This website may contain affiliate links and advertising so that we can provide recipes to you. Read my disclosure policy.
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!
Pin this now to find it later
Pin It
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.
We are prime rib lovers also. Our recipe is similar to yours, however, we begin by cooking the roast on 500 for 5 minutes per pound. Then turn the oven off, and Do Not Open The Door! Let roast remain in oven for an additional 2 hours, then remove. Enjoy!
We love prime rib roast. I haven’t made it in so long. I will do this for Father’s Day!!! Thanks.
MMM! Sounds like a great plan! Let me know how it turns out!! XOXO
The recipe says to bone and tie the prime rib, yet the text says to leave the bone partially on. I’ve never been able to cook a successful prime rib so I need to know if I should leave the bone on. I can’t wait to try this recipe.
FYI, the recipe has a spelling mistake. It says plave in a roasting pan.
It’s called “cradling”. You can ask the butcher to do it for you when you buy the roast, if it hasn’t already been done. The bones are cut from the roast and then tied back onto the roast. The bones make a natural rack. When roast is ready to carve you just need to cut the strings and remove the bones, makes it much easier to carve the roast.
Garlic butter herb prime rib! My best friend, and then girlfriend, made this for me for my 50th birthday. I have never eaten a better piece of beef. Not at Bern’s in Tampa , not at Brennan’s in New Orleans. And I have dreamt about meals at those places. No more! If I am.lucky enough to have another birthday meal prepared by her, my request will be this recipe. Cook this!!! You will not regret it.
That is one awesome friend! Happy birthday! Thank you so much for sharing! Hope you had a great day celebrating you! XOXO
This looks so good! I can’t wait to make it!!
Hi! I would liketo know for rare prime rib how many minutes by pound?
Thanks
This recipe is incredible! I am not a fan of oregano so I did not use it, had fresh rosemary and some dried parsley so that’s what I used! I was thrilled to find out that I could use my cast iron for this, it was absolutely perfect especially to make gravy afterwards with the drippings! I just transferred my rib roast to a baking sheet and covered with foil, and made my gravy with the drippings. It was SO GOOD!!!
What internal temperature would you remove the prime rib from the oven for rare, not medium rare?
I have learned that you will want to have the temperature at 130 to 135* for rare. That it is the lowest temperature that is still healthy. Hope that helps and you enjoy your prime rib! XOXO
Ummmm good
The Closed Door Method confuses me. Cooking at 500F for 2 hours will overcook the meat. Do you mean cook at 500F for 15 minutes per pound then turn off the oven and let it slowly cook for 2 hours?
You will preheat the oven to 450* and cook the prime rib for 15 minutes at that temperature. After 15 minutes you will lower the temperature to 325* for 15 minutes per pound. Let me know if you have any more questions concerning this recipe. I would hate for you to not be able to try this. XOXO
This recipe for prime rib is awesome however, for people like me who is doing this the first time, I am left wondering if I cover it with foil from start or not. Foil is mentioned at the end so do we cook without foil and just cover with foil after we take it out of the oven and sitting there to cool down?
Yes, cook it without the foil and only cover with foil as it rests.
I saw your video of this prime rib receipe but I lost it. Can you tell me where I can find it again?
Herei is the recipe: https://therecipecritic.com/prime_rib_recipe/ and here is the video for it:https://www.facebook.com/TheRecipeCritic/videos/1455081771255895/. Thanks so much for following along with me! XOXO
This recipe sounds so fantastic it’s making me drool. Can’t wait to purchase and make this. I can already smell it. Thank you for a wonderful treat.
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 from oven and let it rest
just scrolled through comments and found my answers. thank you! can’t wait to try this recipe
Ask the butcher to cut off the ribs from the meat, and then to tie the ribs and the meat back together for roasting.