This Bone In Prime Rib Roast recipe includes instructions for cooking a four rib prime rib to serve 2 – 4 people. Take the worry out of cooking a prime rib. It’s easier than you think. Here’s a recipe that will guarantee the right balance between outer crust and inner rare.
Is Prime Rib Roast for two people possible?
A full prime rib has seven bones and can feed a crowd. Scaling down can make it very difficult to find the right balance between outer crust and inner rare.
For Easter I announced I was going to attempt my first. I was a little nervous because it costs a fortune and I knew I’d be pretty darn angry with myself if I ruined the most majestic and the most expensive piece of meat I’ve ever tried to roast in my own kitchen.
With the help of a young butcher at my local specialty meat market, we selected a four-rib roast which weighed in at about five pounds and rang up at a whopping $75.00. Even though I cooked this for just the two of us, this will actually serve 4 – 6 people.
We enjoyed lots of wonderful leftovers. And loved every single bite.
How to Cook A Standing Prime Rib Roast (with bones)
I followed a recipe I found in the Denver Junior League Creme de Colorado Cookbook for Fall River Bone In Prime Rib Roast with Hunter’s Horseradish Sauce. An outstanding and easy recipe for Prime Rib in the oven.
Following this prime rib recipe will work for either a 4 – 7 bone standing rib roast.
- Mix up a marinade of chopped parsley, grated lemon peel, thyme, juniper berries, garlic, Tabasco and olive oil and spread it on all sides of the roast. This is a delicious prime rib roast sauce. You’re gonna love it.
- Let this the standing prime rib roast marinate in the refrigerator for 24 hours.
- Prime Rib Roast Cook Times: The next day cook the meat, fat side up, in a 500 degree oven for fifteen minutes.
- How Many Minutes Per Pound For Prime Rib? Once you’ve completed that 15 minute high heat sear time, then turn down the heat to 350 degrees and roast for fifteen minutes per pound.
- Let it stand for ten minutes before slicing.
I couldn’t believe my eyes with the first cut. The knife slid through the wonderful crust on the outside to reveal a perfectly rare prime rib roast. I have to admit, It was a very rewarding kitchen moment.
The marinade was a heavenly combination of flavors. I’d use this when cooking other cuts of meats. And the homemade horseradish sauce was a very special treat for a very special meal.
Bone In Prime Rib Roast Or Boneless?
Anytime you can roast meat with the bones intact, it’s a bonus. The bones give the meat additional flavor.
However, a boneless rib roast is somewhat easier to handle and still very rich in flavor, beefy in flavor, juicy and tender with generous marbling throughout.
Taking into consideration the weight of the bones, a good rule of thumb is to allow 1 pound of prime rib per person. A bone-in standing rib roast will feed about 2 people per bone. Also take into consideration the side dishes you are serving. Usually a bone-in standing rib roast is served for special occasion meals which calls for special occasion sides, which are usually hearty in structure. In that case you can plan on ½ to ¾ pound per person.
If you have a good quality spice shop you can readily find Juniper Berries. If you need a substitute, consider rosemary, caraway seeds or allspice berries. Any of those will impart an earthy flavor to this prime rib recipe.
How To Reheat Prime Rib
Since the prime rib has been initially cooked to a medium rare state, you’ve got some wiggle room to reheat the sliced meat without drying it out.
Place a couple of slices of prime rib on a microwave safe plate. Cover the prime rib with a damp paper towel. Depending on how thick you’ve sliced the meat, set the timer for a minute and cook on 50% power.
Check the prime rib by placing your hand on the paper towel. If you feel it needs more heat, give it more heat by repeating the 50% power level in 15 second increments.
Don’t over pre-heat it. After all, you’re not trying to cook it, your goal is to warm it to your level of heat satisfaction.
Another option is simply letting the prime rib come to room temperature to serve. That way you’re guaranteed that beautiful medium rare experience.
Bone In Prime Rib Roast Recipe
Serve this with this easy and our favorite Horseradish Cream Sauce – enjoy.
And if you’re looking for more Prime Rib Roast recipe ideas, you won’t want to miss this Peppery Beef Rib Roast recipe courtesy of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association.
What To Serve With Prime Rib
- A perfect Tossed Salad with Blue Cheese Dressing
- Garlic Butter Baked Potatoes
- Blue Cheese Potatoes Dauphinoise
- Haricot Verts In Mustard Cream Sauce
And if you’re a beef lover you won’t want to miss my category for Beef Recipes, you’ll find lots of tasty recipe ideas. Including one of the most popular beef recipes on my site for Beef Tagliata. Its a proven crowd pleaser that’s so easy to make you won’t believe it.
More Show Stopping Special Occasion Dinners
The original name of this recipe is Fall River Bone in Prime Rib Roast. Fall River happens to be in one of our favorite local destinations. It is a 17.1-mile-long tributary to the Big Thompson River in Larimer County, Colorado. The river’s source is near the Alpine Visitor Center in Rocky Mountain National Park. It flows down the canyon and over Chasm Falls before its confluence with the Big Thompson in Estes Park.
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How To Cook A Bone In Prime Rib Roast
Ingredients
- ¼ cup fresh parsley minced
- 1 ½ tablespoons lemon peel fresh grated
- 2 teaspoons dried thyme crumbled
- 6 juniper berries crushed
- 3 cloves garlic
- ½ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
- 2 – 4 drops Tabasco Sauce
- ½ cup olive oil
- ⅛ cup fresh lemon juice
- 1-5 pound standing rib roast
Instructions
- Combine parsley, lemon peel, thyme, juniper berries, garlic, pepper and Tabasco in blender. Add oil, 1 tablespoon at a time, blending until a smooth paste is formed. Add lemon juice and blend. Rub mixture over surface of the roast. Cover and refrigerate for at least 24 hours.
