This Herb Roasted Prime Rib with Roasted Carrots & Gravy is succulent, flavorful, and the perfect centerpiece for your holiday meal.
Prime rib gets one chance every year to shine. In mid-December, you start to see it at the meat counter.
It’s also relatively expensive, so it’s important to make it really special. This Herb Roasted Prime Rib is just that—a flavorful, show-stopping centerpiece for your holiday meal.
This prime rib roast is rubbed with a mixture of butter and fresh herbs, which makes it even more succulent than the meat alone. The recipe includes instructions for roasting carrots with it, and making gravy, too!
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What is prime rib?
Prime rib is also called standing rib roast. The roast literally cooks standing up. The small fat cap is at the top, allowing the juices to flow down the roast as it cooks.
It’s closest in flavor to a ribeye steak, and in fact ribeye steaks can be taken from a portion of the standing rib roast. But traditionally, the roast is sold whole.
I asked my butcher shop for a three-rib standing rib roast. This particular roast was 7½ lbs (they are typically 2–2½ lbs per rib).
Amount of prime rib per person
For serving prime rib, you can estimate 1–1¼ lbs of meat per person.
For example, a three-rib roast will easily feed 6–8 people.
Keep in mind that the roast includes bones, so the actual amount of meat per person is more like ¾ of a pound.
How to make herb roasted prime rib
Prime rib roast is already pretty succulent, if cooked correctly. But the salted herb butter takes it over the top!
Start by softening the butter—I recommend leaving it at room temperature for 2 hours. Thirty minutes before you’re ready to cook the roast, take the roast out of the refrigerator, too.
Then, add chopped fresh herbs, such as parsley, rosemary, and thyme to the butter. Add salt and pepper, too!
Spread the mixture all over the roast (underside, too!). The roast can be cooked in either a roasting pan or a 13×9 inch pan.
Cook the roast for 30 minutes at 450°F. Then lower the oven temperature ot 350°F and continue cooking until your desired temperature is reached.
I recommend using a meat thermometer for this, especially since you do not want to overcook such a lovely roast!
Temperature guide for prime rib
Here’s a guide to cooking beef to your desired doneness.
Keep in mind, the roast will continue to cook after you remove it from the oven, which is why there are specific instructions for when to remove it from the oven.
Rare: 120°F–130°F (remove from the oven at 110°F)
Medium Rare: 130°F–140°F (remove from the oven at 120°F)
Medium: 140°F–150°F (remove from the oven at 130°F)
Medium Well: 150°–160°F (remove from the oven at 140°F)
Well Done: 160°F–170°F (remove from the oven at 150°F)
I prefer medium rare, so I removed my roast from the oven when it hit 120°F. It rose to 135°F about 15 minutes later—right in the middle of the range for medium rare. Perfect!
What to do with pan drippings
The herb butter and the roast make for delicious drippings at the bottom of the pan. I used them for two purposes: to make gravy, and to roast carrots.
Once the roast comes of the oven, put the roast on a cutting board.
Then, transfer the drippings to a measuring cup designed to separate fat for gravy
. As it sits, the fat will rise to the top and the not-so-fatty drippings to the bottom. You will use both!
The not-so-fatty drippings will go into a saucepan to make gravy.
A few tablespoons of the fatty drippings get tossed with the carrots. You can put the carrots straight onto the same pan that you used for the roast, then cook them for 20 minutes at 400°F.
This is perfect to do while the roast is resting before carving! During that time, you can also make the gravy.
The end result of this Herb Roasted Prime Rib is SO tender and juicy.
It slices easily with a sharp knife (you could use an electric knife, too).
And if you like horseradish, it pairs nicely with the roast!
Herb Roasted Prime Rib: Frequently Asked Questions
Rare: 120°F–130°F
Medium Rare: 130°F–140°F
Medium: 140°F–150°F
Medium Well: 150°–160°F
Well Done: 160°F–170°F
Remove the roast from the oven at 10°F lower than your desired temperature. The temperature will continue to rise as it cooks.
Substitute one-quarter the amount of dried herbs for fresh herbs in this recipe. For example, use 1 teaspoon of dried parsley in place of 1 tablespoon of fresh parsley.
You can substitute olive oil or vegetable oil in place of the butter.
Cooked prime rib can be stored in the refrigerator for 3–4 days.
Reheat slices of prime rib in a single layer in a 350°F oven for 5–8 minutes, or until just warm throughout. Keep in mind that after reheating, the slices will likely no longer be rare/medium rare if they started that way.
The dishes and tablescape for this dinner were provided by my friend Kelley of Haviland Events. The custom, hand-lettered placemats were courtesy of Liz of EJD Design.
The other recipes include:
Duchess Potatoes
Boozy Caramel Eggnog Pie
Have you tried this recipe? Please leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating and/or comment below!
📖 Recipe
Herb Roasted Prime Rib with Roasted Carrots and Gravy
Ingredients
- 7–8 lb standing rib roast, approximately 3 ribs
- 6 tablespoons butter, softened
- 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 lb rainbow carrots, peeled
- ¼ cup flour
- Optional: prepared horseradish for serving
Instructions
- Remove the rib roast from the refrigerator 30 minutes before you’re planning to cook it.
- Preheat oven to 450°F.
- In a small bowl, mix the softened butter, parsley, rosemary, thyme, salt, and black pepper.
- Place the rib roast in a roasting pan. Spread the butter all over the rib roast. Roast for 30 minutes at 450°F.
- Reduce the oven temperature to 350°F and cook until the roast reaches 120°F for medium rare (the temperature will rise to 130–135°F after it is removed from the oven). It will be approximately 15 minutes per pound of meat.
- Turn the oven up to 400°F. Remove the roast from the oven and place on a cutting board. Tent with aluminum foil.
- Transfer the beef drippings to a measuring cup (preferably one designed for gravy).
- Place the carrots on a sheet pan and spoon 3 tablespoons of the beef fat (from the top of the cup) over the top. Toss to combine. Season with salt and roast for 20–25 minutes, or until tender.
- Meanwhile, heat 1½ cups of beef drippings (from the bottom of the cup) in a saucepan over medium heat. If you don’t have enough drippings, add beef broth to reach 1½ cups.
- Place the flour with ½ cup water in a jar with a tight fitting lid. Shake until the flour is incorporated. Once the beef drippings come to a boil, whisk in the flour mixture. Cook over medium heat, whisking occasionally, until the gravy is thick, about 5–6 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Carve the prime rib into thin slices and serve with the roasted carrots and gravy.
Notes
Medium Rare: 130°F–140°F
Medium: 140°F–150°F
Medium Well: 150°–160°F
Well Done: 160°F–170°F Remove the meat from the oven at 10°F lower than your final desired temperature—the temperature of the meat will continue to rise as it sits. You can substitute olive oil or vegetable oil in place of the butter, if you’d like. Store any leftovers in the refrigerator, for up to 3–4 days. Reheat slices in a single layer in a 350°F oven for 5–8 minutes, or until warm throughout. If the slices were rare/medium rare, they will likely be more like medium well after reheating.
Victoria Barry says
Can’t wait to serve this on Christmas Day. Thank you for the recipe!
Kate Shungu says
So good to hear! Thank you, Victoria. Merry Christmas!
Joyce says
Thank you. Looks beautiful. Hope mine looks as good!
Kate Shungu says
Thanks, Joyce! I’m sure it will!