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This easy guide to the perfect prime rib roast, complete with a honey mustard rub, and an instructional video to help you along the way will set you up for success this holiday season! Serve this spectacular roast with our Creamy Mushroom Marsala Sauce and Rosemary Potatoes au Gratin.
I hope you choose this recipe to crown your Christmas dinner. Don’t forget to explore our Christmas recipe collection, which features an array of options from main and side dishes to party bites and desserts.
It’s no secret I love a good roast dinner as evidenced by a number of recipes on this website. Roast pork and roast chicken are what we often enjoy on Sundays.
For Christmas we usually go for the king of roasts, Prime Rib. And I couldn’t be more excited to finally share this recipe.
What is Prime Rib?
This exceptional cut of beef goes by a few names, Prime Rib being one of them. Another one is Standing Rib Roast or a Rib of Beef, as it is known in the UK. This cut comes from the primal rib and of the very high quality. The quality is reflected in the price, and that is why we reserve it for very special occasions like Christmas or New Year’s Eve.
The beef comes with the bones attached but the number of bones varies. The beef I am using today for my recipe has two bones and weighs 2kg/4.5 lbs. It will easily feed 6 people.
If you bought a piece of beef which has got only one bone attached, it’s a ribeye steak; also incredibly delicious but won’t feed a crowd.
Honey Mustard Rub
Beef, as delicious as prime rib, can still benefit from minor flavour enhancement. And this is where our rub comes in. All we have to do is to mix up honey, This is an affiliate link.Dijon mustard, garlic, rosemary, olive oil and sea salt to compliment the natural flavour!
When making meat rubs it’s important to remember to include ingredients like honey, mustard or This is an affiliate link.maple syrup. Not only do they bring loads or flavour, they also help herbs and spices stick to the surface of the meat.
Honey mustard rub is a classic for a reason and can be used with other cuts of beef or to glaze ham. The mixture of ingredients is slightly different, but the same flavours are there!
Cooking Method
Cooking a rib of beef could be quite intimidating for two reasons. The price tag and the pressure of the holidays. Good news is prime rib is very easy to cook. The meat quality is what is responsible for tender and juicy bites.
First of all, take the meat out of the fridge 45 minutes to 1 hour prior to cooking. Starting to cook the beef at room temperature will allow for the entire piece to cook more evenly.
If the meat is still chilled on the inside, it can impact the length of time it takes to cook. You may have to monitor progress and adjust the cooking time.
Secondly, preheat the oven to 450F/230C. The best way to cook prime rib is to roast it at high temperature, which allows the surface to develop a lovely crust. However, after 25 minutes we lower the temperature to 350F/180C and finish it off until the This is an affiliate link.meat thermometer registers 55C/130F.
Bones are very good conductors of heat, so a roast with the bones attached will cook faster than boneless. The biggest challenge in cooking the prime rib is NOT to overcook it.
Using an instant read meat thermometer is a must for best results. Prime rib has the best texture when it’s roasted to a medium doneness, with pink meat inside when cut.
Rib of Beef Oven Temperature and Cooking Time
As I mentioned earlier, we start roasting the beef at very high temperature of 450F/230C but after 25 minutes we reduce it to 350F/180C.
Below is the timing chart for various degrees of doneness:
- for medium-rare roast for 15 minute per pound. Internal temperature 55C/135F
- for medium roast for 20 minutes per pound. Internal temperature 60C/140F
- for well done roast for 25 minutes per pound. Internal temperature 65C/150F
After the meat has been taken out of the oven it needs to rest for 30 minutes. Resting meat is important as it allows the juices, which came up to the surface of the roast in the hot oven, to rush back inside the joint.
Cover the prime rib roast loosely with aluminium foil and let it sit for half an hour. The internal temperature will rise further 5 degrees. This will ensure you have a juicy and flavourful piece of beef.
Recipe Tips and Notes
- I’ve learned through a lot of experience that the quality of the meat will go a long way in the final outcome. Unfortunately, a prime grade piece of prime rib is far from cheap, but it will really make a difference to the taste and texture of the meat. My best advice is to get the best quality piece you can afford, and ideally from a butcher. There’s a reason why prime rib is usually reserved for special occasions!
- There are three grades of prime rib in the US: Select, Choice and Prime. Choice is often found in supermarkets, while Prime will have the best quality meat and fat marbling. Other countries will have their own grading system. Ask your butcher for advice!
- Bones conduct heat very well, so a bone-in roast will cook faster than boneless. This is important info if you don’t want to overcook your joint. Use a This is an affiliate link.meat thermometer to get the best results.
- Your butcher may be able to cut the bones off for you and then reattach with twine. Cooking them with the bones on means that they operate as an effective roasting rack.
