Slow Prime Rib Roast au Jus

Dec 26th, 2008 | By | Category: Baking, Beef, Christmas, English, Main, Recipe, Roasting, Sausage, Sunday Dinner

Another Christmas has come and gone. I hope all of you had a restful day, nothing too stressed, few family arguments, much laughter and memorable moments. I spent my day with my immediate family and we enjoyed a classic Prime Rib Roast with the usual fixins’ and some Greek touches. For as long as I can remember, I’ve been doing Prime Rib as instructed by my father and his years of wisdom working in the restaurant industry.

Prime Rib Roast is one of the most enjoyable holiday or Sunday dinners one can prepare and eat and I’m going to show you how I do it. First, ensure you have the highest grade of beef (AAA), that it’s a “bone in” Prime Rib and that the cap is included/tied to the roast. A successful Prime Rib needs that fat which melts and protects the beef and offering more flavour.

If you are using a frozen Prime Rib, allow to slowly thaw in your fridge and dry-age the beef for 2-3 days (uncovered) in your fridge. My method for roasting Prime Rib is to roast under high heat until the beef has attained a nice brown colour then I reduce the oven temperature to anywhere from 300 – 260F. An instant-read meat thermometer is your friend here and I urge you to go buy one. They are inexpensive, they’ll save you from family arguments and in the end, make you look like a champ.

Prime Rib Roast au Jus

1 Prime Rib Roast, cap on – bone in

Dijon style mustard
sea salt

black pepper

garlic powder

onion powder

chopped fresh rosemary

fresh thyme

ground dried mushrooms (optional)


  1. Peel and cut some onions and slice into equally thick rounds and place on the bottom of your roasting pan. Place some bay leaves on the onions and set your Prime Rib on top. The onions will elevate your beef, keep the pan from drying/burning and give your “au jus” more flavour.
  2. Ensure that the Prime Rib has been brought to room temperature before roasting. Brush the cap and sides of beef with mustard then season the cap  of your beef with lots of salt then sprinkle with pepper, garlic and onion powders, ground dried mushrooms and rosemary,  thyme. Lightly season both sides of the beef with the same rub ingredients. Pre-heat your oven to 500F and set the rack in the lower-middle position (ensure an evenly cooked roast).
  3. Insert a meat thermometer into the top of the roast, right in the center. Place your roast in the oven and turn the oven light on. Keep the oven closed (some smoking will occur) and watch for the moment when your roast turns a deep brown colour (20-30 minutes). Once your roast has achieved that deep-brown colour, reduce the oven’s temperature to 300-260F.  Allow the roast to cook until the thermometer has reached an internal temperature of 120F for rare, 140F for medium and 160F for medium-well.
  4. Carefully take your roast out of the pan and place on a large plate/platter and tent with foil. Allow to rest for 60-80 minutes (don’t worry, the meat will still be warm at service).
  5. Use this time to make your au jus and Yorkshire Puddings. Pour the beef drippings from the roasting pan into a fat separator and reserve the separated beef jus and fat (separately). Pour hot water into the roasting pan and scrape/loosen the brown bits and strain.
  6. Pour the beef jus into a pot and add 2-3 bay leaves and bring to a boil. Taste for to adjust seasoning (add water if too salty or add some beef stock to enhance) and reduce by a third. Keep warm until dinner service and remove bay leaves.
  7. To carve your Prime Rib, cut off the butcher’s twine and place the roast upright on it’s side to expose the rib bones vertically. Secure the roast with a fork and cut off the rib bones and reserve for making beef stock and a Beef Barley Soup.
  8. Now flip the roast back to it’s natural sitting position and remove the fatty cap. Carve your slices of beef and arrange on a platter. Serve with Yorkshire Pudding and the gravy boats full of jus.

