This really is the perfect Prime Rib recipe, made for Christmas and special occasions! So simple, yet oh so delicious. A hot sear and then slow and low is the key to absolutely perfect prime rib.
 
Prime Rib Recipe - Prime Rib Roast with Red Wine Jus
 

Why This Perfect Prime Rib Is So Good!

  • Tender, juicy and delicious!
  • A foolproof prime rib recipe.
  • A deep and flavorful red wine jus.
  • Perfect to serve a large crowd.

Perfect Prime Rib Ingredients

  • Bone-on beef rib roast 
  • Oxtail bones
  • Tomato paste
  • Vegetables: onions,carrots, celery
  • Garlic
  • Cooking Oil
  • Red wine
  • Chicken & beef broth
  • Thyme
  • Salt and Pepper

perfect prime rib on plate

An Easy Prime Rib Recipe

It’s easier than you think, almost foolproof if you have a meat thermometer. Even if you do goof and leave it in the oven a little longer than desired, it will still be amazing moist and tender (because of the slow ‘n low cooking temp)

Don’t be fooled by the word “prime” in the name of Prime Rib Roast – just regular ‘ol supermarket Choice cut rib roast is fine, no need to splurge (and what a massive splurge that would be!) for the Prime cuts.

These days, I like to dry age my roast (This weekend would be the perfect time to start the dry aging if you are game to do it yourself!), but it’s absolutely not necessary.

The recipe I use most comes from Cook’s Illustrated with some small changes. It’s come out perfect every single time.

plate of perfect prime ribs

 

Prime Rib Recipe - Dry age the roast

How to Cook Perfect Prime Rib Recipe with Jus – Step By Step

Start with oxtails smeared with tomato paste – this will produce some crazy flavor for the Red Wine Jus (which honestly, is 42% of why I love Prime Rib). Throw some veggies into the pan and roast for 20 minutes to give it a head start.

Roast oxtail and veggies

After the oxtails and veg have had a nice bake in the oven, you can already see how much flavor it will add to the recipe.

Prime Rib Recipe - Roast oxtail and veggies in pan

Here’s the roast….instead of trying to carve the roast off the bone AFTER cooking, Cooks Illustrated advises to carve the meat off the bone before roasting for 2 reasons:

1. It’s easier to carve to serve without having to wrestle with bone.
2. The bone will flavor the au jus later in the cooking process.

perfect Prime Rib - Carve the meat off bone before roasting

You’ll want to cut the roast as close to the bone as possible – don’t waste any of that precious meat!

holding raw meat

In a large frying pan or cast iron pan (preferred), sear each side of the boneless roast.

perfect Prime Rib in pan cooking

Get a nice crusty crust.

 Sear each side of roast

On each side.

close up of perfect prime rib

Now we’ll tie the roast back onto the bones. I like using strips of cheesecloth. Easier than wrangling with twine and that fancy tying thing.  Two strips is all you really need – tie it like a present.

 Tie roast onto bones with cheesecloth

Tie the roast back on — this is important, because the bone will serve as our “rack” in the roasting pan so that the roast cooks evenly. The bone also gives a lot of flavor. Push the oxtails and veg to the side.

 Tied roast with cheesecloth

Roast 17-20 minutes per pound…for a 7 pound roast that would be 2 hours. Check temp with a meat thermometer – just stick the thermometer deep in the middle (don’t touch bone). 122F for rare, 130F for medium-rare.

perfect prime rib roasting

Now it’s time to make the savory red wine jus! Spoon out the fat from the roasting pan (use it for the Yorkshire Pudding Recipe!) Return roasting pan with the oxtails, vegetables and the BONES of the rib roast (just untie them from the roast) with wine, broth and thyme.

Prime Rib Recipe - Red wine Jus

Simmer it good.

Prime Rib Recipe - Red wine Jus cooking in pan

Strain.

Prime Rib Recipe - Strain jus mixture

And it’s done!

Prime Rib Recipe - Strain jus mixture into jug

Carve the prime rib roast.

Carving perfect prime rib

Serve the prime rib with jus

perfect Prime Rib - Served with jus

But don’t forget….for your favorite dog…

bones for dog

Oh look! Steph from Faye Bernoulli blog made this Prime Rib recipe. Here’s her photo.

What If I Have A Bigger Roast?

I’ve gotten this question 4 times this past week! So, I’ll answer it here:

Q: I have a 12 pound roast, can you please help me figure out timing?

A: So you’re having a big party at your house! 

Roasting time really depends on diameter of the meat you are roasting. For example if you have a 10 pound roast that’s fat and round….it will take longer to cook than a 10 pound roast that’s skinny and long. It takes longer for the heat to penetrate and cook through thick meats.
 
17-20 minutes per pound x 12 pounds is a good starting point — but really it all depends on how big and fat the roast is. Take a look at the photos in my step by step. Does your roast look similar in size, but just longer (more ribs?) Or did you get a big, thick roast, but similar number of ribs?
 
Here’s the foolproof way: Insert a remote thermometer (this $15 one will work just fine) and keep a watch on it. If you don’t have a remote thermometer, just check temperature of the roast frequently.
 
