Prime rib

Prime rib claims center stage during holiday season for a very good reason. It is the king of beef cuts.

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.

There’s usually something for everyone with this roast. The ends are well done for those who can’t tolerate pink. The center should be a vibrant rare for those of us who must have our beef rare.
A full rack of prime beef is 7 ribs, which will easily serve 14 to 16 people (or more!). A full rack will not fit in my oven, so when I’m feeding a crowd, I cut the roast in half (3 ribs on one roast and 4 ribs on the other) and cook them in separate ovens.

As for estimating how big a roast you’ll need, the butchers I’ve talked to say to estimate 2 people for every rib. In my experience, that’s a LOT of meat! For the roasts we get, and given that we are serving a lot of food in addition to the roast, 3 people per rib is fine. If you want to error on the generous side, with plenty of leftovers, aim for 2 people per rib.

Note that just because you are ordering a “prime” rib, it doesn’t mean that you are getting USDA Prime. Most “prime ribs” we get from market are actually USDA Choice quality.[1] If you want USDA Prime prime rib, which has more fat marbling throughout the meat, and which can easily cost 50% more per pound, you will likely need to special order it from your butcher.

Prime Rib Recipe

Older cookbooks will sometimes instruct you to remove excess fat from the roast. "Excess" fat is any fat more than an inch thick on the roast. Fat is what you need to give the roast flavor and to make it juicy and tender. Prime rib is expensive and you are paying good money for that fat so leave it on. Your butcher should have removed any excess fat.

The most important piece of advice I can give you regarding cooking a prime rib roast is to use a good meat thermometer! I recommend this ChefAlarm by ThermoWorks. With a remote thermometer you can tell exactly what the temperature of the meat is without having to open the oven door.

Ingredients

• One standing rib roast, 3 to 7 ribs (estimate serving 2-3 people per rib), bones cut away from the roast and tied back to the roast with kitchen string (ask your butcher to prepare the roast this way)


• Salt


• Freshly ground black pepper

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