Standing Rib Roast

By Melissa Clark

Updated Feb. 3, 2025

Standing Rib Roast
Fred R. Conrad/The New York Times
Total Time
1½ to 2¼ hours, plus at least 2 hours 20 minutes’ resting time
Rating
4(1,561)
Comments
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Like many Nebraskans, the poet Erin Belieu’s family members use any large gathering as a pretext for serving prime rib. Thanksgiving is no exception. When Ms. Belieu, a fourth-generation Nebraskan, was growing up in Omaha, her family served prime rib alongside the turkey — until they realized no one really liked the bird and dispensed with it altogether. Her grandfather was a cowboy, and the whole family was steeped in the state’s ranching culture, even when they eventually moved to the city.

In her house, the beef was minimally seasoned and roasted in a hot oven until the exterior was crackling and browned, the inside juicy and red. A little horseradish sauce might be served on the side, but her father always disapproved. Good beef doesn’t need it. “He thought sauce was for drugstore cowboys,” she said.

Featured in: The United States of Thanksgiving

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Ingredients

Yield:8 to 12 servings
  • 1(4 rib) standing rib roast, 7 to 8 pounds
  • 1tablespoon coarse kosher salt
  • 1teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 1cup minced herbs (optional)
  • 4garlic cloves, mashed to a paste (optional)
  • 2teaspoons smoked paprika (optional)
  • Extra-virgin olive oil, as needed (optional)
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (10 servings)

773 calories; 67 grams fat; 27 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 30 grams monounsaturated fat; 3 grams polyunsaturated fat; 4 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams dietary fiber; 0 grams sugars; 37 grams protein; 549 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Pat meat all over with paper towels, then season it all over with salt and pepper. If you want to make a smoky garlic-herb paste, combine herbs, garlic, smoked paprika and just enough olive oil to make a paste. Rub all over meat. Let meat come to room temperature for 2 to 3 hours depending upon how cold it was to begin with.

  2. Step 2

    Heat oven to 450 degrees. Place meat bone-side down in a roasting pan or on a rimmed sheet pan. Roast for 20 minutes, then turn heat to 350 degrees and continue to roast until the meat registers 115 degrees on an instant-read thermometer for rare, 125 for medium rare (it will continue to cook after you pull it out of the oven). Timing depends on your oven, your pan and the shape of your roast, so start checking after the meat has been in the oven for an hour, but it could take 1½ hours or even slightly longer.

  3. Step 3

    Let meat rest at room temperature for 20 minutes before carving.

Ratings

4 out of 5
1,561 user ratings
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Comments

Gaynia Battista

I used to have a NY Times recipe from the mid-60's that is similar to this one. Your oven needs to be well insulated! It called for preheating the oven to 500 degrees; rubbing the room temperature roast with salt, pepper, dry mustard, and flour then roasting the meat for either 5 minutes per pound or 15 minutes per rib after which you turn the oven off and allow the meat to continue cooking for another 2 hours without opening the door. It came out a perfect medium rare every time.

Stephen F

In the video for this recipe, Melissa Clark, a consummate professional, removes her roast from the oven, inserts an instant-read meat thermometer, and finds the beef to be exactly the temperature she desires -- 115 degrees. Most of us would not be so fortunate. My roast came out great, too, but I couldn't have done it without a remote meat thermometer. That let me monitor from outside the oven how the beef was doing as it cooked, and I got exactly the degree of doneness I wanted.

TW

Perfect again! My family is tiny, so I cook a two-rib, 2-pound roast. For me, that works out to 20 minutes at 450, then 30 at 350. Medium rare exterior slices for my husband, rare interior slices for the rest of us. I’d add another 10 minutes if I wanted medium rare center. Thanks for a never- fail recipe!!!

Jody

Great recipe! I've made this recipe a number of times and I do the herb paste with the added smoked paprika. It is delicious & it will be made again and again......

Jim

This worked out perfectly, my most successful to date. I had a smaller roast, with 2 ribs. I left it out of the fridge for a couple of hours. I didn't add the paste until shortly before putting it in the oven. 20 minutes at 450, and then maybe 50 minutes at 350. I checked it and it was at 115. I covered it in foil and let it sit for maybe 40 minutes while I prepared the rest of the meal. Nice pink meat with good garlic flavour.

Melinda Meister

This is an excellent recipe. I had 4 rib roast, 10 and a half pounds, I let it stand unrefrigerated for four hours and then followed the recipe exactly. After the 20 minute searing at 450 degrees, I reduced the heat to 350 degrees and roasted it for an hour. Then I started testing it with an instant thermometer every 10 minutes until it read 120 degrees. That took another 40 minutes. I removed it, lightly covered it with foil. Forty minutes later we carved it into perfect medium-rare slices.

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