On the most special occasions, my mom and dad would make reservations for us at Lawry's Prime Rib in Beverly Hills, California. I have only been a few times, but it is quite the experience! You feel like royalty when the valet parks your car, they check your coat at the front, and you sip sparkly champagne while you wait for your table.
Once at your table, they serve you the most exquisite meal! The chef cuts the prime rib right in front of you and they serve you all the Yorkshire pudding you can eat! But my favorite part is when the quartet of Christmas carolers come to your table and sing your favorite song. I can almost hear their voices now!
Unfortunately, Knoxville is a long way from Beverly Hills. But holidays still call for a special meal! So I tried to recreate this Holiday Prime Rib Roast in my own kitchen. Surprisingly, this is a really easy piece of meat to cook!
How to Season a Prime Rib
When it comes to seasoning a prime rib (or any large piece of meat for that matter), I try to keep it simple. Kosher salt, black pepper, and olive oil will be your best friends!
On this 7 pound roast, I used about 2 to 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil and rubbed all the sides using my fingers. Then I pressed in enough Kosher salt and black pepper until I felt the meat was evenly coated.
Rosemary, thyme, and oregano are also herbs you may want to consider when seasoning your prime rib.
For this recipe you will need a roasting pan that keeps the meat raised off the bottom. You'll want to catch all those beautiful juices, but you need air to circulate around it so that all the sides cook evenly.
If you don't have a roasting pan, you can use a large disposable foil tin and prop the roast on top of four rolled up foil balls.
Make sure you place the prime rib roast in the pan with the fat side on top.
This is really important because all those glorious juices and flavors will drip down into the meat while it is cooking.
You definitely don't want to spend a lot of money on a pretty prime rib only for it to be dry and tasteless!
How to Cook a Prime Rib Roast
Generally speaking, prime ribs need to cook for 13-14 minutes per pound. I had a 7 pound prime rib, so if you do the math, that is between 91-98 minutes (roughly an hour and a half).
First, heat the oven to 500 degrees. Cook the prime rib for 15 minutes at this temperature and then turn it down to 325 degrees for the remainder of the time your prime rib needs to roast.
While the meat is cooking, I like to get the platter ready. I keep my decorations simple and usually just pick parsley I have growing in the garden.
You will definitely want to have a meat thermometer handy for checking the prime rib.
I highly recommend getting a digital meat thermometer since the read outs on manual thermometers are often hard to see and need calibration.
When you think your roast is about 15 minutes from being done, take it out and insert the thermometer into the thickest part of the meat. Push it all the way to the center.
Rare (mostly pink inside) prime rib: 120-125 degrees
Medium (some pink in the center) rare: 130-135 degrees
Well done (no pink): 140-145 degrees
Keep in mind that the internal temperature of the prime rib will continue to rise another 10 degrees as it rests out of the oven. If you want a medium rare prime rib like me, take the roast out when it is about 120 degrees.
How to Cut a Prime Rib Roast
It is super important that you let the meat rest once you pull it out of the oven. All you have to do is tent the roasting pan with foil and let it sit for 30 minutes.
Letting the prime rib rest allows all the juices to settle inside the meat, rather than running all over a plate.
This usually is the perfect time to finish my Creamy Yukon Gold Mashed Potatoes or turn the oven temperature up and pop in some Fluffy Yeast Rolls.
Once your prime rib has rested and it's sitting on it's pretty platter, it's time to cut and serve! This is always the time my husband happens to show up in the kitchen. How does he know?!?!
Since Dan was in there, I put him to work by sharpening my carving knife!
Make sure your knife is longer than the roast and is nice and sharp. I use my Global Santoku Knife on occasions such as these. My Santoku knife also works well as a chef knife for chopping and mincing vegetables. It's one of the 4 knives I own.
Simply decide how thick you want a slice, then pull the knife toward you, only cutting about an inch deep. Then go back to where you started, cut another inch or two deep, and pull the knife toward you again. Continue this process until the prime rib slice is nearly removed. You should be able to see where to cut the rest of the meat evenly.
Here's my little family enjoying the prime rib! My husband Dan is at the head of the table and to his right is my oldest son Joshua. Next to Joshua is my daughter Nevaeh. Across from her is my youngest Caleb. Not pictured is our beloved cat Smokey. Undoubtedly he is on one of the kid's beds taking a nap!
I know not everyone is a beef fan, so here are a few other recipes you may want to try if you are hosting Christmas or have a special dinner coming up.
You may also like to try these side dishes as they are very versatile, easy to make, and insanely delicious!
If you think you might like to try this recipe, pin this image for later or share it on Facebook! Happy cooking y'all!
Holiday Prime Rib Roast
Equipment
- roasting pan
- digital meat thermometer
Ingredients
- 7-8 lb boneless prime rib you can ask your butcher to cut this special for you
- 2-3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 Tbsp Kosher salt and black pepper to taste
- 2 tsp rosemary, thyme, oregano to taste
Instructions
- Heat oven to 500 degrees. Unwrap the prime rib and pat it dry with paper towels.
- Smear 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil on all sides of the prime rib. Use your fingers to rub Kosher salt and black pepper over the meat. Press any other desired herbs on the meat and then set the meat fat side up in a roasting pan.
- Cook the prime rib uncovered in the oven at 500 degrees for 15 minutes then turn the heat down to 325 degrees and cook another 70-75 minutes.
- Prime rib should be cooked 13-14 minutes per pound. So if you have a 7 pound roast, it will take about 90-100 minutes. Adjust timing if your roast is smaller or bigger.
- About 10-15 minutes before the time is up, use a digital thermometer to check the internal temperature of the meat. 120 degrees for rare, 130 degrees for medium rare, and 140 degrees for well done. Keep in mind that the temperature will rise another 10 degrees once removed from the oven. I prefer medium rare, so I remove the roast at 120 degrees.
- Once baked, remove the prime rib and tent the roasting pan with foil. Let the meat rest for 30 minutes before cutting.
- Slice the roast in 1/2-1 inch slices using a sharp knife. Serve warm.
Thank you
You are most welcome! I hope you enjoy.