Elevate Your Dinner Party with Our Herb-Crusted Boneless Rib Roast

With large special-occasion roasts like boneless rib, simple is often better, the technique mattering more than a winding ingredient list. This herb-crusted boneless rib roast recipe, developed with Michelle McGlinn, only requires a few fresh herbs, butter, and some seasoning to shine with flavor. The butter helps to develop a delicious caramelized crust, and the rosemary, sage, and thyme form the perfect complement for the rich, meaty flavor of the rib. The herby, buttery beef is great at any time of the year, and it’s a perfect, elegant dish to serve to guests or celebrate an important event or a holiday with your family. This recipe also happens to be easy enough to put together for any occasion — or even last-minute, when you notice a sale on rib roasts that’s too good to pass up.

Prime rib isn’t exactly a meal you’d prepare for any random night; it’s a luxurious cut of beef, one you’ll want to reserve for special dinners. The thick, buttery-tender slices are part of a section of the cow called the primal rib, which is part of a larger, more general rib section that can be cut into smaller, roast-sized pieces. Though not quite as coveted as the prime cut, the rib roast is equally as tender and delicious — and expensive. Coupled with the fact that roasts are usually served to a crowd, it’s vital to have a recipe you can trust in order to make the most of the splurge.

You’ll first need a boneless rib roast, which is best to get at your local butcher, where it can be cut fresh if needed — in grocery stores, the boneless cut may be hard to find. With the meat secured, head over to the produce aisle and grab parsley, rosemary, sage, thyme, garlic, and a lemon. From there, you’ll just need some butter, a few pinches of salt, and freshly ground black pepper.

Preheat the oven to 450 F and let the roast rest at room temperature for 20-30 minutes.

While the roast is resting, prepare the compound butter. Combine the parsley, rosemary, sage, thyme, garlic, lemon, salt, pepper, and butter together in a bowl. Stir well to combine.

Place the roast in a cast iron skillet and rub on all sides with the softened butter. If the butter is seizing, let the roast sit for another 10 minutes at room temperature.

Add the roast to the oven and cook for 20 minutes.

Decrease the heat to 325 F.

Roast the beef for 35-40 minutes longer, or until the internal temperature reads 135 F.

When the internal temperature reaches 135 F, remove the roast from the oven and tent under foil. Let rest for 15 minutes.

Slice into ½-inch thick pieces to serve.

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Not to be confused with a prime rib, a rib roast is a similar cut located in the rib section of the cow; but it isn’t necessarily the primal cut (though the cooking method is the same). The boneless rib roast is a little easier to work with and may be the better choice for less experienced cooks, as it takes less time in the oven and carves easily without the bone in the way. The cut is more expensive than a bone-in of the same name because it requires extra work from the butcher — if you’re thrifty (and good at butchering), you can do it yourself with a bone-in rib roast.

Rib roast may be disguised under a different name at the store. Because ribeye steaks come from the same section of the cow, you may see rib roasts referred to as ribeye roasts. Asking the butcher will help: As long as you say “rib roast” and specify that it be boneless, you’ll get the right cut of beef. How much you get depends on how many people you plan to serve — for boneless, we recommend ½ pound per person, or about a 2-pound roast for 4.

Preparing a boneless rib roast isn’t that different from preparing a cut of steak, largely because the meat is the same — there’s just more of it. Like a steak, a rib roast benefits from being brought to room temperature before roasting, largely to ensure even cooking throughout the meat. This can be done while the oven heats up, but depending on how fast your oven preheats and the temperature of your kitchen, it may take some more time. It’s not an exact science, but a good way to know if your beef is the right temp is whether or not the butter smooths across the surface or seizes up and crumbles away — when butter is cold, it solidifies, meaning the compound butter won’t adhere to a chilled roast.

The other important step for perfecting the rib roast is adjusting the oven temperature. Prime rib and rib roasts should always be cooked low and slow, and only just until they are medium rare, when the meat is most tender. The inside should be pink from crust to crust, otherwise, the beef will be chewy and tough. To both ensure a tender pink inside and a golden brown crust, start the rib roast on high heat before lowering the oven to its roasting temperature.

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