Monday, November 29, 2010

Prime Time for Revisiting Prime Rib of Beef

It's an iconic holiday table scene; you carving a juicy, perfectly pink prime rib while a roomful of friends and family watches, in awe of your awesomeness.

Unfortunately, despite our best efforts, it's sometimes more like you cutting through a dry, o
vercooked roast while they stare daggers at you.

You can almost hear them thinking, "Way to screw up $80 worth of beef, jerk. I hope there's lots of gravy."

Well, hopefully this proven mathematical method will increase your chances for success significantly. This is a new video revisiting the same method I featured in this Prime Rib post a few years ago, which only used photos. There are lots of great comments on the original post, and if you're skeptical, you should go check them out.

Here is the formula for what was called, "Method X." The rib is brought to room temperature. Overnight is good, but at least 6 hours (this is CRITICAL)! Season anyway you like. Then multiply the exact weight times 5 minutes. For me it was 5.35 x 5 = 26.75 minutes, which we round up to 27.

The rib is cooked at 500 degrees F for exactly that many minutes. Then the oven is turned off. You wait 2 hours without opening the door. You then remove the prime rib and slice into the most perfectly medium-rare meat you've ever seen. By the way, I will be posting a short how-to for a quick au jus soon. Enjoy!


Special Notes:

  • To use this method you must have a full-sized, modern oven. It must have a digital temperature setting that indicates when it is preheated. Older ovens with manual controls can vary greatly, and the doors may not have the proper insulation.
  • I've heard from lots of people that have used electric ovens and reported great results.
  • This is a specific formula for achieving a perfectly pink prime rib cooked somewhere a shade under medium rare. I have no info on altering it for other degrees of doneness.
IMPORTANT PRO TIP!!!: Prime rib is very expensive, so no matter what method you use (traditional or Method X), you should always have a probe-style thermometer inserted so that the internal temp can be monitored, to avoid any chance of over-cooking. Set the probe alarm (125 F. for medium-rare) just in case, and pull the roast from oven even if there's still time left on the timer. 





Ingredients:
4 to 8 pound Prime Rib of Beef, bone-in, fat cap removed (ask the butcher to explain)
kosher salt as needed
1/4 cup soft butter
1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon Herbes de Provence (this is just a dried herb blend - you can use any thing you like, or just salt and pepper)

For more traditional methods of cooking Prime Rib of Beef, check out these other great recipes:
Simply Recipes' Prime Rib
Serious Eats' The Food Lab: How to Cook a Perfect Prime Rib
Mark Bittman's Prime Rib Roast for a Small Crowd

217 comments:

«Oldest   ‹Older   201 – 217 of 217
shirly said...

Hi, i live in the UK and my oven only goes up to 220 c (428 f) how long should i cook a prime rib of 6.08 pounds,
thanks

Unknown said...

Chef John, I cannot thank you enough for your guidance over the years. You’re my hero!
Once again I am back on foodwishes.com for this formula to make the most succulent rib roast, and I just had to leave a comment of thanks. Two years ago I made the executive decision to say “bu-bye” to turkey for Christmas dinner ( we still make dressing though, because, well, stuffing. Lol).
Usually I get a bit worried when the oven starts to smoke after a few minutes, however, I trust that your method is sound and it always turns out spectacular.
Thank you Chef John ����

Sincerely,

Tracy M
From Alberta, Canada ����

Unknown said...

Chef John, I cannot thank you enough for your guidance over the years. You’re my hero!
Once again I am back on foodwishes.com for this formula to make the most succulent rib roast, and I just had to leave a comment of thanks. Two years ago I made the executive decision to say “bu-bye” to turkey for Christmas dinner ( we still make dressing though, because, well, stuffing. Lol).
Usually I get a bit worried when the oven starts to smoke after a few minutes, however, I trust that your method is sound and it always turns out spectacular.
Thank you Chef John ����

Sincerely,

Tracy M
From Alberta, Canada ����

Danny Gilliam said...

Hi Chef John. I just discovered your site. I used your method for cooking my first prime rib. It was perfect. Thank you for sharing.

