3-Ingredient Prime Rib: The Easiest Way to Make a Delicious Roast

Learn how to make a delicious and easy prime rib roast with just three ingredients: beef rib roast, salt, and pepper. This foolproof recipe will show you how to cook the meat to your desired doneness and get a flavor-popping golden crust every single time.

An easy and fool-proof prime rib!

A prime rib roast is pricey, so you certainly don’t want to mess it up—especially if you’re trying to razzle-dazzle your boss, in-laws, or guests with a big, honkin‘ piece of meat.

My recommendation? Use the recipe from page 148 of our yellow cookbook, Ready or Not! It’s a mash-up of the best prime rib recipes from two of my favorite and most trusted cooking resources, J. Kenji Lopez-Alt and the nerds at America’s Test Kitchen, and it produces perfect prime rib every time.

Simple and slow does the trick!

With this slow-roasted, reverse sear prime rib recipe, all you need to get a flavor-packed and juicy beef prime rib roast is a nice hunk of beef, time, a good meat thermometer, salt, and pepper. I know there are many recipes out there that include lots of herbs like fresh rosemary or thyme, tons of garlic cloves, mustard, etc. but you won’t need any of it—I promise! With a little advance planning, it’ll be your show-stopping entrée at your Christmas dinner or other holiday feast.

Tips on how to make the best standing rib roast

• Get a good meat thermometer! Even though this recipe is easy-peasy and you’re roasting the meat at a low temp for a long time, you do need an accurate meat thermometer to check that the roast is cooked perfectly. I use both an in-oven thermometer so I can monitor the temperature as the roast is cooking and an instant-read thermometer to double-check the temp.
• Buy a bone-in, but cut out the bones! This ensures great flavor and ease of slicing because you can season the roast all over and carve it easily when it’s done. You can have your butcher cut out the bones or use a sharp boning knife to remove it yourself.
• Season the roast liberally with salt! If you want a well-seasoned and juicy roast, you need to salt it well and dry-brine it for at least 24 hours and up to 4 days. This way the salt will penetrate the meat properly and it will taste amazing!
• Take your time! Plan ahead and dry-brine the roast for at least a day and then allot 4 to 5 hours to slow roast the prime rib at 250°F. Low and slow will cook it evenly!
• Blast the crust! After the slow roast, blast the roast with a quick hit of heat to brown the crust. I like to err on the side of not browning too much because I want the interior to be the perfect temperature (which in my opinion is medium rare).

How to cook prime rib

Using a sharp knife, cut the bones off the rib roast (or better yet, have your butcher do this for you). Set the bones aside.

In a small bowl, measure out about ¾ teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt per pound of meat, and mix in freshly ground black pepper.

Sprinkle the salt and pepper mixture on all sides of the now-boneless ribeye roast and the rib rack as well. Season generously, people!

Place the seasoned roast back on top of the bones, with the fat cap facing up.

Tie the bones to the roast with kitchen twine and place the prepared roast in a rimmed baking sheet.

Leave the roast uncovered in your fridge for at least 1 day and up to 4 days. The pre-salting and air-drying will ensure a delicious roast with a browned, beefy crust. 

Take your meat out of the fridge and keep at room temp for about 3 hours before you plan to cook the prime rib. Heat the oven to 250°F with the rack in the lower middle position.

Place the seasoned rib roast on a greased roasting rack in a roasting tray.

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. Crank the oven to the highest possible temperature it will accommodate (typically 500-550°F). You can also turn on the broiler. We want it HOT!

Remove the foil and put the roast back in the oven, and cook for 5-10 minutes or until the exterior is crisp and well-browned (but not burnt!). There’s a fine line between browning the exterior and cooking the interior of the prime rib too much!

Take the roast out of the oven. Snip off the twine and lift the roast off the bones.

Place the roast on a cutting board, and carve the meat into slices.

What do you serve with it?

How do you save leftovers?

Leftover prime rib can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days and in the freezer for up to 4 months. It’s the ultimate emergency protein that can be chopped up and added to soups, sweet potato hash, scrambles, stir-fries, cauliflower fried rice, salads, you name it!