Cooking Time for Rare (120°)

(3) Ribs, 7 to 8 lbs. 15 minutes at 500°, Then approx. 1 ½  hours at 300°
(4) Ribs, 9 to 10 lbs. 15 minutes at 5000°, Then approx. 2 hours at 300°
(5) Ribs, 11 to 13 lbs. 15 minutes at 500°, Then approx. 2 ½ hours at 300°
(6) Ribs, 14 to 16 lbs. 15 minutes at 500°, Then approx. 3 hours at 300°
(7) Ribs, 16 to 18 lbs. 15 minutes at 500°, Then approx. 3 1/2 hours at 300°

Related Articles:


Post Footer automatically generated by Add Post Footer Plugin for wordpress.

© 2008 – 2011, Peter Minakis. All rights reserved. If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at http://kalofagas.ca then the site you are reading is illegally publishing copyrighted material. Contact me at truenorth67 AT gmail DOT COM. All recipes, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author.

Print Friendly
Share and Enjoy
Tinyurl for this post

Related Posts



70 Comments to “Slow Prime Rib Roast au Jus”

  1. Mary says:

    It is indeed about the “pursuit of delicious food”, Peter. Your prime rib looks wonderful and, as usual, your photos are over the top.

  2. Kalyn says:

    Looks like a delicious dinner at your house. I cooked prime rib yesterday for the first time and followed Elise’s recipe which worked perfectly. It’s actually quite similar to what you did, starting with very high heat for a bit, but then I lowered the heat to 325 for the rest of the time. I like your idea of adding some water to make au jus, great tip.

    Hope you’re having a wonderful Christmas.

  3. Wandering Chopsticks says:

    Looks gorgeous. If a bit of both methods results in that, I’ll take a second helping please. :) Your Yorkshire puddings came out lovely too. Both dishes have always intimidated me.

  4. christophile says:

    That looks delicious! yum!
    Χρονια Πολλα!

  5. SOUP OF THE DAY says:

    Peter, you are SO right about that — not being a “know it all.” I think there is a point where most good cooks fall into that bubble.

    I made a ribeye roast on Christmas and was pondering the same exact thing for mine! Do I do my usual? Which is high heat for a short amount of time, then I turn of the heat and let it sit for an hour. Or, do I do the slower 2 hour cooking on low heat? Well, I ended up doing a combo for mine also and it turned out very good.

  6. SOUP OF THE DAY says:

    Oh, and that’s a funny story about your dad going into the kitchen and messing with the food — my mother in law does the same thing!

  7. Maria says:

    By the looks of that Prime Rib, I’m pretty sure that recipe is a keeper as is. It seems like you had a beautiful holiday table. Xronia Pola kai pali!

  8. Helene says:

    Looks perfect. This is so nice to be able to enjoy spending time with the family during the Holidays. Hope the snow stopped in Toronto. It does not stop here.

  9. Jan says:

    Roast beef is my bestest thing of all to eat! So, I really hope you saved me some?
    Seriously Peter, you’ve done a great job there, it all looks lovely and very yummy.

  10. Lisa says:

    Looks wonderful, as usual! Merry Christmas Peter!

  11. Joan Nova says:

    I’m LOL-ing at the vision of your father creeping into the kitchen to make the ‘necessary’ adjustments. While I can’t offer any firsthand knowledge on the roasting procedure, I can say that the piece of prime rib looked cooked to perfection to me. Don’t mess with it!

  12. Elra says:

    Peter,
    I have to borrow your recipe for New Year’s eve dinner. it looks so delicious, and mouth watering.
    Cheers,
    Elra

  13. Stacey Snacks says:

    P,
    That Prime Rib is cooked to PERFECTION.
    and I never realized that Yorkshire pudding was much like a popover. Go figure.
    Stace

  14. Anette says:

    Greetings from Norway! The meat looks lovely, and what splendid yorkshirepuddings!

  15. Heather says:

    Oh, dang. That looks really effing fantastic. The jus can fill up the Yorky puddings like little gravy clouds.