Bob Flores said...

Hi Chef,

I used this method on a 7.81lb prime rib a couple of days ago. 500 degrees for 39 mins. Then turned off the oven. I'm sure gad I had a probe in the meat because after only 75 minutes (vice 120 mins) the probe said the internal meat temp way 120. So, I pulled it from the oven. Now, we do like our meat on the rare side of medium rare. It was fantastic! By the way, the probe I used was new "Meater" (https://meater.com/).

hdkeney said...

Chef John,
I have tried you RIB ROAST 5min@500 degrees method many times, and my family loves it.

As a result, I created an Excel spreadsheet to calculate the cooking time per this method for a specific desired eating time.

The spreadsheet allows you to enter the EXACT WEIGHT of the roast, in decimal pounds, and the TIME you want to be able TO HAVE THE ROAST DONE and be ready for the meal.

The spreadsheet does all of the calculations and tells you the TIME to put the ROAST IN THE OVEN, the TIME TO TURN THE OVEN OFF and WHEN THE ROAST WILL BE DONE and ready to eat, per your specified weight and time inputs.

I am offering you this EXCEL Spreadsheet, FOR FREE, for you to take a look at if you wish. If you like it and think you would like to make it available to your followers to help them with the MATH/TIMING then you may do so, and I would be delighted.

If this offer interests you, my contact info is below.
Sincerely,

Howard D. Keney
(334) 576-3851
hdkeney@knology.net

Shawn Hennessey said...

Fantastic!! I actually put my prime rib directly on the rack on the next rack down I filled up a roasting pan with potatoes peeled and boiled for just 5 minutes. The juice from the meat drips down onto the potatoes!! After two hours as instructed I took the potatoes out of the roasting pan and made my gravy cut the prime rib and served. Complete silence at the table as my two boys and wife enjoyed every bite so fun to watch!! Thank you Sir!! Absolutely Delicious

Shawn Hennessey said...

Fantastic!! I actually put my prime rib directly on the rack on the next rack down I filled up a roasting pan with potatoes peeled and boiled for just 5 minutes. The juice from the meat drips down onto the potatoes!! After two hours as instructed I took the potatoes out of the roasting pan and made my gravy cut the prime rib and served. Complete silence at the table as my two boys and wife enjoyed every bite so fun to watch!! Thank you Sir!! Absolutely Delicious

Unknown said...

I have always loved Prime Rib. I just made this for dinner. First time I have ever made it. It was the best Prime Rib I have ever had! Loved it! Thanks John once again!

Unknown said...

Can you cook two 4 bone prime ribs at the same time and use the individual weight time? or do you add them together?

epicureman said...

Big John, Will this method work for an entire prime rib roast of 21 lbs? I have a 36" oven equiped with a convection fan as well.

Andy said...

We’ve come a long way John. Today I’m making our 8th (now traditional) Christmas Day Prime Rib using this method which has never failed us once. Thank you for the gift of your time, talent and technique. Merry Christmas from the Caspers in Utah.

Daniel Contreras said...

John, you absoulute mad man. You got me addicted to herb of Provence. Never in my life had I experianced a more wonderful blend of herbs and the lavander blew my mind.

Steve Harrison Photography said...

Chef John. Will using a electric convection oven set on convection roast yield the same results? Has anyone else tried this using this type of oven?

The Pastor Chef said...

Hello Chef, I did this recipe this past weekend for Easter. It turned out great. Very moist, tender, and lots of flavor. I used an 8lb roast so I had to improvise a little. I posted my recipe and gave you credit:

https://chrisdogandablog.blogspot.com/2019/04/oven-prime-rib.html

Cheers and thank you for the recipe.

12string said...

Chef John,
I have a Question about your Foodwishes “Math” Prime rib.
(5 min per Lb rest 2hrs) Can I apply the Same Math
in my new gas Convection oven ?

Pat said...

Thx chef been using this method for over 10 yrs now never fails and seems to work with full ribeyes ect. using temp gauge for safety thx again also for people want a slice well done takes maybe one minute in pan ishs while your putzing getting dinner ready.

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