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Sous Vide Prime Rib (Holiday Celebrations)

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Looking for an impressive yet easy main course for your Christmas celebrations? Sous vide prime rib is the answer for a delicious meal on your holiday table.

Prime rib is known for its tenderness, juiciness, rich flavor, and impressive presentation. The sous vide cooking process makes it easy to get perfectly cooked prime rib with minimal effort.

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Just season the beef and add it to a heated water bath, and your work is almost done! The meat cooks for 6-10 hours, which gives you a large, flexible window of time for planning your meal.

You can open presents, watch football and make side dishes while the sous vide works! And when you are ready to eat, it takes just 10 minutes in the oven to sear the roast for a stunning browned crust.

Make Christmas dinner even more memorable by serving a standing rib roast with amazing flavor this year!

Looking for other sous vide beef recipes for special occasions? Try sous vide beef tenderloin, sous vide sirloin steak, or sous vide tri tip.

🥩Key Ingredients

For exact amounts needed see the recipe card below

  • Prime rib
  • Kosher salt
  • Olive oil
  • Rosemary
  • Garlic powder
sous vide prime rib ingredients.
Sous Vide Prime Rib Ingredients

🍖Packing the Prime Rib for Sous Vide

You can use either a vacuum sealer or a gallon zip lock bag to sous vide the prime rib. Either works fine. Just make sure you have a large bag for the piece of meat. See here for directions on how to use the water displacement method.

🌡️Sous Vide Time and Temperature for Prime Rib

The perfect temperature to cook prime rib depends on personal preference and how you like your meat. Generally, prime rib is best cooked at a low temperature to ensure that it remains tender and juicy.

DonenessTemperature
rare130 °F
medium rare132 °F
medium137 °F
Prime Rib Temperature Chart

I don’t recommend cooking sous vide prime rib above 137 F. It should cook for 6-10 hours, so it cooks slowly and evenly, resulting in a tender and flavorful roast.

With sous vide, you don’t need to use a meat thermometer to check the internal temperature of the prime rib because it will reach the exact temperature of the water bath and no higher.

🔪How to Make Sous Vide Prime Rib

  1. Salt – Salt the rib roast with the kosher salt and put it in the refrigerator for 1 to 6 hours. Salting and resting the meat helps to improve its flavor and make it more tender.
  2. Set Temperature – Set the sous vide water bath to 135 degrees F or your desired temperature.
  3. Seal – Put the prime rib in a bag and vacuum seal it. Or put it in a plastic bag and use the water displacement method to remove the air.
salting the standing rib roast.
Salting the roast
prime rib in vacuum sealed bag.
Prime rib in bag
  1. Sous Vide – Add the prime rib to the water bath. Make sure the entire roast sinks to the bottom and is covered by water. If you use water displacement, there might be air pockets that can cause the bag to float. So weigh it down with a plate, or sous vide weights if necessary.
  2. Sear – Let it cook for 6-10 hours, then sear it quickly right before serving.
prime rib in the sous vide water bath
In sous vide container
prime rib after sous vide cooking
After sous vide cooking

♨️Searing the Prime Rib Roast

Searing the meat helps to create a flavorful and crispy crust on the outside, which makes it taste and look fantastic. Searing also seals in the juices, so the meat doesn’t dry out.

You can sear the prime rib in either the oven, on a grill, or in a cast iron skillet. I prefer to use the oven because the size of the roast makes it the most manageable.

Searing in the Oven

  1. Preheat the oven to 475 degrees F when you are ready to serve.
  2. Take the prime rib out of the water bath and remove it from the bag. Save the cooking liquid to make an au jus gravy if you like.
  3. Pat roast dry, put it on a rack in a roasting pan, and brush on the olive oil. Sprinkle on the black pepper, rosemary, and garlic powder.
  4. Bake the meat for 10 minutes, until the outside is crispy and forms a golden crust.
  5. Let it rest for 5 minutes, then slice and serve.
adding the spices to the prime rib
Add the spices
prime rib roast after searing.
After searing

🍴Serving Ideas

Let the standing rib roast rest for about 5 minutes before serving. Garnish with fresh rosemary or other fresh herbs. I love to serve prime rib with a creamy horseradish sauce. Compound butter tastes fantastic with the dish, like garlic butter or fresh herb butter.

