper as needed.

Add beef drippings to skillet and heat over medium-high. Whisk in flour or the xanthan gum and olive oil mixture. Whisk until the mixture starts to thicken. Slowly whisk in beef broth. Continue whisking until the mixture starts to thicken. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Note: thicken the sauce to desired consistency, however, this sauce is meant to be on the runnier side - as you'd find in a restaurant. It is a complement to the prime rib and is not intended to be a thick gravy. Prime is too good to smother in gravy! 🙂

Simple Au Jus Without Pan Drippings:

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2-1/2 cups beef broth
• 1-1/2 tbsp flour (keto-friendly option: 1 tsp of xanthan gum whisked with 1 tbsp olive oil)
• 1 small onion, finely diced
• salt and pepper

In a skillet over medium-high heat cook onion in olive oil until very tender. Whisk in flour or the xanthan gum and olive oil mixture. Whisk until the mixture starts to thicken. Slowly whisk in beef broth. Continue whisking until the mixture starts to thicken. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Note: thicken the sauce to desired consistency, however, this sauce is meant to be on the runnier side - as you'd find in a restaurant. It is a complement to the prime rib and is not intended to be a thick gravy. Prime is too good to smother in gravy! 🙂

Cooking Tips

• Remove prime rib from the refrigerator 1 hour before roasting.
• At 300 degrees F, a prime rib will take approximately 20 minutes per pound. At 325 degrees it will take approximately 17 minutes per pound.
• We recommend using temperature as your guide to determining doneness. A prime rib should be 125 to 130 degrees at the center of its thickest part. Remove the roast from the oven, tent with foil, and let it sit on the counter approximately 30 minutes prior to serving.

Common Questions

Is prime rib and ribeye the same thing?

No, they are not the same thing. Prime rib is a roast, and a rib eye is a steak. Ribeye is the steak cut from the prime rib.

What does prime rib taste like?

Prime rib is a delicious, very tender beef roast, with nice even marbling. This recipe is roasted with an olive oil, salt and herb crust which helps to preserve juices.

What temperatures should prime rib be cooked?

At the center of the roasts thickest part, heat to 125 to 130 degrees F.

Rare 125 degrees F

Medium rare 130 degrees F

How much prime rib do I need per person?

As a general rule of thumb, two people per rib. You'll have some people eat less, and some more. It's also nice to have leftovers.

This recipe used an 8 lb roast, with 4 ribs. Our roast was actually slightly larger than 8 lbs with 4 ribs, and we were able to cut 10 pieces around 1/2" in size (give or take).

What goes good with prime rib?

Potatoes that are baked or roasted, roasted sautéed or steamed vegetables, and salads all go well. See our sample dinner menu above for an easy dinner party!

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How to cook a prime rib roast. Super simple, perfect holiday recipe. This melt-in-your-mouth, juicy and tender prime rib roast recipe is easy to prep ahead of time. All you have to do is roast before your dinner party. Standing rib roast is a low carb and keto recipe.  With step-by-step instructions, this beef roast is foolproof! #roastbeef #holidayrecipe #keto #lowcarb #christmas #thanksgiving #primerib #beefrecipe #newyear #holidaydinner