A liberal dusting of salt, a quick, crust-forming pan sear, and a stint in the oven is all that's needed to yield a juicy, flavorful prime rib of beef. This recipe first appeared in our December 2013 issue along with Mike Colameco's article All is Calm, All is Bright.
What You Will Need
- 12" Cast-Iron Skillet
- Instant-Read Thermometer
- Cutting Board
- Aluminum Foil
Ingredients
- 7 lb. boneless prime rib, at room temperature
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- Fleur de sel, for serving (optional)
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Instructions
Step 1
Heat oven to 450°. Heat a 12" cast-iron skillet over high heat. Pat meat completely dry with paper towels and generously season with salt and pepper. Cook, turning as needed, until well browned on all sides, 12–15 minutes. Arrange meat fat side up and place in oven; roast for 1 hour. Reduce oven to 300°; roast until desired doneness, 1–1½ hours for medium-rare, or until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of meat registers 120°. Transfer meat to a cutting board and cover loosely with aluminum foil; let rest 20 minutes before slicing. Season with fleur de sel and more pepper, if you like; serve pan drippings on the side.
The holidays just wouldn’t be complete without this Boneless Prime Rib with Au Jus… it’s always the star of our holiday table! In this no-fail recipe I will show you how to make the most tender, juicy and flavorful boneless prime rib that your family and guests will RAVE about!
Roasting a prime rib can be a little a LOT intimidating. It’s a pricey cut of meat (but so worth it) and the biggest mistake is overcooking it beyond medium rare. The method I’m sharing results in a perfectly medium rare prime rib with a crispy, deep brown crust.
This recipe was originally published in 2018. I have updated it with new photos (including step-by-step photos).
My mama has always roasted a prime rib for our annual gathering every Christmas Eve. My recipe is based off of hers that she adapted from Allrecipes. I’ve made a few changes to it over the years to put my own twist on it (but I still love Mama’s!).
This method uses a flavorful marinade that is injected into the roast, which brings out the flavor in the meat without being overpowering. The drippings and marinade mixture help to make an incredible au jus that is prepared during the resting time of the roast. This prime rib is also delicious served with homemade horseradish sauce.
Let’s get started on how to roast the perfect boneless prime rib!
What You’ll Need
- Prime rib – This recipe is based on roasting a 6 pound roast.
- For the marinade that you’ll inject into the roast – Water, Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, onion powder, garlic powder and browning sauce.
- For seasoning the roast – Olive oil, salt and pepper.
- For the au jus: Beef broth and flour. You’ll also need some of the pan drippings for the au jus.
What is Browning Sauce?
Browning sauce is a dark-colored sauce that adds depth of flavor (and color) to meats, soups, gravy and marinades. I like to use it my recipes if I can, but it’s not required in this recipe (you can substitute with extra Worcestershire sauce).
Browning sauce is typically found on the aisle in the grocery store that has packets of gravy mixes and jars of pre-made gravy.
Three Important Rules When Roasting a Prime Rib
- Allow to reach room temperature before roasting.
- Use a digital instant read thermometer. A leave-in thermometer is best for ensuring 100% temperature accuracy. I also use an instant read thermometer when the roast is removed from the oven.
- Allow to rest after roasting.
Calculating Number of Servings
I always use a boneless prime rib because it’s easier (for me) to calculate how many pounds I’m going to need for my guests. A good rule of thumb is ¾ pound per person. I’d rather have too much than not enough, so I personally calculate 1 pound per person. I mostly always have leftovers, but am content in knowing there will be enough for everyone (and who doesn’t love leftover prime rib?!).
This method starts at a high temperature to brown the crust, then the heat is reduced to retain juiciness. Since the roast will be removed at low temperature of 200 degrees F, you’ll need to remove it only 5 degrees before your desired temperature.
For medium rare (130 to 135 degrees F) you will need to remove the prime rib at a temperature of 125 to 130 degrees F, then allow to rest covered loosely with foil until temperature reaches 130 to 135 degrees F.
How to Roast Boneless Prime Rib
Prepare the marinade by whisking together the marinade ingredients.
Using an injector, inject approximately ¾ cup of the marinade throughout the roast.
Pour the remaining marinade in the bottom of your roasting pan.
Season the roast by rubbing it with olive oil, then rubbing it with salt and pepper. Allow the roast to come to room temperature by letting it sit for 2 hours.
Once it has roasted completely (according to the directions in the recipe card) and is resting, you’ll prepare the au jus.
You’ll need ⅓ cup of pan drippings for the au jus. Sometimes I find that I don’t have enough drippings. This depends on the fat content in your roast and also if you are using a darker roasting pan.
