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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.
don’t ruin the roast for their sake. Just take their slice and pop in in the microwave for 30 seconds. You may consider running on power level 5 for 1 minute instead.
I have read so MANY places that say to take the roast out of the fridge and have it sit for an hour before cooking. Everybody that says this is TOTALLY in a dream world. If you don’t believe me, put in a thermometer in it and watch the center of the roast increase by 4 degrees in an hour! In theory it sounds like that would make the roast cook more evenly throughout, which is a great theory. There is an answer to that, but not that answer.
Get a waterproof trash back (10 gal?) and place the roast in the bag. Do not attempt to twist the top of the bag or seal it. Place the bagged meat into a big pot in the sink. As you fill the pot with HOT water, you will notice that the water will completely seal the bag and push out the air so the meat is practically touching the water (protected by the bag of course). The hot water is a hundred times more effective than room temperature air at raising the center temperature of the roast.
Do this for about an hour, changing the water once. Your cooking time will obviously decrease because you are starting off with a warm roast. BUT IT WILL COOK EVENLY!
good luck
There’s a typo in step two. It should read “place” not plave.
So you didn’t cook it at all at 450? If I’m reading correctly you said 450 for 15 mins then cook at 350 15 mins per pound? Can you clarify please thank you!!!
You will cook for 15 minutes at 450 degrees. Then you will lower the temperature to 325 degrees and cook for the remainder of the time. You will cook 15 minutes per pound at the 325 degree temperature after you already cooked it 15 minutes at 450 degrees. You will have both temperatures and a long amount of time. Hope that helps clarify.
Looks amazing I love medium rare bug the family likes medium well so can you please fill me the cooking time on that xx
I tried to print your garlic butter herb prime rib. How do I get a copy. Dinner Wednesday night with friend. I love to cook.
Awesome recipe. Prepared Christmas 2018 making again today for a client. I prepared in a roaster Vs. the oven. I did use dried herbs to taste. I have added this recipe to my memory bank!!
I made your prime rib recipe tonight and it came out delicious, perfectly cooked, delightfully seasoned!!v . I will be following you for more!!!! My boyfriend absolutely loved it! Congrats on a winner!
I see you preheat the oven to 450 but never put the prime rib in? You are only cooking it at 350 for 15 mins per pound, is that correct?
Yes, that is correct! Thanks so much! XOXO
I tried your recipe and it came out wonderful! My guests loved it. Thanks!
Found this recipe and decided to make it today I have never been brave enough to try but I did and it was amazing thanks for sharing
Can I do this with a 10 pound roast?
Yes, that sounds great! Cook it for a bit longer and double the ingredients. Enjoy! XOXO
The prime rib turned out fantastic! This was my first low and slow roast and I didn’t want to mess up NYE dinner! So glad it turned out so well. Thank you – my ONLY prime rib recipe going forward!
This was a fabulous recipe! OMG so good. Thank you. It was our fantastically awesome Nye Family dinner.
This was the most flavorful and fool proof prime rib I’ve ever made or ever had. Using a meat thermometer yielded perfect cooking. I will use this recipe again. Hands down the best!!
I am going to cook three of these today if I cook two together will I have to add more time
I would check temperatures to with what you would like to enjoy your meat at. Hope that helps! XOXO
Hi I’m cooking a prime rib tomorrow my first hope it turn out great.