  16. Mediterranean kiwi says:

    i’d love some of this meal – not something we can cook with greek cuts of meat – looks delicious, especially with all the trimmings!

  17. Claire says:

    Lovely Yorkshire puddings. It feels like I’m right back in Oxford. Nice and puffed to perfection.

  18. melissa says:

    I love your attitude, as always.

    I didn’t use the same heat/method, but I did use all the same herbs and seasonings. It was awesome.

    I hope you had a fantastic Christmas Peter!

  19. Mike says:

    Very tasty looking rib roast, Peter! We did ours on the smoker this year, and while it was a fun change, I think we’ll go back to the classic roast next year.

  20. Rosa's Yummy Yums says:

    Oh, yummy! I love Yorkshire Puddings! That prime rib looks gorgeous…

    Cheers,

    Rosa

  21. Rosa's Yummy Yums says:

    Oh, yummy! I love Yorkshire Puddings! That prime rib looks gorgeous…

    Cheers,

    Rosa

  22. Rosa's Yummy Yums says:

    Oh, yummy! I love Yorkshire Puddings! That prime rib looks gorgeous…

    Cheers,

    Rosa

  23. Rosa's Yummy Yums says:

    Oh, yummy! I love Yorkshire Puddings! That prime rib looks gorgeous…

    Cheers,

    Rosa

  24. Rosa's Yummy Yums says:

    Oh, yummy! I love Yorkshire Puddings! That prime rib looks gorgeous…

    Cheers,

    Rosa

  25. Rosa's Yummy Yums says:

    Oh, yummy! I love Yorkshire Puddings! That prime rib looks gorgeous…

    Cheers,

    Rosa

  26. Rosa's Yummy Yums says:

    Oh, yummy! I love Yorkshire Puddings! That prime rib looks gorgeous…

    Cheers,

    Rosa

  27. Judy@nofearentertaining says:

    Oh Peter it looks just perfect!!! I love the yorkshire puddings they are one of my favorites! Hope your Christmas was wonderful and full of food and fun!

  28. Peter G says:

    Wow! You’ve done a fantastic job with that prime rib roast Peter. The Yorkshire puddings are a nice touch too! PS Greek fathers always know better…but I’m sure you know that

  29. Marjie says:

    I made Yorkshire Pudding to go with my standing rib roast! But I did mine in a larger oval baker, because I didn’t think of the muffin cups. Your prime rib is beautiful; so glad you had a good day, Peter.

  30. δεσποιναριον says:

    Well, the prime rib looks great but these golden potatoes are .. something else! Merry Christmas Peter and thank you for all the goodies you shared with us throughout the year.

  31. Pam says:

    That prime rib looks perfect! Really. Absolutely perfect!

  32. Nate-n-Annie says:

    We’ve not done prime rib before but we do our turkeys in similar fashion – 30 minutes on high heat and then the rest of the cook at 350*F. You really need that color on the outside that only comes from high heat.

  33. Antonia says:

    That looks just perfect! I’m not sure what cut is the equivalent in the UK. Is it a regular beef but cut off the bone?
    Glad you had a great Christmas and best wishes for the New Year.

  34. Ivy says:

    I’ve never made this with beef. I usually make something similar with pork chops. However, it does look delicious

  35. Cathy says:

    Your prime rib is perfectly cooked. What a wonderful dinner, a perfect holiday meal.

    Best wishes to you for a very happy New Year.

  36. Angela says:

    This is perfectly cooked. I completely agree about the blast of high heat, finishing slow. What a gorgeous holiday meal!

  37. Christine says:

    A quintessential Christmas dinner, right down to the Yorkshire pudding. Good going, Peter! I think it would have been fun to be seated at your holiday table.

  38. Natashya says:

    Feed me Seymour, I mean Peter.
    What a wonderful antidote for over-turkeying. Please set me a place…

  39. Dawn says:

    I’m with you: high heat for a few moments than slllllooow cook.
    Love that crust!

