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Garlic butter herb prime rib is melt in your mouth tender, cooked to medium-rare perfection, and marbled with fat. The seared garlic butter herb crust is incredible!
Reasons You’ll Love This Recipe
- Holiday Feast: The holidays wouldn’t be complete without a prime rib roast. You could pair it with Green Beans, Mashed Potatoes, and Rolls.
- Easy to Make: Prime rib may seem intimidating, but with my tips and easy-to-follow instructions, you will have the most succulent, tender prime rib of your life!
Herb Garlic Butter Prime Rib Ingredients
I always buy my roast with the bone. The butcher at our local grocery store cuts the bone but leaves it partially attached and ties it onto the roast. This makes it easier to carve the meat, and the bone creates a rack for the meat to cook on. See the recipe card at the bottom of the post for exact measurements.
- Prime Rib: I like to get a bone-in cut and tied.
- Butter: Make sure that the butter is softened to blend well with the herbs and seasonings.
- Garlic Cloves: If you don’t have any fresh garlic cloves on hand, you can use minced garlic! 1/2 teaspoon equals about one clove.
- Thyme, Oregano, and Fresh Rosemary: I like to use freshly chopped herbs to make the flavor taste top-notch!
- Salt and Pepper: Use these to taste!
How to Cook Prime Rib
Preparing steakhouse-worthy prime rib isn’t as tricky as it seems. Enjoy this decadent recipe this holiday season with friends and family!
- Prepare the Meat: Remove the meat from the refrigerator at least 30 minutes before bringing it to room temperature. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
- Mix Together Garlic Butter Herb Sauce: In a small bowl, mix butter, garlic, thyme, oregano, rosemary, salt, and pepper. Then, rub all of the butter on the outside of your prime rib and place it in a roasting pan or large skillet with the fat side up.
- Cook Prime Rib: Cook for 15 minutes and reduce the temperature to 325 degrees. It is about 15 minutes per pound of meat. Bake until it reaches an internal temperature of 110 degrees.
- Let the Meat Rest: Remove from oven and let it rest with foil for at least 20 minutes. The temperature will rise to 130 degrees for a medium rare prime rib.
What Cut Of Meat Is Best?
A prime rib roast (or a standing roast) is cut from the back of the upper rib section of the steer. It usually is a total of 7 ribs. You will need a 3-bone rib roast to make this slow-roasted prime rib. This is cut from either the chuck or the loin end of the rib sections. Here are some tips on how to choose the best meat!
- Bone IN: You will want a bone in the prime rib. On average, a 2-6 pound prime rib has 2 to 3 bones.
- Tied: When ordering from a butcher, ask to keep the strings on it if possible. This ensures it cooks evenly and keeps its form while cooking.
- Deckle: If possible, ask to have the largest deckle. The deckle is tender and the most flavorful piece of meat.
Cooking Tips
Melt-in-your-mouth garlic herb prime rib is just what you need to celebrate the holidays this year! These quick and simple tips will help cook it to perfection!
- Use a Thermometer: Using a meat thermometer to check the internal temperature of the meat is the best way to ensure a perfect prime rib every time.
- Take it Out of the Fridge: Take your prime rib out of the refrigerator for about 30 minutes to let it rest before cooking. This will ensure an even cook time.
- Keep the Bone In: You can remove the bones before cooking, but it is unnecessary. The bone in adds to the flavor and helps keep the prime rib tender and juicy.
- Let it Rest! Remove your prime rib from the oven when it is about 5 degrees lower than your desired temperature. Cover your meat and let it rest. It will slowly cook as it is resting.
- Cooking Information Per Pound: The bones create a natural roasting rack for the meat. Cook the prime rib at a higher temperature of 450 degrees for 15 minutes. Then, reduce the temperature to 325 degrees and continue to cook until the thermometer reads 110 degrees. About 15 minutes of cooking time per pound.
