Reverse Sear Prime Rib

Reverse Sear Prime Rib is the absolute best way to cook this gloriously delicious beef roast, with an evenly warmed interior and a browned flavorful crust. The secret is the reverse sear method, where we cook the beef low and slow, let it rest, then blast it with high heat at the end to brown the exterior.

Salt the Meat One Day Ahead, if possible

Dry-brining the prime rib the day before roasting means every bite is flavorful, and slow-roasting at a low temperature followed by a high-heat sear ensures a delicious medium-rare doneness throughout with a savory herb crust.

For best results you’ll want to start a day ahead by salting the roast and letting it sit in the fridge for 24 hours with a maximum of 48 hours.

Set a wire rack inside a rimmed half sheet pan, and season a 10-lb bone-in standing rib roast with plenty of kosher salt. Rub and press the salt into the meat. The salt will have a chance to penetrate the beef and “season on the inside” to a degree, and it will also pull moisture out. Additionally, by NOT covering the beef in the fridge, this allows the exterior moisture to dry out as much as possible, which encourages browning later on.

Start Warming Up the Beef

Two hours before cooking, remove your bone-in roast from the fridge and let it stand at room temperature. This will give you the juiciest meat possible, because you’ll need to cook it less.

Blot Excess Moisture with a Paper Towel

After sitting at room temperature, dry the exterior well with a paper towel.

I always do this with my meat, particularly red meat like beef. This encourages browning, and you can see that there’s enough moisture on the outside that it moistens a full piece of paper towel.

Ghee Is The Best Choice for Rubbing The Exterior

I mix ghee into the rosemary, thyme, and black pepper, then rub it all over the rib roast. Ghee has a neutral flavor, a very high smoke point, and a great consistency for slathering on the meat and holding all the seasoning evenly in place. Butter and olive oil cannot handle the heat as well.

The seasonings rubbed on are not so much that it becomes a crust, but just enough for flavoring the beef.

Cook Low and Slow

Place the prime rib in a low temperature 250F oven for several hours, with the fat cap facing up, until it hits an interior temperature of 120F, as measured with a meat thermometer. There’s some browning on the outsides, but not a ton. We’re going to need some much hotter direct heat for that, at a much higher oven temperature. But not yet! It’s time to let the roast rest for a bit.

Rest the Beef Now, Not At the End

It’s most common to let meat rest at the very end of cooking, before serving, but here we’re going to do something better. Resting the beef now means we can slice and serve the beef later immediately out of the oven, when the exterior is piping hot, sizzling, and browned.

I rest my bone in prime rib for about 45 minutes, which gives me enough time to get the heat cranked up to 500F for the next stage. But, you can rest anywhere from 30-60 minutes.

There is no need to cover the entire roast with aluminum foil, since we’ll be heating it again right before serving.

Right Before Serving, Blast the Roast with High Heat to Brown It

After the rest period, blast the prime rib in a very hot oven for 5 to 10 minutes until it’s thoroughly browned on the outside. Don’t  go much longer than 10 minutes though, as you’ll start to cook the interior more and increase the doneness.

Stand at the oven door and turn the light on so you can keep your eye on the browning. You’ll notice the outside sputtering a bit like cooking bacon in a skillet, and you may notice some smokiness too.

Serve Immediately After Browning (No Need to Rest Again)

After this quick browning, you can slice and serve the prime rib right away, which is AWESOME because it’ll still be warm inside, and hot, crisp and crusty on the outside.