Ree Drummond’s Rosemary Salt-Crusted Prime Rib

Ree Drummond makes a rosemary salt-crusted prime rib roast.

The Pioneer Woman’s marvelously easy prime rib recipe will wow your family & guests this Christmas!

Armed with the right information and Ree’s recipe, you’re sure to make a beautiful rib roast that will become a family tradition.

Cooking a prime rib roast can be intimidating. After all, you have to make sure this large piece of meat is cooked completely through, as well as being done on time.

The preparation work for Ree Drummond’s prime rib is actually quite simple. First, she halves a 12-15 pound roast into 2 equal pieces so that it cooks evenly and in a shorter amount of time.

Next she sears each piece in a hot skillet until a nice brown crust forms on all the sides. This seals in the juices and gets the meat ready for the long roast ahead.

Once the meat is seared, place them in their roasting pans and prepare the rosemary salt crust. Ree uses a combination of peppercorns—white, black, and green—to create a festive colorful mix. Crush the peppercorns and combine with a ½ cup kosher salt, ½ cup of garlic, fresh rosemary and thyme.

Put a nice layer of olive oil on the outside of the roast, and adhere the herb-salt mixture to the top of each roast. While this may seem like a lot of salt, most of it will fall off after the cooking is done. While roasting, however, the salt will help to keep in the meat’s juices and impart a delicious flavor as it is absorbed in the fatty top layer.

Now comes time to roast the prime ribs. Start off the 2 roasts in a 500 degree oven for 20 minutes, then reduce the heat to 275 degrees. Cook the roasts until the meat thermometer reads 125 degrees (for rare/medium rare).

Take the roasts out of the oven and let rest for 20 minutes before slicing, covered in a foil to keep heat in. It is important to let the prime rib rest—the cooking has not yet finished and slicing it before it is ready will cause all the wonderful juices and flavor to slip away!

Serving suggestion: You can serve the roasts whole on a cutting board to slice and serve right at the table, or you could also pre-slice the roast and place on a festive platter.

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