Prime rib is a delicious and luxurious cut of beef that is perfect for special occasions. However, cooking can be tricky, and many mistakes can ruin your meal. Here are 12 common mistakes that everyone makes when cooking prime rib, and how to avoid them:
1.Cooking the Roast Cold
Cooking cold meat is one of the biggest cooking mistakes there is because chilled meat needs to spend more time exposed to the heat, causing the outer parts of it to overcook. With prime rib, this mistake is amplified many times because of how massive the roast is. This extra weight means it takes a while to come to room temperature. The problems that occur if you fail to let your prime rib come to room temperature will vary depending on which cooking technique you use. With the closed-door method, the weight-to-cooking-time ratio won’t work if the prime rib starts ice-cold, and you’ll end up taking it out of the oven too early. With the traditional method, you’ll simply end up with an overcooked roast. Start on the right foot by letting your prime rib sit at room temperature for a full 3 hours before roasting it.
2.Worrying About Seasoning
Yes, it’s important to season your prime rib, but worrying about whether to season it the night before or three hours before—or even right before it goes in the oven—is not a good use of your cooking bandwidth. The fact is that no amount of seasonings you apply to the surface (including soaking in a marinade) are going to penetrate beyond about 2 millimetres into that massive roast. (This is why people inject brine into roasts.) In fact, the longer the salt sits on the surface of the meat, the more moisture will get sucked out of it, which is the complete opposite of what you want. So by all means, salt and pepper generously, but you only need enough on the surface to season every bite, including the non-edge sections. Just don’t lose sleep about it. The most logical time to season your prime rib is at some point during the 3 hours you have it sitting on your counter coming to room temperature.
3.Overcooking the Prime Rib
Prime rib comes from the rib primal cut, which is the second-most tender of all the cuts of beef (after the tenderloin). That’s why prime rib is so expensive: it’s a huge piece of extremely good beef. Therefore, it’s important not to cook it beyond medium-rare. Going past that temperature means the roast will no longer be tender. This is not to say that you shouldn’t cook your beef any way you like, but if you prefer your beef roasted medium, medium-well or well-done, you may want to consider cuts other than prime rib—perhaps a sirloin or a rump roast, for instance.
4.Not Using a Meat Thermometer
A meat thermometer is an essential tool for cooking prime rib. It allows you to monitor the internal temperature of the roast, which is the only way to ensure that it’s cooked to your desired level of doneness. Insert the thermometer into the thickest part of the roast, making sure that it doesn’t touch the bone. For medium-rare, the internal temperature should be 130°F.
5.Not Letting the Meat Rest
After you take the roast out of the oven, it’s important to let it rest for at least 20 minutes before carving it. This allows the juices to redistribute throughout the meat, making it more tender and juicy. If you cut into the roast too soon, the juices will run out, leaving you with a dry and tough piece of meat.
6.Not Trimming the Fat
Prime rib is a fatty cut of meat, and while some of that fat is necessary for flavour, too much can be overwhelming. Before you cook the roast, trim off any excess fat, leaving a thin layer on top. This will help the seasoning penetrate the meat and prevent the roast from being too greasy.
7.Not Letting the Meat Come to Room Temperature
Just like with any other cut of meat, it’s important to let the prime rib come to room temperature before cooking it. This allows the meat to cook more evenly and prevents it from being overcooked on the outside and undercooked on the inside.
8.Not Using a Rack
When you roast a prime rib, it’s important to use a rack to elevate the meat off the bottom of the pan. This allows the heat to circulate the roast, cooking it more evenly and preventing the bottom from getting soggy.
9.Not Letting the Meat Brown
To get a nice crust on your prime rib, it’s important to let it brown in the oven.
10.Not Letting the Meat Drain
After you take the roast out of the oven, it’s important to let it drain for at least 10 minutes before carving it. This allows the juices to settle and makes it easier to carve.
11.Not Carving Against the Grain
When you carve the roast, it’s important to cut against the grain. This makes the meat more tender and easier to chew.
12.Not Serving with Au Jus
Au jus is a French term that means “with juice.” It’s a simple sauce made from the drippings of the roast, and it’s the perfect accompaniment to prime rib. To make it, simply pour the drippings into a saucepan and heat them up. You can also add some beef broth or red wine to enhance the flavour.