Sous vide prime rib is an ideal meal choice for holiday dinners, from Christmas to New Year’s to Easter. It is versatile, so you can serve all your favorite sides with it! My family loves to make garlic mashed potatoes or roasted vegetables like potatoes and carrots. Add some mac & cheese and crusty rolls or bread for a holiday celebration.

closeup of standing rib roast on a plate with mashed potatoes in background.

💭How to Store

Prime rib keeps for about 5 days in an airtight container in the refrigerator. You can slice leftovers cold and make roast beef sandwiches. Or reheat a slice of prime rib in the air fryer or oven for 10 minutes at 250 degrees F.

You can also set the sous vide back at 135 F and put the leftovers back in for 30 minutes to reheat. The meat will be less juicy the second it is heated.

⭐Tips for Making the Best Prime Rib

Be sure to check out the step by step instructions

  • Make sure you have a large enough sous vide container to fit your roast.
  • Cook the rib roast to between 132 F – 137 F for the juiciest meat.
  • Sear the meat after cooking so it looks amazing.

📝FAQ

Why is my prime rib tied?

Some butchers prepare bone-in prime rib by Frenching it. This involves cutting the meat and fat off the bone, removing the fat, and then tying it together. This gives it an excellent presentation, makes it easier to cut and removes fat you would cut off anyway. Frenching the prime rib doesn’t affect how it is cooked, though.

Can I sous vide frozen prime rib?

Yes, but you should increase the cooking time to 10-12 hours if the rib roast is frozen.

Should I sous vide bone-in or boneless prime rib?

Either one works in the sous vide. It is easier to fit a boneless prime rib in a bag and in the sous vide container.

How much prime rib should I allow per person?

For prime rib, allow 1/2 to 3/4 pounds per person. So a 3-pound prime rib will serve 4-6 people, and a 6-pound one will serve 8-12 people. The amount will vary depending on what sides you are making and how hungry everyone is.

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sous vide prime rib after slicing.
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Sous Vide Prime Rib Recipe

Published By Anne
Make sous vide prime rib for tender and delicious beef cooked exactly the way you want it. The perfect centerpiece for your holiday celebration!
Prep Time1 hour
Cook Time6 hours
Searing Time10 minutes
Total Time7 hours 10 minutes
Servings: 6
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Ingredients
 

  • 3-6 pound bone-in or boneless prime rib
  • 1/2 tablespoon kosher salt
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon rosemary
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Instructions

  • Salt the beef with the kosher salt and put it in the refrigerator for 1 to 6 hours.
    3-6 pound bone-in or boneless prime rib, 1/2 tablespoon kosher salt
  • Set the sous vide water bath to 135 degrees F or your desired temperature. *see note
  • Put the prime rib in a bag and vacuum seal it. Or put it in a ziplock bag and use the water displacement method to remove the air.
  • Add the prime rib to the water bath. Make sure the roast sinks to the bottom and is entirely covered by water. Weigh it down if necessary. Cook for 6-10 hours.
  • Preheat the oven to 475 degrees F when you are ready to serve.
  • Take the prime rib out of the bag and pat it dry with a paper towel. Put the meat on a rack in a roasting pan and coat it with olive oil, black pepper, rosemary, and garlic powder.
    1 tablespoon olive oil, 1 teaspoon rosemary, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
  • Bake the meat for 10 minutes to sear the outside.
  • Let it rest for 5 minutes, then slice and serve.

Notes

Sous Vide Prime Doneness and Temperature

  • rare: 130 °F
  • medium rare:  132 °F
  • medium: 137 °F
  • medium-well: 145 °F
Cook the rib roast to between 132 F – 137 F for the juiciest meat.
Make sure you have a large enough sous vide container to fit your roast.
Sear the meat after cooking so it looks amazing and has a brown exterior crust.

As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Nutrition Information

Calories: 699kcal | Carbohydrates: 0.5g | Protein: 31g | Fat: 63g | Saturated Fat: 26g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 28g | Cholesterol: 137mg | Sodium: 683mg | Potassium: 510mg | Fiber: 0.1g | Sugar: 0.01g | Vitamin A: 1IU | Vitamin C: 0.02mg | Calcium: 19mg | Iron: 3mg

Nutrition facts are estimates.

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sliced prime rib on a plate.
anne

Hi, I’m Anne!

I love to cook and I want to share my recipes with you. I believe cooking should be approachable and fun, not a chore. I want to make simple recipes using everyday ingredients that you can make again and again, whether it is for a busy weeknight, a summer cookout or a special dessert. Read more...

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