The Closed Oven Method To Try For Perfectly Cooked Prime Rib Every Time

Prime rib is an expensive cut, which can deter newbie cooks from taking on the challenge of roasting it for a celebration. Unless you have a meat thermometer lying around, there's no guaranteed way of knowing if this intimidating hunk of beef has reached the perfect, succulent sweet spot until you carve into it. That's where the closed oven method comes to the rescue! This clever culinary technique, where you use residual heat to finish cooking your roast in a switched-off oven, produces a medium rare prime rib that's juicy and tender every time.

While experienced cooks get a feel for whether a slow-roasted rib roast is ready to be pulled out of the oven via consistent trial and error, even the most adept chef can falter and accidentally over or undercook their beef. The closed oven method is a form of carryover cooking that takes out all this guesswork. Simply give your prime rib a quick roast, switch the oven off, and leave the joint in there (with the door closed!) to finish cooking in the lingering heat for the next couple of hours. The benefit to this failsafe method is that the initial roast allows the exterior of the prime rib to develop a golden crust while the residual heat moves inwards, ensuring the center of the meat cooks through just enough so it's tender but not mooing.

To make a rib roast using the closed oven technique you'll need to weigh your beef first to gauge the perfect cook time; simply multiply its weight in pounds by five to get the exact timing in minutes. For example, if your prime rib weighs 10 pounds, you'll cook it for 50 minutes before you switch the oven off.

Before placing your beef in your preheated oven, allow it to come to room temperature as this will kickstart the cooking process. If it's put in the oven directly from the fridge it will take longer for things to get going and mess up your well-calculated timings. Set a timer so you can switch the oven off as soon as the cooking time is up and no matter what, do not open the door to take a peek. You need all of the heat to remain inside the cavity to finish cooking the prime rib, similar to the way a cheesecake or a pavlova is left to finish cooking in a switched-off oven.

After a couple of hours, remove your beef and carve it immediately while warm. You won't need to rest your roast as you normally would, as it has already had the opportunity to rest inside the oven. This means you can serve your prime rib straight away with your choice of classic sides, like creamed spinach or mashed taters.