  40. Gloria says:

    This looks absolutely nice and tasty!!!nice food Peter how ever!!! Gloria

  41. Lori Lynn says:

    I am so happy to see prime rib here. I was so fortunate to have prime rib two nights in a row at two different homes, prepared different too. One was on rotisserie on Christmas Day, the other was undercooked a day ahead for Christmas Eve, then sliced and blasted (2 min per side) in a wildly hot pan with cajun spices. Yours looks fabulous Peter. Glad to hear you are enjoying the holidays. Your dad is cute.
    LL

  42. Proud Italian Cook says:

    Magnificent dinner Peter! I love the smell of a prime rib roasting in the oven. Your Dad sounds fun. You know what they say…Like father , like son!

  43. Kevin says:

    A perfect meal! Happy holidays!

  44. Lo says:

    Lovely stuff, Peter. I can just taste it. Glad you enjoyed a great feast with family!

    Am jealous of all the photos you managed… somehow we managed to get good prep pictures, but none of the final product! yeesh…

  45. Choosy Beggar TIna says:

    I love a nice rare prime rib, even though my Yorkshire puddings are always absolute rubbish. As always, I have another question: your roasted potatoes looked like they were just dry roasted in the oven (with some olive oil, etc), right? Do you ever make the kind of roast potatoes that are so wonderful from Greek restaurants? They almost seem like they’ve been braised in a lemony liquid….I searched your blog for the recipe, but couldn’t find it (yet).

  46. Emily says:

    Come to MAMA! That looks fab.

  47. RecipeGirl says:

    That looks simply delicious Peter. You’ve pursued it and you’ve found it, as you always do! Hope your holidays were happy :)

  48. Mochachocolata Rita says:

    Oh my gosh, sweet petey! I don’t think I could ever pull this off (why is my glass always half empty?) ^_^

  49. janetching says:

    Oh I miss yorkshire pudding (my days in UK). Your prime rib is making me hungry!

  50. Shayne says:

    I just woke up and this prime rib is making my mouth water. I would hate to think what would happen if I we all the way awake…It is beautiful if meat can be beautiful.

  51. The Short (dis)Order Cook says:

    Oh my goodness gracious I am in love.

    This is the kind of dish that inspires that “Christmas Envy” I keep talking about. Why do I eat sprial ham when other people get stuff like this?

  52. jodimop says:

    First of all, Xronia Polla Peter! I read your last couple of posts and have been salivating over the wonderful food, but this prime rib really did it for me. What a great festive dish!

  53. Nikki says:

    Peter – Thank you for this post… I have never had much success making a decent rib roast, but thanks to following your tips step by step, I got it right – for once. :)

    Happy Holidays to you!

  54. noobcook says:

    The roast looks beautifully cooked … love it =)

  55. kellypea says:

    Congrats to you for actually getting that last shot. I never get that far on a holiday. But the roast you describe is what we had. A gorgeous rub w/ a blast of heat in the beginning, then a slow cook. The crust was amazing. Your roast looks amazing, too, and you’re not doing yourself justice for describing it as anything close to grey. Just a gorgeous dinner if you ask me.

  56. Moblog Journalist says:

    heheh i just had to come here and say i know how you feel.. sorta. Tonight I cooked (a homemade mac and cheese dealio, nothing big) and as you probably know by now, I don’t cook. That’s what we have Peter for ;) but anytime i DO cook, it is IMPOSSIBLE to keep him out of the kitchen changing my dials, moving my stuff, adding things to my dish. It’s hilarious cause I have a short fuse, but all in fun. and usually, i am doing it wrong and he actually saves the dish, but STILL!
    Tonight I actually knew what i was doing and had it all under control and he comes and changes the temp on the bacon (let’s not forget though that the grease had already jumped to the other burner and started a small fire… but I HAD IT UNDER CONTROL ;) hahah) and I even made a darn good bechemel sauce all on my own.

    so there. ;)

    -Christey at FotoCuisine.com

  57. ~Madeline~ says:

    My fiance is always messing around with my dishes, just like your Dad. It drives me nuts! ;) Your prime rib is cooked to perfection. This is absolutely one of my favorite meals. Great photos!

