Perfect Garlic Prime Rib

Perfect Prime Rib made with a garlic, thyme and rosemary crust is gorgeously browned on the outside and a perfect medium on the inside. Topped off with a gremolata it is the perfect show-stopping holiday/event meal!

Prime Rib is actually easy!

Perfect Garlic Prime Rib is an entree I have been making for client parties for years, not because it is difficult to make but because most home cooks are nervous about the risk of cooking it incorrectly since it tends to be a very pricey piece of meat.

This Prime Rib is actually one of the easiest holiday meals you’ll make. It really just consists of a lot of resting time and a couple of easy herb mixtures. The initial prime rib seasoning on the meat is full of garlic, thyme and rosemary which all stand up well to the long cooking time in the oven.

Here’s how the Perfect Garlic Prime Rib will look right out of the oven:

Prime Rib Seasoning: Gremolata is Beautiful for Holiday Meals

The gremolata that goes on top after it comes out of the oven is the perfect bright flavors you’ll love to stand up to and complement the flavor of the prime rib perfectly without needing any heavy sauces. Full of garlic, lemon zest, parsley and olive oil it is a bold bright flavor. 

What kind of meat for Prime Rib?

When you ask your butcher/the meat department of your favorite store to prepare your prime rib roast there are just a couple of things you’ll want to note:

• This one may seem like it goes without saying, but you want it to be bone in.
• Ask for it to be trussed with a string, this helps keep the shape perfectly uniform while cooking.
• Let him/her know you want the largest deckle possible. This means you want that meat cap that wraps around the eye of the roast and looks like a little “c” over the center of it to be as big as possible. That deckle is the most flavorful and tender piece of meat in the whole cow. When I go to steakhouses or order meat I frequently order deckle cuts alone because you’ll never get a better bite of steak.
• If you’re asked how many “bones” you want this 7 lb. roast I had was a 3 bone roast, it is just their way of gauging size. You aren’t going to serve this as one person = one bone (That would be Flinstone’s level eating) so don’t worry if 3 sounds like it is a small amount, 3 bones is quite a large roast.

So just to recap: “Hey butcher, I am having an awesome party! I’m making the Perfect Prime Rib and needed a 7 lb. roast, bone in and trussed. Please make sure it has the largest meat cap/deckle possible, we all love that part of the steak.” In the words of Gus Portokalos, and there you go! 

Tools Used in the Making of this Perfect Garlic Prime Rib:

Roaster with Rack: A perfect sized roasting pan with rack for your prime rib to sit on. I have the Mauviel version of this as well as this one and they are both fantastic options, the Cuisinart is also 1/3 the price, so go for that one!
Oven Ready Meat Thermometer: This is a perfect tool to keep in your kitchen for large roasts and it isn’t expensive. I’ve had mine for years.

Recipe

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Perfect Garlic Prime Rib

• Yield: 8
• Prep Time: 1 hour
• Cook Time: 2 hours
• Total Time: 3 hours
• Course: Main
• Cuisine: American
• Author: Sabrina

Perfect Garlic Prime Rib made with a garlic, thyme and rosemary crust is gorgeously browned on the outside and a perfect medium on the inside. Topped off with a gremolata it is the perfect show-stopping holiday/event meal!

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons garlic minced
• 4 leaves sprigs thyme torn from stem
• 2 leaves sprigs rosemary torn from stem and minced
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 7 pound Boneless Prime Rib Roast

Instructions

Note: click on times in the instructions to start a kitchen timer while cooking.

1. Add the garlic, thyme, rosemary, canola oil, kosher salt, and black pepper to a small bowl and mix.
2. Rub all over the prime rib and let rest for an hour (to let meat come to room temperature).
3. Heat the oven to 450 degrees.
4. Place the prime rib, fat cap side up in a roasting pan.
5. Place your meat thermometer into the side of the roast not touching the bones and as far in as you can place it.
6. Cook for 20 minutes at 450 degrees before lowering temperature to 325 degrees.
7. Cook an additional 90 minutes to 2 hours depending on the size of your roast and your meat thermometer (you're looking for a temperature between 125-130 degrees).
8. To cook my almost exactly 7 pound prime rib, I had it in the oven for 1 hour and 40 minutes and let it rest for 20 minutes.
9. Serve topped with a gremolata.

Recipe Notes

I also topped this with Emeril's Gremolata.

Nutrition Information

Yield: 8 , Amount per serving: calories

All images and text © for Dinner, then Dessert.

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