The king of roasts… tender and delicious prime rib

If you are throwing a dinner party or want a fancy home cooked dinner, prime rib is one of the most delicious meals you can make!  Prime rib roast is juicy, tender and full of flavour. For me there are few things more satisfying than cutting into a beautifully crusted roast and seeing that perfect medium rare pink colour throughout. Likewise there is nothing more disappointing than a dark and tough piece of meat.

There are of course different preferences for the doneness of beef so one of the most important tools in your cupboard is a good meat thermometer. I have tried numerous thermometers. My favourite being a leave in thermometer that allows you to get a read out of the temperature as you cook. Recently, I treated myself and invested in one that works with Bluetooth so that I can check my phone to get my temperatures. Because I use cooking as a way to relax during down time, I love being able to relax on the couch or the deck and see what my roast is doing. 

Because the size of every roast will vary, it’s important to cook based on temperature and not time. This can be stressful if you have people coming over for a certain time and your roast is cooking faster than expected or not as fast as you want. My pro tip is to cook your meat early, wrap it in tin foil and a towel and place it in a cooler. This magical tip will stop the cooking process while keeping your meat warm for a few hours! 

When you are selecting your roast, you want to factor in the amount of people you are serving. I usually factor about 3/4 of a pound per person if prime rib is the feature dish. If you are doing a dinner with other meats, you can factor 1/2 pound per person. When selecting your meat I like a cap on roast. The fat content of your prime rib adds so much to the flavour so you don’t want to loose the fat cap of your roast. The grade of meat is also important. In Canada, AAA is the ideal rating to get the most marbling in your beef. Again, fat is flavour so the more marbling the better.

The first step to preparing your roast is to season it. Make sure that you season over night to absorb all the delicious flavour into your meat. As delicious as prime rib is, it’s terribly bland without seasoning. I like to use the keg steak seasoning. I cover the meat on all sides with the seasoning blend, wrap it in plastic wrap and put it In the fridge, ideally overnight. Before I put the meat in the oven I take it out a half an hour to an hour before hand to let it get to room temperature. At this time you want to preheat your oven to 500 degrees on convection so you can seer the outside and get that beautiful crust around the meat. Place your roast in a roasting pan with a rack so that your beef is not directly sitting on the pan. Depending on the size of your roast place, it in the oven for 20-30 minutes to form the crust. After 20-30 minutes, reduce the heat of your oven to 225 degrees and cook it low and slow so the fat caramelizes. Keep it in the oven until the roast reaches an Internal temperature of 140 degrees for medium rare (120 degrees for rare, 160 degrees for well done). The last important step when your roast is done is to let it rest. This locks in all the delicious juices and flavour. To do this, place the roast on the counter in tin foil for 10-15 minutes if you are serving it right away. 

Prime rib is always a crowd pleaser and a great way to show off your skills and passion for cooking. It’s not the cheapest cut of meat so it can be a little stressful from the outset. If you give yourself time and have a good thermometer, you will be sure to set yourself up for success every time!