  58. Cynthia's Blog says:

    Peter, made this too. I started with a blast of high heat and ended with the low heat. Barbara Kafka style.

    Ours was a smash, except that my daughters loser boyfriend came for dinner and he totally picked around his food for 10 minutes . What is not to love about twice baked potatoes,and prime rib of beef (roasted to perfection_? stupid boy.

  59. Cynthia's Blog says:

    Peter, made this too. I started with a blast of high heat and ended with the low heat. Barbara Kafka style.

    Ours was a smash, except that my daughters loser boyfriend came for dinner and he totally picked around his food for 10 minutes . What is not to love about twice baked potatoes,and prime rib of beef (roasted to perfection_? stupid boy.

  60. Cynthia's Blog says:

    Peter, made this too. I started with a blast of high heat and ended with the low heat. Barbara Kafka style.

    Ours was a smash, except that my daughters loser boyfriend came for dinner and he totally picked around his food for 10 minutes . What is not to love about twice baked potatoes,and prime rib of beef (roasted to perfection_? stupid boy.

  61. Cynthia's Blog says:

    Peter, made this too. I started with a blast of high heat and ended with the low heat. Barbara Kafka style.

    Ours was a smash, except that my daughters loser boyfriend came for dinner and he totally picked around his food for 10 minutes . What is not to love about twice baked potatoes,and prime rib of beef (roasted to perfection_? stupid boy.

  62. Cynthia's Blog says:

    Peter, made this too. I started with a blast of high heat and ended with the low heat. Barbara Kafka style.

    Ours was a smash, except that my daughters loser boyfriend came for dinner and he totally picked around his food for 10 minutes . What is not to love about twice baked potatoes,and prime rib of beef (roasted to perfection_? stupid boy.

  63. Cynthia's Blog says:

    Peter, made this too. I started with a blast of high heat and ended with the low heat. Barbara Kafka style.

    Ours was a smash, except that my daughters loser boyfriend came for dinner and he totally picked around his food for 10 minutes . What is not to love about twice baked potatoes,and prime rib of beef (roasted to perfection_? stupid boy.

  64. Cynthia's Blog says:

    Peter, made this too. I started with a blast of high heat and ended with the low heat. Barbara Kafka style.

    Ours was a smash, except that my daughters loser boyfriend came for dinner and he totally picked around his food for 10 minutes . What is not to love about twice baked potatoes,and prime rib of beef (roasted to perfection_? stupid boy.

  65. marc says:

    Peter, looks like I’ve missed a lot. This roast looks great. Prime rib has always one of those things I’ve wanted to make, but I never have enough people to justify making it.

  66. [...] 6th, 2009 I made this dish last Sunday and if it weren’t for the fact that I’m making Prime Rib today, I’d probably be having this entire meal again. One of the best things about Sunday dinner is [...]

  67. [...] Side, Sunday Dinner, Vegetables One of my family’s favourite Sunday meals centers around a Prime Rib Dinner. It’s not a cheap cut of meat (Prime Rib) but it’s fitting for a Sunday [...]

  68. [...] People back then could eat meals made from scratch and at this restaurant one could get some of the best Prime Rib along with jus and a gravy made from a stock of roasted beef bones. How about some fries with real [...]

  69. [...] spot” of the animal – the rib, where this steak comes from and also a whole Prime Rib Roast. The Prime Ribs are from the 6th to the 12th rib – a naturally tender and delicious [...]

  70. [...] Baking, Bread, English, Featured, Side Yorkshire Puddings are an accompaniment served along with Prime Rib Roast. They are made of an egg and milk batter and the most successful “Yorkies” are big and [...]

Leave a Comment

Anti-Spam Quiz: