The 3 Biggest Mistakes You're Making With Prime Rib

Prime rib is one of the most tender cuts of beef, alongside tenderloin (the cut used in our easy beef Wellington recipe). It is usually packaged as two- to four-rib steaks, so it can be quite a hefty piece of meat. This makes cooking it to perfection a little more tricky than your average steak or roast. But that doesn't mean it can't be done with the right know-how and a few expert tips on things to avoid to ensure that your prime rib comes out tender and juicy.

We got the inside scoop from chef K.C. Gulbro, who owns FoxFire Restaurant and is also a chef ambassador for Certified Angus Beef, so he certainly knows his beef. Gulbro outlined three common mistakes that can ruin prime rib: overcooking, skipping the rest period, and going too light on the seasoning. But it all starts with choosing the best cut of prime rib that you can afford.

Prime rib tends to be pricey, so see what your budget will allow. It should have good marbling for tenderness and flavor, keeping in mind that the more aged a piece of beef is, the more tender it becomes because natural enzymes in the meat break down the connective tissues in the muscles.

Aim to get a dry-aged piece of meat that was aged in a temperature-controlled, open-air space. This means the meat will be slightly dehydrated and packed with flavor. You can even try dry-aging your meat at home. Now that we have our cut sorted, let's learn how to avoid the pitfalls that Gulbro highlighted.

"Overcooking a prime rib can lead to a dry, tough roast," says chef Gulbro. It becomes increasingly dry the longer you cook it — even if you cook it in a moistening marinade — because as the piece of meat cooks, the muscles get shorter and eventually squeeze all of the moisture out of your prime rib. Yuck.

The best thing to keep your piece of meat from this disaster is to use a meat thermometer — here are the best options on the market. "An instant-read thermometer is essential for checking the doneness accurately," says Gulbro. If you like your prime rib medium-rare, then experts recommend you aim for an internal temperature of between 115-120 degrees Fahrenheit. For a medium-done piece of meat, cook it to between 125-130 degrees Fahrenheit. For bone-in prime rib, you'll look to cook it at 325 degrees Fahrenheit for around 15 minutes, then do your temperature check.

Your general rule of thumb, however, is to undercook rather than overcook your prime rib. If you take it out and find that it's a bit underdone for your liking, you can always pop it back into the oven for a few more minutes, but an overcooked piece of meat is pretty much done for. The best thing to do in this situation is to repurpose your meat by chopping it up into a stew with lots of sauce to try and soften it up a bit.

It's not only the hard-working chef who needs a rest — your prime rib does, too, after all that hard work cooking to perfection. Many cooks make the mistake of serving their meat straight out of the oven. While this sounds like a good idea, with the meat being seemingly more juicy and also staying hot, it really isn't. 

"Skipping the crucial step of letting the meat rest causes the juices to escape when carving," says Gulbro. This is due to the muscles in the meat tightening up during cooking, which causes the juices to be concentrated in certain areas. When you cut into those areas straight after cooking, the juices just pour out. But if you leave your meat to rest, then the muscles can relax, allowing the juices to distribute more evenly throughout the meat.

Depending on the size of your prime rib, Gulbro recommends that you "always let your prime rib rest for 20-30 minutes." You may worry about your meat getting cold if it's resting for such a long time, but fear not — you can keep the heat in your meat by covering it with a piece of foil while it's taking some time out to chillax. Or put it in a very, very low-heat warming oven or under a heat lamp.

Seasoning is an important factor in bringing out the absolute best in your prime rib. Not only does it add flavor to your meat, but it enhances the natural flavors in your meat. Seasoning can also be a great link to the side dishes and sauce you may be serving with your meat.

Not using enough seasoning can result in your prime rib being a bit flavorless and dull. This is because the chemical compounds in spices interact not just with the meat to bring out the flavor, but also with our taste buds. This gives us an enhanced experience of the prime rib. They also, incidentally, amplify our perception of the meat's texture.

"Make sure to season with a good amount of salt, pepper, and your favorite herb garlic oil blend," suggests Gulbro. And if you're wondering, yes, you can infuse your own olive oil at home. Salt and pepper are the most common seasonings for meats of all kinds because they're not flavor-specific but rather neutral in their own flavor, allowing the meat to be the star of the show while really enhancing the natural flavors. And the olive oil also helps to crisp up the outside of your prime rib, giving it a gorgeous crust that is simply delicious.