A slice of prime rib is one way to get a delicious, tender cut of beef to serve on holidays and special occasions. Prime rib is best when cooked properly. It has a juicy, pink center encased in a savory, deeply browned crust. Because of its large size and long cooking time, prime rib is usually prepared before guests arrive.
This can leave cold prime rib when everyone is seated for dinner. Also, the last thing you want after preparing perfect prime rib is to be overcooked, and you have turned prime rib into a well-done mess at the table. So how do you keep it hot and ready to serve once dinner is ready? Here are some tips and tricks for keeping prime rib warm without cooking it too much.
In our guide, you can learn more about keeping the prime rib warm until you serve. By the end, you’ll have many tips on keeping meat warm without overcooking. So time after time, you’ll end up with delicious prime rib, out of the oven and onto the serving plate. (Read Can You Have Sunflower Seeds On Whole30)
Should You Cook Prime Rib Ahead of Time?
The first question many home cooks have when making prime rib for a holiday meal or dinner party is whether they should cook the roast hours before your guests arrive. The simple answer is to cook your prime rib before making the sides and gathering guests.
Cooking your rib roast hours before serving allows the prime rib to rest. Like grilling a thick steak, such a large roast needs time for the juices to redistribute evenly once you finish cooking.
Now, it can start resting for at least 30 minutes and up to 1-2 hours, where the meat stays warm without overcooking your standing rib roast. Cooking prime rib ahead also takes the stress out of timing everything else for dinner.
How Long Can You Leave Prime Rib Out After Cooking?
Once you’ve cooked your prime rib roast, how long can you leave it to sit out before dinner? You don’t want prime rib fully cooked to sit at room temperature for 2 hours. After this point, bacteria can grow rapidly on cooked meats, making them unsafe to eat.
If your prime rib will be ready several hours before dinner, you have a few options to keep a prime rib warm:
- Slice the prime rib and refrigerate the cut slices until dinner is ready. Then quickly reheat individual slices as needed.
- After letting the whole roast rest, wrap it tightly in aluminum foil and place it in a warm (200°F) oven. Keep at this low temp until dinner is ready.
- Chill the whole cooked roast in the fridge until about 1 hour before dinner. Then reheat prime rib without drying in a 200-250°F oven for too long.
No matter which option you choose, you never want to let prime rib linger for too long at room temperature after cooking. You need to keep it warm or chilled until dinner is served.
How Can You Keep a Whole Prime Rib Roast Warm?
Keeping a whole cooked prime rib roast warm without overcooking can be tricky for home cooks. Here are a few methods to keep your prime rib hot until ready to serve:
- Return to a low oven: After resting, place the roast back into the oven you cooked in and keep warm at 200°F. Monitor to prevent overcooking.
- Use a foil tent: Loosely tent foil over the roast pan. This traps heat while allowing steam to escape.
- Warming drawers/trays: If you have a warming drawer, this is perfect for holding prime rib. Set to the lowest heat setting.
- Insulated bags: Fill a large insulated bag with warmed towels and place the roast inside, wrapped in foil. Towels will keep hot for 1-2 hours.
- Chafing dishes: Elegant and effective, chafing dishes with sternos burners are a great way to keep prime rib or other food warm at the table.
Whatever method you use, check the internal temperature occasionally and remove once warmed through so the prime rib doesn’t overcook. (Read Is Chicken Rib Meat White Or Dark)
How Restaurants Keep Prime Rib Warm
1. Using the Heat in the Oven
Restaurants use ovens between 150 and 200 degrees Fahrenheit to heat their food. The beef will cook again if the temperature exceeds 200 degrees Fahrenheit.
It’s important to keep meat covered. So, cover it tightly with foil before putting it on a low setting in the oven. This will stop the top layer from getting too crunchy.
You can keep the ribs in the oven on low heat for as long as you like, but you may want to remove them when you are ready to serve.
Take the meat out of the oven and set it aside for 15 to 30 minutes before serving with the foil still on it.
2. Using Warming Plates
To warm prime ribs, restaurants use flat heat pans and warming plates. You can also put the food on trays that look like buffets. With this process, the beef stays out of the oven for a long time.
For example, if you’re serving a big group or having a special event, you’ll want to put the meat out so everyone can help themselves.
Tips for Keeping It Warm
Here are a few tips to keep your prime rib warm until it’s time to serve. You can also use these tips as the best way to reheat the meat later or even reheat any leftover prime rib.
- Maintain Temperatures no higher than 200F
- Cooking times differ based on ovens and the fat in the meat.
- To determine when your prime rib is done, use a thermometer. Keeping oven temps under 200 Fahrenheit to warm prime rib until it’s ready to serve is vital.
How To Reheat Prime Rib In The Oven Without Overcooking?
Here is the best to help to keep prime rib warm without overcooking:
- After cooking, let the prime rib rest for 30 minutes or longer if you have a particularly large slab of prime rib. This allows the juices to redistribute throughout the meat.
- To avoid drying out, you can put the prime rib on a rack over a shallow pan of hot water or in a roasting pan or chafing dish.
- While the meat rests, preheat your oven to 170 to 200 degrees F, much lower than the cooking temperature (350 to 500 degrees F) you used to roast prime rib.
- A food thermometer is the simplest, most effective way to keep the beef at the right temperature. Too high will ruin the meat’s doneness and turn a medium-rare prime rib into overcooked beef.
- Wrap the prime rib with aluminum foil loosely.
- Cook or roast beef for 30 minutes to keep the meat warm or to your desired internal temperature (say, 145 degrees Fahrenheit). Too long, and you can turn a medium-rare prime rib into an overcooked mess.
- Take the prime rib out of the warm oven as your guests arrive. (Learn How To Get BBQ Sauce To Stick To Chicken)
Can You Cook It Ahead of Time and Keep It Warm?
If you want it cooked beforehand, follow these steps to keep it warm until it’s time to serve.
- After you cook the meat, allow the prime rib to cool down or come to room temperature. After that, cover the meat and put it in the fridge.
- Two to three hours before serving, take it out of the refrigerator.
- Place the prime rib in the oven for 15 minutes before serving and broil at 500 degrees
- Fahrenheit for 8 to 10 minutes. This will heat the meat and give the top a nice crust.
- The last step is to put the hot food on a serving plate to serve prime rib at the ideal temperature.
FAQs: How To Keep A Prime Rib Warm
What is the best way to keep prime rib warm for a buffet?
The best way to keep prime rib warm for big events is to place your prime rib slices in the warmer to maintain temperature without overcooking. Use burners to regulate heat and keep the meat between 140-160°F.
How can I tell when reheated prime rib is warmed all the way through?
When reheating, use an instant-read thermometer to test the center of the thickest part of the roast. Before removing it from the oven or heat, it should reach 110-120°F for rare to medium-rare prime rib when keeping it warm for hours. (Read Is Dragon Fruit Skin Poisonous)
What is the minimum oven temperature I can use to keep my prime rib warm?
The lowest oven temp you should use for keeping prime rib warm is to use a temp of 170°F. Any lower may fall into the danger zone between 40-140°F where bacteria multiply rapidly.