What I do is add ½ cup of beef broth to the existing drippings.
Then I use a spatula to scrape up the drippings and mix with the beef broth (you can also use water).
Behold, we now have enough drippings to make the au jus!
Make the au jus by heating ⅓ cup of the drippings in a medium saucepan, then add flour to form a paste. Pour in beef broth, whisk to combine and gently boil for a few minutes until slightly thickened.
Prime Rib Temperatures:
- Rare: 120-125 degrees F
- Medium Rare: 130-135 degrees F
- Medium: 135-140 degrees F
- Well Done: 145+ degrees F
A few of my favorite side dishes to serve with prime rib are cream cheese mashed potatoes, creamed spinach and/or steamed asparagus.
Once your roast is ready to serve, why not garnish the platter for a festively beautiful presentation? I like to use fresh rosemary sprigs with pomegranate arils or fresh cranberries.
I hope you and your family enjoy this prime rib as much as we have over the years!
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Boneless Prime Rib with Au Jus
A boneless prime rib recipe using a flavorful marinade injection that results in a juicy and tender roast with a crispy brown crust.
5 from 5 votes
Print Pin RateCourse: Main Course
Cuisine: American
Keyword: boneless prime rib
Prep Time: 2 hours
Cook Time: 3 hours 4 minutes
Resting Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 5 hours 34 minutes
Servings: 8
Author: Amy
Ingredients
For the prime rib:
- 1 (6 pound) boneless prime rib roast
- ⅓ cup soy sauce
- ⅓ cup Worcestershire sauce
- ¾ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- 1 ½ tablespoons browning sauce
- 1 ¾ cups water
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
For the au jus:
- ⅓ cup marinade and drippings mixture from roasting pan
- 1 tablespoon + 2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
- 2 cups beef broth
Instructions
For the prime rib:
Place prime rib (fat side up) on a rack in a roasting pan.
Whisk together soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, garlic powder, onion powder, browning sauce and water in a medium bowl.
Using a meat injector, inject approximately ¾ cup of the marinade evenly throughout roast.
Pour remaining marinade in bottom of roasting pan.
Combine salt and pepper in a small bowl. Rub the roast evenly with olive oil, then with salt and pepper mixture.
Allow roast to come to room temperature by letting it sit 2 hours.
After 1 ½ hours have passed, preheat your oven to 450 degrees F (oven should be preheated by the time the roast has reached room temperature). The oven rack should be on 2nd tier from the bottom and top rack should be placed with enough room for roasting pan to fit in oven, or remove top rack before preheating.
Bake for 30 minutes. Remove roast from oven and reduce temperature to 200 degrees F. I open my oven door about 6 inches for approximately 6 to 7 minutes which reduces my temperature to 200 degrees F (ovens may vary).
Return roast to oven and bake 24.5 minutes per pound (2 hours and 27 minutes for a 6 pound roast), or until internal temperature reaches 125 to 130 degrees F for medium rare (in the thickest part of roast with an instant read thermometer).
Place roast on a cutting board or serving platter and loosely cover with foil. Allow to rest for 20 to 30 minutes, or until temperature reaches 130 to 135 degrees F for medium rare. Prepare the au jus while roast is resting.
For the au jus:
Heat ⅓ cup of the marinade and drippings mixture in a medium saucepan over medium high heat. If you don't have enough drippings for ⅓ cup, pour in ½ cup of beef broth or water. Using a spatula, scrape the drippings with the beef broth or water until combined.
Slowly add flour, while constantly whisking. Mixture will become a paste-like consistency.
Pour beef broth into pan and whisk to combine. Increase heat to high and bring to a boil, whisking constantly. Reduce heat as necessary to maintain a gentle boil.
Boil until slightly thickened, whisking constantly (about 2 to 3 minutes). Remove from heat.
Notes
- Cook time includes time it takes oven temperature to decrease to 200 degrees F (approximately 7 minutes).
- Cooking times vary depending on how chilled roast is when going into oven and shape of roast.
- Browning sauce can be substituted with Worcestershire sauce.
- Au jus recipe yields approximately 2 ⅛ cups.
Nutrition
Calories: 1080kcal | Carbohydrates: 6g | Protein: 48g | Fat: 94g | Saturated Fat: 38g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 42g | Cholesterol: 206mg | Sodium: 1654mg | Potassium: 913mg | Fiber: 0.4g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 13IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 50mg | Iron: 6mg
If provided, nutritional info is a courtesy, is not guaranteed and should only be considered as a guideline.