Ribeye Roast with Horseradish Butter

Here is one of the easiest ways to get a crispy crust and medium rare center for a ribeye roast or if you prefer, a bone in rib roast. Top a slice of your prime rib with a pat of homemade horseradish butter. Sponsored by Harris Ranch Beef.

Whether you are celebrating a special occasion or a holiday meal, nothing beats a prime rib dinner. This incredibly cut of beef is marbled with fat making it tender, moist and crazy delicious.

I have already shared with you how to make a smoked prime rib roast on the grill and how make a deep fried prime rib. This post is showing a very easy way to make a ribeye roast in the oven. This technique can also be used for a bone in standing rib roast.

Why you have to try this recipe

A boneless ribeye roast can be intimidating meal to prepare, especially if you are a novice cook. Unlike the other techniques I have shared to prepare this roast, all you need to prepare this recipe is an oven and meat thermometer.

You can scale up or down a prime rib dinner depending on the size of the roast you purchase. Typically one rib will feed 2-3 people and rib roasts have 12 ribs total. So you see, you can feed a nice size crowd with a large roast.

Prime rib is such a delicious cut of meat that you don’t have to do too much to it. Some recipes have you slather on a butter mixture or some sort of seasoning. But honestly, all you need is kosher salt and pepper.

Kosher salt is larger than regular salt granules. It is also flakier and less salty in taste. I season the entire roast with kosher salt and let it sit in the refrigerator uncovered overnight for it to develop a nice outer crust.

But, if you don’t have an extra day, you can salt and prep your roast while the meat sits out and comes to room temperature, about 3-4 hours. This recipe also works for a bone-in or boneless rib roast. So what are you waiting for?

Compound butter ingredients

• Butter: You want to use a high quality unsalted butter since it is playing an important role for the flavor. If you use a salted butter, then do not add more salt to the mixture.
• Prepared horseradish: Be sure to remove excess liquid from the horseradish before mixing it in the butter. Do not use horseradish cream.
• Garlic: If you do not want to use garlic, you can use shallots or red onions.
• Chives: Chives are smaller in size but still bring tremendous flavor. You can substitute with green onions or even another herb like rosemary, if you prefer.
• Kosher salt and ground pepper

How to choose the best prime rib

The prime rib comes from the back of the upper rib section of the steer. It includes a total of 12 ribs where the best part is 6-12. The ribs further away from the shoulder are considered the first cut and are most prized because they are more tender.

The first cut has more even muscle structure than the second cut, from half of the ribs. The bone in rib roast is what we all know as the standing rib roast. When you remove the bones, you have the coveted prime rib roast. When you slice it into steaks, you have the ribeye steak.

When choosing a prime rib roast, you want to look for this even muscle formation. Good marbling means a tender and juicy meat. You want the fat cap on your roast because this gives your roast flavor. You need about 1-inch of fat over the roast for flavor, so be sure not to cut too much off.

If you live in California, then you probably have heard of Harris Ranch Beef Company. This family run farm has grown tremendously since it was established in 1937. Their beef is minimally processed and contains no artificial ingredients.

Their cattle spend most of their time grazing on grass, with only the last 120 days eating a grain based diet to add flavor, tenderness and juiciness to the beef. And yes, their beef is seriously some of the best quality that I have ever purchased on the consumer level.

So if you are looking for one of the company’s to trust for your prime rib dinner, then look no further than Harris Ranch.

Step-by-step directions

1. Prep Roast: If you want to trim off excess fat, now is the time to do it. Leave at least 1-inch of a fat cap on your roast for flavor and moisture. In this instance, more is better than less so avoid over-trimming the fat.

You can also remove the bones and then reattach it to the roast using kitchen twine. This helps with easier carving after it is cooked. Once the roast is prepped, weigh it as this determines the cooking time.

2. Season Roast: Whether you are using a bone-in or boneless rib roast, you need to season it with kosher salt and pepper. For a crispier crust, season the roast then place it on a rack over a baking sheet and let it sit in the refrigerator like this uncovered overnight.

3. Temper Roast: The key to even cooking is making sure your roast is at room temperature before you cook it. This can take 4-6 hours, so plan accordingly.

4. Prepare Roast: Preheat your oven to 500°F and place prime rib on a roasting pan with rack, fat side up. Insert a meat thermometer into the thickest part of the roast, making sure that it does not touch bone.

