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, overcooked 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