This slow roasted prime rib recipe combines citrus, herbs, and butter for an unforgettable tender, juicy main dish that's surprisingly simple to prepare. Perfect for holidays, celebrations, or when you want to treat your family to something truly spectacular!
WANT TO SAVE THIS RECIPE?
Enter your email below and we'll send it straight to your inbox. Plus you’ll get great new recipes from us every week!
Prime rib is one of those fancy dinners that you don’t see happening every week. It is a more pricey cut but totally worth it for a special occasion. Like any roast, a good one required a long slow cooking process, which can be seen as good news or bad news.
The good news is that you have very little hands-on effort and have hours to gather necessary ingredients for side dishes. The bad news is that you have to smell the delicious slow-roasted prime rib in your oven and ether suffer the hungry tummy grumbles !
What’s great about this prime rib recipe is that the flavors in the prime rib rub are a combination of all things good in life: Citrus, garlic, salt, and herbs all joining forces to create an award-winning prime rib recipe!
Why You'll Love This Slow Roasted Prime Rib Recipe
- Perfect for Special Occasions: This prime rib creates an instant atmosphere of celebration. Whether it's Christmas dinner, Easter Sunday, or a milestone birthday, this recipe elevates any gathering into a memorable event.
- Surprisingly Simple Technique: Despite its impressive appearance, this recipe follows a straightforward method that even beginners can master. The high-heat start followed by slow roasting is foolproof for achieving that perfect medium-rare center.
- Make-Ahead Friendly: You can prepare the butter rub up to two days in advance, and the hands-off cooking time gives you freedom to focus on sides or spending time with your guests instead of being tied to the kitchen.
- Incredible Flavor Profile: The combination of citrus, herbs, and savory elements creates layers of flavor that make this prime rib taste like it was prepared by a professional chef. The orange zest adds a subtle brightness that perfectly complements the rich beef.
🍖 Learning how to cook beef really well is something I encourage in every home cook — it's such a delicious addition to your meal plans!
Recipe Ingredients
- Butter
- Orange zest
- Rosemary
- Ginger
- Garlic
- Brown sugar
- Soy sauce
- Pepper
- Salt
- Prime rib roast
- Water
For the exact amounts needed, please see the recipe card below.
How to Make Slow-Roasted Prime Rib
Step 1: Preheat your oven to 450°. In a small bowl, combine your butter, ginger, orange zest, garlic, salt, pepper, soy sauce, brown sugar, and rosemary.
Step 2: Spread this butter rub all over your prime rib.
Step 3: Place your meat on a roasting rack inside a roasting pan, or if you don’t have one, you can simply ball up 3 pieces of aluminum foil and DIY one in a tall sided pan. Add water to the bottom of your roasting pan and cook at 450° for 20 minutes.
Step 4: Reduce the oven temperature to 325° and continue to cook until the roast is medium rare (130-135°) which should take about 1.5 hours. The size of your prime rib roast may cause this time estimate to vary. After about an hour, check the water in the roasting pan and the temperature of the prime rib roast, adding more water if necessary.
Step 5: Remove the prime rib roast from the oven and let it sit and rest for 15-20 minutes before slicing and serving. This helps to hold in the juices (which also makes for a less messy cutting board).
Step 6: Cut and remove the strings, slice the prime rib, or remove the bottom bones if you want to serve thinner slices.
Recipe FAQs
A prime rib roast is cut from the upper back section of the steer and usually contains a few rib bones. Your local grocery store or butcher may also have the meat labeled as beef bone-in rib roast as the word “prime” is simply a grade given by the USDA. It's ultra-tender, which is why it is usually expensive. This makes it perfect for a slow roast until it's medium-rare (135ºF).
Absolutely! You can prepare the butter rub up to 2 days ahead and keep it refrigerated. Just bring it to room temperature before spreading it on the roast. The entire roast can also be seasoned the night before and refrigerated uncovered (which actually improves the crust).
An instant-read thermometer is your best friend when cooking prime rib. For medium-rare, remove the roast when it reaches 130-135°F. Remember that the temperature will rise another 5-10 degrees while resting.
Expert Tips
- Know Your Roast: Request a "first cut" or "small end" prime rib from your butcher if possible. This cut comes from ribs 10-12 and tends to be more tender with better marbling.
- Room Temperature Start: Take your prime rib out of the refrigerator 1-2 hours before cooking. This allows for more even cooking and better browning of the exterior.
- Create a Foil Tent: If you notice the outside of your roast browning too quickly, loosely cover it with foil to prevent burning while allowing the inside to reach the proper temperature.
- Save Those Bones: After slicing, don't discard the rib bones! They're perfect for making rich beef stock, or you can roast them separately for a chef's treat.
More Favorites From Longbourn Farm
Did you make this recipe? Leave a ⭐️ review and share it on Instagram, Facebook, or Pinterest!
WANT TO SAVE THIS RECIPE?
Enter your email below and we will send it straight to your inbox. Plus you will get great new recipes from us every week!
Slow Roasted Prime Rib Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons butter (softened)
- 1 tablespoon orange zest
- 1 tablespoon rosemary (minced)
- ¼ teaspoon ginger (minced)
- 3 cloves garlic (minced)
- 1 ½ teaspoons brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 6 pound prime rib roast (about 3-4 ribs)
- 3 cups water
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450ºF.
- Combine butter, ginger, orange zest, garlic, salt, pepper, soy sauce, brown sugar, and rosemary.
- Spread butter rub over the prime rib and place on a roasting rack in a roasting pan (see note).
- Add water to the bottom of the roasting pan.
- Roast at 450ºF for 20 minutes.
- Reduce the oven temperature to 325º F and continue to roast until medium-rare (130-135ºF), about 1.5 hours. Check the water in the roasting pan and the temperature of the prime rib roast after about 1-hour, adding more water if necessary.
- Remove the prime rib roast from the oven and let it rest for 15-20 minutes before slicing and serving.
- Cut and remove the strings and slice the prime rib, or remove the bottom bones (they will just slide off) if you want to serve thinner slices.
Notes
- You can use 3 balls of foil to elevate the roast in the pan if you don't have a rack.
- If you're lucky enough to have leftovers, they transform beautifully into next-day prime rib sandwiches, hash, or thinly sliced for salads – giving busy moms multiple meals from one cooking session.
- For the most tender bites, always slice your prime rib against the grain. Serving thinner slices (about ¼-inch thick) provides the best eating experience and makes your roast go further.
- You can prepare the butter rub up to two days in advance.
Alli
Great flavor combo!
Rachel >> Strangers on a Plain
This looks amazing. My dad makes an amazing prime rib but last year we moved 2300 miles from home so I guess I'll need to figure out how to make it for myself.
Alli
You can totally do it!