Meat
Prime Rib Roast
Chef John from Food Wishes — easy no-fail prime rib (same recipe I used to file as “John Rib Roast”; prime rib is the accurate name). Centerpiece timing: everything else hits the table when this comes out.
How to do it
- On a tray or plate, salt generously.
- (Optional) Stand on a rack and refrigerate uncovered 24–48 hours (dry brine).
- Warm on the counter a few hours before roasting.
- Transfer to a roasting pan with a rack.
- Mix butter, kosher salt, pepper, and herbs into a rub (butter mix is flexible as long as it has salt).
- Slather the rub all over the meat.
- Season with kosher salt on top afterward — it’s a huge piece of meat, so only a fraction of salt ends up on the plate.
- Preheat oven to 500°F.
- Calculate 5 × weight in pounds = minutes at 500°F (round up to the nearest minute).
Example: 5.35 lb × 5 min = 26.75 → 27 minutes. - Put the prime rib in the middle of the oven at 500°F for exactly that many minutes (you can wait a minute before starting the timer to account for heat loss).
- When the timer rings, turn the oven off.
- Do not open, touch, or peek at the oven for 2 hours — let it rest inside the shut-off oven.
- After 2 hours it’s rested and cooked through to a nice medium-rare–rare; slice and serve.
Timing note: This is the anchor of the meal — plan everything else to be ready when this is sliced.