- If it does not come tied, it is worth doing yourself to help the roast to keep its shape and cook evenly. Lay the roast upside down (bones up, fat down) on top of the strings. Pull the string so it is evenly spaced between the ribs, tie with a simple knot and cut away any excess string. You will want the twine to be tight enough to hold the meet together but not so tight that it cuts into the roast.
- Remove the prime rib from the fridge 45 minutes to an hour before cooking. Allowing it to come to an even, room temperature helps it to cook evenly.
- Resting the meat after you remove it from the oven is essential. This gives juices the chance to reabsorb into the meat, resulting in a far more succulent prime rib. Loosely cover it with aluminum foil and leave it for 30 minutes.
- Carving a prime rib is best done with a very sharp This is an affiliate link.knife, which you can see from the video is something I learned the hard way! It’s worth having a good quality carving knife to hand for times like this.
- Carve against the grain, which is important so the meat doesn’t seem chewy. Each slice should be at least 1/2 inch (1 1/4 cm) thick.
Serving Suggestions
Don’t forget to to make a flavourful sauce or gravy to go alongside your beef. One of our favourites is Bearnaise Sauce, which could be a little tricky. If you feel like you wanted something simpler, make our easy gravy recipe. For a more complex taste, try our red onion gravy recipe.
Simple side dishes like herb and garlic mashed potatoes or roast potatoes will be a perfect pairing for this spectacular beef roast. Or make our mashed potato casserole stuffed with mushrooms and caramelised onions, which could be prepared a day ahead. If you feel like adding another showstopper, give our Hasselback Potatoes a try!
With a couple of rich dishes like the ones above I always try to bring balance by serving a light and zingy winter salad of red cabbage, kale and pomegranate. Or add a plate of vegetables with a punchy flavour like Miso Roasted Carrots.
Storage and leftovers
Leftover roast can be kept refrigerated for 3-4 days, ready to reused in all sorts of different ways. Of course, you could recreate your roast dinner, but there’s also plenty of room for creativity.
My favourite? A Hot Roast Beef Sandwich makes for a perfect lunch. Or go for something a little lighter by making a Watercress and Roast Beef Salad.
Reheating beef roast without drying it out can be a challenge. The best way to retain tender, moist meet is by placing it in an oven preheated to 150C/350F with a small amount of beef stock.
It can take between 15-30 minutes to come to temperature, depending on the size of piece you have, so probe with a thermometer to be sure.
More Holiday Main Dishes
- Blackcurrant Compote Glazed Ham
- Aromatic Spice Crusted Pork Roast (Buzhenina)
- Mushroom Wellington (Vegetarian)
- Roast Turkey
Honey Mustard Crusted Prime Rib Roast
Equipment
- This is an affiliate link.Meat thermometer
Ingredients
- 2kg/4.5 lbs Prime rib/rib of beef
For the Honey Mustard Rub
- 1 tbsp coarse salt
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 4-5 sprigs rosemary
- 2 tbsp This is an affiliate link.Dijon mustard
- 2 tbsp honey
- 2 tbsp This is an affiliate link.olive oil
Instructions
- Take the beef out of the refrigerator. In a small bowl combine the minced garlic, chopped rosemary, coarse salt, honey, Dijon mustard and olive oil. Rub it all over the prime rib and let it sit at room temperature for 45 minutes to 1 hour to allow the meat to come to room temperature for more even cooking. Preheat the oven to 450F/230C.
- Place the prime rib in a roasting pan fat side up. Roast in the preheated oven for 25 minutes. Reduce the temperature to 350F/180C and continue roasting for 40 minutes longer for the size of the beef specified in this recipe. Add 15 minutes for each additional pound of beef. (See the timing chart in the main body of the article.) The internal temperature of the meat should read 130F/55C for medium rare.
- Take out of the oven and loosely cover with aluminium foil. Let the meat rest for 30 minutes before carving.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This prime rib roast came out beautifully – but I wonder if there is a way of having the delicious mustard rub be more prominent (and I don’t mean more mustardy)? I ate the crispy crust but couldn’t really taste it. Maybe I’ll have to add more of it at the end or on the slices when I serve it. But this is a fool proof recipe for cooks like me, who often over- or undercook prime rib! Thanks Julia!
I have always been nervous to make prime rib. This recipe is so helpful I am excited to give it a try!
Understandable, it’so expensive, no one wants to mess it up, right?!! That’s why I thought a video would be helpful to show just how easy it is.
Looks so good! Can’t wait to try this one with my family.
This is the best prime rib I’ve ever tried! My whole family loved it!
Thanks so much, Anna!