- Bring roast to room temperature before proceeding. Place roast in large heavy roasting pan and roast in preheated oven at 500 degrees for 15 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350 degrees and continue roasting for 15 minutes per pound for rare, 20 minutes per pound for medium, or 25 minutes per pound for well done. Let roast rest for 10 minutes before carving.
Notes
Nutrition
Bone In Prime Rib Roast … It’s Whats For Dinner
Why Trust These Recipes? Lea Ann Brown has lived, worked and played in Colorado for 45 years. She has immersed herself in the Colorado Culinary space, is a Culinary School Graduate and publishes her Colorado food Blog, Cooking On The Ranch.
That looks great, especially with that tasty horseradish sauce. Was probably even better as leftovers!
You didn’t hear us complaining about those leftovers. 🙂 Thanks Nazneen
That was quite a pithy blog—-in other words I learned something. Your prime rib looked perfect to me. Yay boy howdy with the price of that baby, one does not want something to go sideways. A simple Oh Darn and moving on would not cover a failure. I didn’t know the uber prime rib had to be 7 ribs big. You know what I am craving right now. Seriously, very interesting blog. Thanx for the research.
I couldn’t agree more Carol, and “darn” would not have been my word of choice for a mistake. 🙂
Another wonderful recipe from Creme de Colorado! I would love to try this when we have our daughter and son-in-law over for dinner. It did turn out beautifully!
I love my Colorado Jr. League books. And they’re perfect for my western style food for my blog. Thanks for stopping in and the comment Susan.
I wonder if the leftovers would freeze well. I’ve never attempted to cook prime rib. My husband would die and go to heaven if I did, especially with this horseradish cream!
I’m pretty sure they would freeze well. For this meal we didn’t have any leftover to find out. I hope you try that horseradish sauce, it’s a special treat.
I wish you would have invited Manservant over. Since I don’t eat meat anymore, he totally craves it. Coming from a family of butchers we had this a lot when I was a kid. But no one ever took a photo that looked as good as this! You guys must be in meat heaven! I can smell it from here and I still love the smell of meat cooking. Go figure!
Thank you Abbe! And Manservant would have been very welcome to help us eat this.
Oh yum! I just want to lick the screen! It’s always scary investing in expensive ingredients — so happy it worked out for you. Looks beyond delicious.
Thanks Yvette. I was so nervous when I started out on this one. And the outcome was so rewarding.
Lea Ann! You’re making us hungry now…and we only just had breakfast!
Yay, that’s my job. Thanks for stopping in and the comment. 🙂
You did a terrific job with the prime rib and the horseradish sauce that you made to go with it sounds perfect.
Thanks Maureen. And I did try your Burger tacos. Great flavor.
Nothing beats a perfectly cooked prime rib and that certainly describes yours. Love your horseradish sauce too.
Sam
Thanks you Sam. That horseradish sauce is a great recipe. I hope you give it a try.
Now THAT is a meal! So glad it turned out well for you. i am still getting over the price tag but after seeing the results I know it was worth it!
Thanks Holly. And yes, I was afraid to look at the price tag as I carried that piece of meat through Tony’s. But it was worth the experience, the flavor and the defeat of agony over my fear of cooking Prime Rib.
I have never cooked a prime rib. Love that horseradish sauce. We do grow our own horseradish. Maybe I should try a prime cut like this with our home grown stuff.
A house I lived in years ago had a horseradish plant that come up every year. Thanks for the reminder. I’m going to plant one this year at this house.
Oh Lea Ann this looks wonderful, where did you find the juniper berries? My husband would love me for this….. thinking father’s day dinner. Thanks!
I found Juniper Berries at our local Savory Spice shop. I loved the flavor they brought to this marinade.
This is perfectly cooked! And looks so lovely. I haven’t cooked a prime rib roast for years, and would always do one about this size (5 pounds). I’ve been thinking I need to do this again, and will probably do so in the fall. You done good! Thanks for the inspiration.
Thank you John!
Awesome. What more can I say? Thank you for sharing your success.
Linda
Thanks Linda. It was a nice celebration over getting that meat cooked correctly. 🙂
Woohoo, now you are talking! This does look perfect. My family will never forget the first one of these I ever cooked. It was Christmas Day and I didn’t give it nearly enough time and we were all starving by the time it hit the table. Thank goodness I can say it was worth it. Next time you make one, remember my phone number if you need help polishing it off.
Thank goodness for that cookbook and it’s instructions. Or I probably would have been in that same situation.
This is why I don’t cook. Too much stress. 😉 It looks amazing! You must cook this for us some day. Please put it on the list.
I think I thrive on cooking stress.
Woman, you have outdone yourself!! There is nothing finer – in my opinion – than a perfectly rare slice of prime rib with zippy horseradish. Bet that snazzy new knife slid through it like buttah!
Thanks Vickie! I kinda felt that way myself. And ohymygosh I love that snazzy new knife. 🙂
Looks like you did outstanding and the horsey sauce sounds very good as well. Now I’m really hungry.
Thanks Larry. That’s a real compliment coming from you.
Nicely done, the internal temp is perfect and your pictures make me hungry! Thanks for letting us be at your table!
Thank you so much Mick.
That is *perfect*!
Thanks Karen. 🙂