Cooking Temperatures
Prime rib can be a little intimidating to make because you are trying to achieve the perfect medium-rare temperature. In the closed oven method, you roast the meat at 500 degrees for 5 minutes per pound. Then, you leave the oven closed for 2 hours, and it slowly cooks. If using this method, I highly recommend putting a thermometer inside the meat so you can check on it without opening the oven while it cooks.
- Rare: 120 to 130 degrees Fahrenheit
- Medium-Rare: 130 to 135 degrees Fahrenheit
- Medium: 135 to 140 degrees Fahrenheit
- Medium-Well: 145 to 155 degrees Fahrenheit
- Well Done: 155 degrees Fahrenheit
Storing Leftover Prime Rib
Having leftover meat is just another way to enjoy it a little longer! You still have all the tender, juicy flavors infused. Enjoy another slice of heaven a second time around with these storing ideas.
- How Long Does Prime Rib Last in the Refrigerator? It can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 5 to 7 days.
- Can You freeze Prime Rib? Yes! Let it rest until completely cooled. Once it’s cooled, place in a ziplock freezer bag, letting all the air out. Lay flat in the freezer for 1 month. When ready to eat, place it in the refrigerator overnight until it is thawed.
- Reheating: If it’s been frozen, let it thaw completely. Place in the oven for 12 to 15 minutes or until it has reached the desired internal temperature. Enjoy!
A Reader’s Review
This was absolutely amazing! The flavor was phenomenal. I like my meat well done and it was still super tender.
More Beef Recipes to Enjoy
This prime rib recipe is one of my very favorites! If you loved it as much as I do, then I have a few more that you should try! They are all so different but super delicious! Try one or try them all…. you can’t go wrong with any of them! Your family will thank you later!
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Garlic Butter Herb Prime Rib Recipe
Ingredients
Instructions
- Remove the prime rib from the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes before bringing it to room temperature. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
- In a small bowl mix butter, garlic, thyme, oregano, rosemary, salt and pepper. Rub all of the butter on the outside of your prime rib and place in a roasting pan or large skillet with the fat side up.
- Cook for 15 minutes and reduce the temperature to 325 degrees. It is about 15 minutes per pound of meat. Bake until it reaches an internal temperature of 110 degrees.
- Remove the prime rib from the oven and let it rest with foil for at least 20 minutes. The temperature will be 130 degrees Fahrenheit for a medium rare prime rib.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Does the rub still allow for good drippings for au jus?
It is not similar to au jus but you are welcome to try it out. Let me know what you think! XOXO
In the instructions you said to “PLAVE in a skillet or roasting pan”, so I spent about 10 minutes trying to define that term. I then realized you meant to PLACE it in the pan ?
I made this last year, so delicious and easy. Followed the recipie exactly. I am making it again today.
Thank you and Happy Holidays from Hawaii???
That sounds great! I am so glad that you loved it! Thank you so much for sharing! XOXO
Hi , I have a question regarding the Garlic Butter Prine Rob recipe ,. Would you use full TBS of herbs if they are not fresh ? I did not want to mess up the recipe , I remember hearing to substitute a teaspoon of dried for 1 Tbs of fresh . Hoping you can help. Thanks
Yes, you will use less ingredients/measurements for dried herbs compared to fresh herbs. Hope that helps! If you are able to have fresh, I would recommend that for this prime rib. Enjoy! XOXO
Is plave supposed to be place? I realized plave is a cooking term but it doesn’t make sense, at least to me, in this context. Thanks!
Yes, plave is place. I have corrected it now.
What keeps all of the butter from sliding off the roast in the first 5. Inutes in the 450° oven?
Wow. Butter melts haha. So “sliding” off means its marinating the meat and getting in all of nooks and crannies to make it taste delicious.
Wow. Butter melts haha, there’s nothing you can do about that. So the butter “sliding” off means its marinating the meat and getting in all the nooks and crannys to make it delicious.
I’m not sure if this was the right thing to do but here goes. I cut cross hatches in the fat so the butter slide down to the meat. Also with such a high heat to begin with it kind of caramelized the butter and herbs right in place.
