Ribeye Roast

Almost, but not exactly. Prime rib is cut from the prime, superior portion of the animal, where the meat is especially tender and well-marbled. It includes ribs 6 through 12.

Prime rib is sometimes called a standing rib roast because the bones enable it to stand upright for roasting. But if you cut the meat away from the bones, leaving the "eye" (the large central muscle) and a layer of fat, then that's a ribeye roast.

Some say that it's best to cook bone-in roasts because the bones produce a juicier and more flavorful roast. It's true that the meat portions closest to a bone-in steak, for example, taste the best. But it's also true that it's difficult to get to them unless you're willing to gnaw on bones!

That's why many home cooks, myself included, prefer to cook a ribeye roast. It is smaller, and you can carve it easily since there are no bones. It is still very flavorful, and the fat cap is sublime.

A ribeye steak is essentially a prime rib roast, cut between the ribs into individual steaks. 🥩

A roast is slowly cooked in the oven, while steak is typically pan-fried, grilled, or broiled.

Many people actually prefer to buy whole boneless roasts and cut them into individual steaks. Costco has great roasts, by the way, and if you do it this way, you could save quite a bit.

You could, but personally, I don't bother. The meat is so well-marbled, beefy and juicy, that it tastes great without any marinade.

Unlike tough cuts of beef such as London broil, ribeye is also tender enough so that you don't need a vinegary marinade to tenderize it.

Since this roast is so amazingly delicious, I always assumed that it's not something that I would want to tackle at home. I thought it would be too complex.

But as it turns out, it's very easy to make this recipe at home in your oven. This is especially true if you have a meat thermometer to help ensure you don't overcook (or undercook) the meat. It's best to cook it to medium-rare (135°F).

Having said that, ribeye is marbled and juicy enough that it should taste good even when you cook it to medium doneness (145°F), as recommended by the USDA. Although that's not my personal preference.

Ribeye! At least that's my opinion. But I'm not alone in feeling this way.

I used to love filet mignon - beef tenderloin. Relatively lean and very tender, filet mignon is good, but it pales compared to the fatty, juicy, well-marbled ribeye. And this is true for steaks as well as for roasts.

I tried prime rib for the first time at "The Prime Rib" restaurant in Washington DC, many years ago. It was one of those first experiences that you cherish forever.

My first bite into the juicy, succulent roast was unforgettable. I knew right then and there that ribeye is my favorite cut of beef, and that slow cooking is my favorite method of preparing it. Although reverse-seared ribeye steaks are also excellent.

I ordered the prime rib with a side of buttery mashed potatoes. After finishing about half my meat, I took a bite of the potatoes. They were sublime! But I quickly realized that due to my limited stomach capacity I would have to choose - either finish the ribeye or eat the mashed potatoes.

I chose the meat, which was unheard of back in my high-carb days. That's how good it was!