Prime Rib Rub - The Recipe Critic (2024)

FAQs

Should you dry rub prime rib overnight? ›

Putting a dry rub on too early increases the likelihood of it being washed off or knocked loose before you get the beef cooked. Aside from seasoning mixes designed to go on up to one day before cooking for brining purposes, you'll only want the dry rub on the Prime Rib in time for the start of cooking.

How do restaurants make prime rib so tender? The secret to restaurant-style prime rib is cooking the meat super slow at low temperatures. I recommend cooking prime rib at no higher than 200 degrees F. This cooks the meat very slowly, turning the fat into butter and rendering the proteins juicy and soft.

You can season the roast a day in advance, but no later than 2 hours before cooking time. The seasoning needs time to flavor the meat while it's raw. When you're ready to season, you can pick from countless options for rubs.

Salt the Prime Rib Overnight

Rub a good quality kosher salt all over the meat the day before you want to cook it. Now, place it in the refrigerator overnight, UNCOVERED in order to enhance the beefy flavor while dissolving some of the proteins, which yields a buttery-tender, juicy roast.

For best results, salt your prime rib on all surfaces with kosher salt at least 45 minutes before you start cooking it, and preferably the day before, leaving it in the fridge uncovered overnight. Initially, the salt will draw out some moisture and end up dissolving in it.

Cooked low and slow in the oven and finished with a blast of heat for the juiciest, most flavorful, evenly cooked prime rib roast. Kenji is the former culinary director for Serious Eats and a current culinary consultant for the site.

Overcooking the Prime Rib

That's why prime rib is so expensive: it's a huge piece of extremely good beef. Therefore, it's important not to cook it beyond medium-rare. Going past that temperature means the roast will no longer be tender.

Cook the prime rib low and slow at 250°F until the internal temperature reaches 120°F, about 3 hours, depending on its size. Take the roast off the heat. Crank the heat up to 450°F or 500°F, then return the meat to the grill to crisp the exterior of the roast.

If you are searing a roast with butter before or after cooking it, it is more likely to burn due to its low smoke point. Instead, David Rose recommends home cooks use olive oil or grapeseed oil to lessen any chance of the roast charring.

What should I put on my prime rib before cooking? ›

Mix garlic, olive oil, salt, pepper, and thyme together in a small bowl. Place roast in a roasting pan with the fatty side up. Spread mixture over the top of roast; let roast sit out until it is at room temperature, no longer than 1 hour. Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F (260 degrees C).

Heat the oven to 250°F with the rack in the lower middle position. Cook for 4 to 5 hours or until the internal temperature in the thickest part of the roast is 125-130°F for medium-rare prime rib, or 135-140°F for medium. Take out the roast and tent it with foil.

Place the roast with its fat cap side up on a wire rack inside a roasting pan. Roast the prime rib for 15 to 20 minutes per pound, about 1 ½ to 2 hours for a 5-pound roast. Remove the roast from the oven and place on a cutting board for about 10 minutes to rest before carving and serving.

Placing the oven rack too high up will cause your roast to brown too quickly and burn! After 30 minutes in the oven, add a ½ cup of water to the bottom of the roasting pan. The key is to allow the onions to brown and caramelize while roasting, but not to burn and smoke in the fat.

Brown the roast at 500°F (or as high as your oven will go) for 15 minutes. Lower the oven to 325°F to finish roasting: Reduce the oven temperature to 325°F. Roast in the oven until the thermometer registers 115°F for rare or 120° for medium rare, and 130°F for medium.

Don't keep the ribs coated for more than 12 hours. As we stated earlier, most dry rubs contain salt, which has a dehydrating effect, so prolonging the seasoning may work against you if you keep it on too long. Don't wrap the ribs in cling film when using a dry rub overnight.

You can do this a few hours before cooking or apply the rub and refrigerate overnight (by doing this you actually brine the meat which gives the meat even more flavour). You have these options because the rub will not penetrate far into the meat itself.

Dry Rub Tips

Salt is a flavor enhancer, and it pushes out more flavor, so keeping a 50/50 ratio helps you incorporate other seasonings without losing the tinge of saltiness. Apply your rub the night before. Applying it the night before will help the seasonings work their way into the meat properly. Don't wrap the meat.

Add your meat and generously rub and massage the mix into the meat. For certain meats like chicken breast, brisket, or pork, consider rubbing your dry rub in and then refrigerating your meat overnight. This will allow the spices to sink into the meat.