Agreed, butter will melt off and not penetrate the meat, same concept as leaving a fat cap to baste the meat. It’s all a myth. Your flavor and moisture comes from the internal marbleing. With that being said, this is still a great recipe to use.
Christmas Eve Dinner 2018
Wow this was just as tasty as promised! Very easy to make. The one thing I was missing with this recipe was an Au Jus broth. I created one and if I may be so bold as to type it here I will. Please delete the comment if you would prefer I didn’t. But let me tell you the broth is kicken and will go with this awesome prime rib or even with other roasts! I can’t wait until tomorrow just so I can have more of this incredible roast! Thank you for such a great recipe for a very expensive cut of meat that I would hate to have ruined with a just so-so recipe!
Au Jus
4 C water, 2-3 TBS (to taste) Better Than Bouillon beef base.
http://www.betterthanbouillon.com/
1/2 C butter, 2 TBS onion powder, 1 TBS dried rosemary. 1 TBS dried thyme,
1 TBS garlic powder, 2 tsp black pepper, Roast Juice to taste.
Combine all ingredients in pan. Bring to a boil, turn down heat and simmer until flavors blend (for approx 30 min). Strain through a fine strainer to remove rosemary leaves.
Serve hot.
Store leftover broth either by itself in the refrigerator or
over leftover roast in a covered container in the refrigerator.
This recipe is a lot of to taste. If you need less beef flavor then use less BTBouillon, or add more water, As much or little of the roast juice as you want, the same with all the spices
Enjoy!
Thank you!
This was wonderful! I was just feeding 4 people, so used a 3 pound roast. It didn’t stand up well on its own with the fat side up, so we used some nut picks to prop it up! I took it out at 215 degrees, and in 20 minutes, it reached a perfect 225 degrees! It was a perfect color of pink throughout!
That is great to hear! I am so glad that you loved it! Thank you so much for sharing with me! XOXO
I have never done a review before but I HAD to with this recipe!,!!!!!! About every New Years my husband and I have attempted many prime rib recipes. I almost gave up on looking for a recipe that we really like. THIS ONE IS IT, We only had dry spices but it still was delicious! I don’t have to look any further! And Margie! THANK YOU FOR THE DELICIOUS Au Jus recipe! I really loved that as well. THANK YOU THANK YOU! We won’t be wasting any more prime rib!
AW! That is awesome! I am so glad that it is one of my recipes! Thank you so much for sharing and following along with me! I really appreciate it! Happy New Year to you and your family! XOXO
Natilee.. you are so welcome.. I am happy that you liked it and that your dinner was a success!
Ann Rodgers, Did you mean 115 degrees and then 125 degrees? 215 and 225 would be very well done for meat temperature.
Don’t pull it out of the oven at 110. The thing was bloody in the center. A good vet could have gotten it on it’s feet probably! Foiled it and rested for 30 minutes. Never got past 120. Wait t till 120-125.
Wow the recipe is great but the comments on this post are pretty good indicator of how dumb people are. Asking about 2 roasts, what does plave mean, REALLY!? Come on people grow a brain and use it. She meant a roast from 2 to 6 pounds. And plave was misspelled she meant place FFS.
I am making this recipe today for Christmas rave dinner. Thank you for sharing it looks and smells amazing!
Love your recipes
If I don’t have a cover,should I use foil or leave it uncovered?
You will leave it uncovered until the very end then use a foil cover for it. Enjoy! XOXO
Can I use a roasting pan if it’s too large for my skillet? If so should i use the rack or just put the bones down? Any liquid in the roasting pan if so?
Yes, that sounds great! Let me know how it turns out and what was the best way for you! XOXO
going to try your prime rib tomorrow picky family so I hope its good
Can I inject herb garlic flavoring and still follow recipe?
Yes, that sounds delicious! Let me know how it turns out! Thanks for choosing one of my recipes! XOXO