Since you’ll be searing all sides of this mammoth 12 pound roast, it might be easier to cut the roast in half and searing each half separately. It will just be easier to handle and the roasts will cook faster (because cutting the roast in half will change the size and shape of the roast, heat will penetrate faster). You can put the two halves into separate roasting pans on separate levels in the oven (as long as you have convection)  Or, you can put both in one pan, but just leave enough breathing space between the two halves in the pan so air can circulate in between. If you do this, you’re effectively cooking two 6 pound roasts. 17-20 minutes per pound x 6 pounds.
 
As for the Red Wine Au Jus, multiply the recipe 1.5 times approximately. It’s such an easy and forgiving recipe, no need for exact measurements. Hope this helps and good luck!

What To Serve With The Perfect Prime Rib – Yorkshire Pudding!

How can you resist!? The beef fat from the roasting pan goes into making these airy Yorkshire Pudding popovers. You can also serve up some Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes or Roasted Carrots with Sesame Ponzu Vinaigrette.

Prime Rib Recipe - Yorkshire Pudding

Top Tips For This Perfect Prime Rib Recipe

  • Get bone-in rib roast, preferable first-cut, ribs 9-12 for most flavor. Choice grade of beef (i.e. not the pricey Prime grade) is what you’ll ask for.
  •  Take note of how many pounds the roast is prior to cooking (bones and roast) to determine cooking time.
  • Use a meat thermometer.
  • Serve with Yorkshire puddings!

Check Out These Other Delicious Beef Recipes 

Prime Rib Roast with Miso Jus 

Fall off the Bone Baby Back Ribs with Sweet Chili Sauce 

Cayenne Cinnamon Ribs with Maple Glaze 

Grilled Garlic and Rosemary Ribeye Steak 

 

Perfect Prime Rib Recipe with Au Jus

Jayden Hair
This really is the perfect Prime Rib recipe, made for Christmas and special occasions! So simple, yet oh so delicious. A hot sear and then slow and low is the key to absolutely perfect prime rib.
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 2 hours
Total Time 2 hours 30 minutes
Course Main Course
Cuisine American
Servings 10 12 servings
Calories 897 kcal

Ingredients
  

  • 1 bone-on beef rib roast about 7-8 pounds
  • 1 1/2 pounds oxtail bones
  • 1 tablespoon tomato paste
  • 2 onions quartered
  • 3 carrots cut into thirds
  • 3 stalks celery cut into thirds
  • 1 whole head garlic halved
  • 2 tablespoons cooking oil divided
  • salt and pepper
  • 1 cup red wine
  • 1 3/4 cups beef broth
  • 1 3/4 cups chicken broth
  • 3 sprigs fresh thyme

Instructions
 

  • ake roast from refrigerator and let stand at room temperature for 2 hours. Preheat oven to 400F, place rack on lowest position. Rub oxtails with tomato paste, place in roasting pan. Add onions, celery, carrots and garlic, toss with just 1 tablespoon of the cooking oil. Roast for 20 minutes.
  • In the meantime, cut the bone from the rib roast (try to carve as close to the bone as possible). Rub roast with remaining 1 tablespoon oil and generously season with salt and pepper. Heat large frying pan on high heat. When smoking hot, place rib roast, fat side down in pan and sear each side 5 minutes. Remove from pan and let cool for a few minutes. Place the roast right back onto the bones. Use kitchen twine or strips of cheesecloth to tie roast back onto the bones.
  • When the oxtails and vegetables are done, remove pan from oven.
  • Reduce the oven temperature to 250F.
  • Push the oxtail bones and vegetables to the sides, place roast, bone side down in roasting pan. Return pan to oven. Roast for 17-20 minutes PER POUND or until temperature of the middle of the roast is 130F (medium-rare to medium). Transfer roast to cutting board, carefully untie the bones from roast. Cover loosely with tin foil. Rest for 20 minutes.
  • While roast is resting, make the red wine jus. Keep the oxtails and vegetables in the roasting pan but pour out all but 1 teaspoon of the fat (reserve for Yorkshire Pudding if desired). Place the bones that you've untied from roast in roasting pan 2 burners set on high heat.
  • Pour in the red wine and cook until wine is reduced by half. Use a wooden spoon to scrape up the bits. Add the beef broth, chicken broth, thyme. Turn heat to medium-low and simmer for 15 minutes. Add any juices accumulated from the rib roast on the cutting board. Turn off heat.
  • Remove the oxtails and the bones. Strain the jus with mesh strainer, pressing down with wooden spoon to extract out all the juice from the vegetables. Carve the roast, serve with the jus. Give the bones to a nice dog.

Notes

Get bone-in rib roast, preferable first-cut, ribs 9-12 for most flavor. Choice grade of beef (i.e. not the pricey Prime grade) is what you'll ask for.
Take note of how many pounds the roast is prior to cooking (bones and roast) to determine cooking time
Use a meat thermometer

Nutrition

Calories: 897kcalCarbohydrates: 5gProtein: 86gFat: 57gSaturated Fat: 24gCholesterol: 269mgSodium: 29701mgPotassium: 1050mgFiber: 1gSugar: 2gVitamin A: 3149IUVitamin C: 7mgCalcium: 73mgIron: 9mg
Keyword best prime ribs, prime rib roast, prime ribs
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