Why San Francisco’s House of Prime Rib Covers Its Meat in Rock Salt Before Cooking It (2024)

FAQs

Why San Francisco’s House of Prime Rib Covers Its Meat in Rock Salt Before Cooking It? ›

The prime rib is the star of the menu here, even arriving on a silver-domed serving cart. A unique roasting process ensures each cut is particularly succulent. Coarse rock salt covers the meat before roasting, which seals the juices while simultaneously seasoning the beef and creating a tasty crust.

Once the salt is in place, the meat is put into the oven for around two and a half hours at a medium temperature. The salt helps trap the heat to better cook the prime rib. “It conducts the heat and seals it,” says Betz.

Calculate your total roasting time by multiplying the weight of the roast by 14 minutes per pound. Remove prime rib from refrigerator and allow it to sit at room temperature for 2-6 hours, depending on the size of the roast - DO NOT RINSE THE SALT OFF (1 hour per rib or 1 hour for every 2 pounds).

How do restaurants make prime rib so tender? The secret to restaurant-style prime rib is cooking the meat super slow at low temperatures. I recommend cooking prime rib at no higher than 200 degrees F. This cooks the meat very slowly, turning the fat into butter and rendering the proteins juicy and soft.

A roast is a large cut of meat: it needs more seasoning than you might expect. Season it generously with kosher salt the day before roasting it and let it sit in the fridge uncovered overnight. When you take it out of the fridge before roasting, add pepper and any additional herbs.

Do you cover prime rib roast when cooking? You can cover rib roast when cooking after searing it to help it retain some of its moisture, but it's not necessary. For the best results, leave the roast uncovered until you remove it from the oven or grill and place it at room temperature for resting.

Their meticulously prepared meat is aged for 21 days, making it especially tender, juicy and flavorful. Diners enjoy well-marbled prime rib, carved tableside to their exact specifications, along with sides like fluffy mashed potatoes and creamed spinach.

Placing the oven rack too high up will cause your roast to brown too quickly and burn! After 30 minutes in the oven, add a ½ cup of water to the bottom of the roasting pan. The key is to allow the onions to brown and caramelize while roasting, but not to burn and smoke in the fat.

Start by cooking your prime rib at 500°F for 15 minutes and then lower the oven temperature to 325° F and cook for 10-12 min per pound for rare, or 13-14 min per pound for medium rare, or 14-15 min per pound for medium well. A meat thermometer is essential to ensure you cook it perfectly!

Overcooking the Prime Rib

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.

How long should prime rib sit at room temperature before cooking? ›

Pull the rib roast out of the fridge and let temper on the counter for three hours. USDA guidelines requires food not be held above 33°F (1°C) for more than 4 hours. A three-hour rest on the counter is well within time constraints.

Brown the roast at 500°F (or as high as your oven will go) for 15 minutes. Lower the oven to 325°F to finish roasting: Reduce the oven temperature to 325°F. Roast in the oven until the thermometer registers 115°F for rare or 120° for medium rare, and 130°F for medium.

The Benefits of Slow Roasting

First, slow roasting produces a Prime Rib that is tender, juicy, and has evenly cooked meat.

Here's the formula for cooking medium-rare prime rib:

Take the weight of your prime rib roast and multiply it x 6 minutes. For example, a 6 lb. rib eye roast multiplied x 6 minutes = 36 minutes in the oven at 500 degrees F.

Since prime ribs and ribeye steaks come from the same primal cut of beef, the difference in their flavors comes from the way they are cooked. Prime ribs are seared and then roasted slowly under low heat, making them more tender, while ribeyes are grilled quickly over high heat, making them more charred.

Call it rib roast, standing rib roast, prime roast, or Grandma's Easter specialty, the magnificent delicacy that is prime rib is delicious no matter what label you apply. This cut comes from the cow's primal rib section. This primal is located behind the animal's shoulder but in front of the lower back/butt region.

Diamond Crystal brand kosher salt: I use about ¾ teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt per pound of roast, but it's hard to over-season a prime rib so don't skimp on the salt. Freshly ground black pepper: The amount of black pepper is up to you, but I use about a quarter of the amount of salt.

Salt the Prime Rib Overnight

Rub a good quality kosher salt all over the meat the day before you want to cook it. Now, place it in the refrigerator overnight, UNCOVERED in order to enhance the beefy flavor while dissolving some of the proteins, which yields a buttery-tender, juicy roast.

Butchery: Both rib roast and prime are primal cuts of beef; however, prime rib recipes call for the cut to remain whole, whereas a butcher typically divides a rib roast into individual ribeye steaks. The rib roast is generally a boneless cut of meat, while prime rib comes with the bone still in it. 2.

Searing is an important part of roasting a prime rib. Searing the roast first will kill the surface bacteria, which is a nice touch, especially when you are roasting at lower temperatures.

Is it better to cook prime rib at 250 or 325? ›

The easiest way to cook prime rib is to skip all of the preparation steps and the last-minute crisp. Simply season the roast with salt and pepper, cook it at 250°F, and remove it when the internal temperature reaches 130°F for medium-rare.

Washing meat isn't necessary before you cook because the natural bacteria is cooked out of the meat at the correct temperatures. Always make sure you reference a recipe when cooking beef, poultry, pork, and other types of meat to ensure you cook it to the proper internal temperature.

An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read at least 120 degrees F (49 degrees C) for medium-rare, 130 degrees F (54 degrees C) for medium, or 140 degrees F (60 degrees C) for well-done. Cover roast with aluminum foil. Let rest on the counter in a warm spot for 30 minutes to 1 hour before slicing.

It roasts a prime rib very slowly. When the roast is done, it holds it at 140 degrees. That keeps it warm without further cooking. You can do this in an oven, but the 140 degree temperature is the meat temperature and has to be very exact to prevent further cooking.

The salt forms a crust which will hold in moisture as the food cooks. It will also impart an evenly distributed salty taste.

“To keep prime rib moist as you reheat, make sure the pan is tightly covered, the piece of meat is not too large, and there is some added moisture in the pan, like broth.” If you'd like to add a nice crust, pat the reheated roast dry.

Black pepper, kosher salt, and garlic powder are usually all the flavors you want with a prime rib.