5. Cook Roast: Cook your roast using this formula: Multiply the exact weight times 5 minutes, then round up to the nearest minute. For example, a 9.7lb roast will cook 9.7×5=48.5 or 49 minutes.Once cooked for this exact time, turn oven off and let it sit in the oven for 2 hours. Do not open the oven door during this time. This will yield a perfect medium rare center for your roast. If your thermometer reads 125ºF before the 2 hours is done, remove the roast.

6. Prepare Butter: While the roast is cooking, prepare the horseradish butter. In a bowl, thoroughly combine the butter, horseradish, garlic, chives, salt and pepper. Spoon butter onto a sheet of plastic wrap. Gently form into a small log as you wrap up the butter. Refrigerate until firm. Add a pat of butter with each serving of prime rib.

Expert Tips and Recipe FAQS

A standing rib roast is an expensive cut of meat, so I get why someone would be intimidated by preparing one. You don’t want to ruin this delicious cut of beef, so invest in a meat thermometer and use it. They aren’t that expensive and they are incredible useful.

Now your kitchen will get a little smokey for the first hour or two of roasting, so open the windows, run the fan and turn off the smoke alarms while it cooks. It’s totally worth it for that delicious crust!

Some of my favorite side dishes to serve with this boneless rib roast include:

• Saffron mashed potatoes
• Olive oil twice baked potatoes
• Hasselback sweet potatoes
• Roasted carrots
• Creamed spinach
• Twice baked butternut squash

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Yield: serves 10-12

Ribeye Roast with Horseradish Butter

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Here is one of the easiest ways to get a crispy crust and medium rare center for a ribeye roast or if you prefer, a bone in rib roast. Top a slice of your prime rib with a pat of homemade horseradish butter.

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 3 hours 30 minutes

Additional Time 4 hours

Total Time 7 hours 50 minutes

Ingredients

Rib Roast Ingredients

• 10lb bone in prime rib roast
• 2 TBS kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper

Horseradish Butter Ingredients

• 4 oz unsalted butter softened
• 2 TBS prepared horseradish, excess moisture removed
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 TBS finely chopped chives
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper

Instructions

1. Remove the roast from the refrigerator 4 hours before you start to cook it. The roast must be brought to room temperature to insure even cooking. Larger roasts can sit out for 6 hours.
2. Cut the bones from the roast then season entire roast with kosher salt and pepper. Place roast back over the bones and tie them together using kitchen twine. Removing the bones now makes carving much easier.
3. If you want to roast it boneless, then do not attach the bones back or use a boneless rib roast.
4. Let roast sit until brought to room temperature. You can also place the roast on rack over a baking sheet and keep in the refrigerator overnight to create a crispier crust on your prime rib. You will still need to bring the roast to room temperature before cooking it.
5. Preheat your oven to 500°F. Place prime rib on a roasting pan with rack, fat side up.  Insert a meat thermometer into the thickest part of the roast, making sure that it does not touch bone.
6. Cook your roast using this formula: Multiply the exact weight times 5 minutes, then round up to the nearest minute. For example, a 9.7lb roast will cook 9.7x5=48.5 or 49 minutes.
7. Once cooked for this exact time, turn oven off and let it sit in the oven for 2 hours. Do not open the oven door during this time. This will yield a perfect medium rare center for your roast. If your thermometer reads 125ºF before the 2 hours is done, remove the roast.
8. While the roast is cooking, prepare the horseradish butter. In a bowl, thoroughly combine the butter, horseradish, garlic, chives, salt and pepper.
9. Spoon butter onto a sheet of plastic wrap. Gently form into a small log as you wrap up the butter. Refrigerate until firm. Add a pat of butter with each serving of prime rib.

Notes

The key to this recipe is knowing how much your prime rib roast weighs, boneless or bone-in. You also need to bring the roast to room temperature prior to roasting to insure even cooking. This can take 4-6 hours, so be sure to add that to your prep time.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

12

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 1359Total Fat: 110gSaturated Fat: 46gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 51gCholesterol: 334mgSodium: 1404mgCarbohydrates: 1gFiber: 0gSugar: 0gProtein: 85g

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Disclosure: I did receive a stipend from Harris Ranch Beef Company to develop a recipe using their prime rib roast. The story I have written is all true, and the opinions are truly mine. If I didn’t like it, I wouldn’t blog about it.