How to Sous Vide Prime Rib

by Joost Nusselder | Last Updated:  June 24, 2021

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Sous vide refers to placing meat in a vacuum pouch or glass and cook it in the water for a long period of time.

With this method, your prime rib is cooked slowly and at a lower temperature.

Because of the enhanced flavor that this cooking method can provide for the meat, a lot of people are interested to learn how to sous vide prime rib.

prime-rib-sous-vide

It’s not really as complicated as many people think. Once you learn the proper way of doing it, you will find yourself doing it more often. Aside from making your food even more flavorful, the vitamins and minerals of the meat will remain since they won’t get lost during the cooking process.

So if you’re interested to know, here’s everything you need to know about it.

What is Prime Rib Sous Vide?

Prime rib sous vide is a term that precedes the grading system set by the USDA on meats and is often used interchangeably with the rib roast. However, the USDA will not really require for the rib roast to come from the prime–grade beef. But there’s no need to worry because choice cuts can also provide an adequately delicious and juicy flavor when sous vide.

Sous Vide Prime Rib Time and Temp

The temperature that you need to maintain when you sous vide prime rib will mainly depend on your own personal preferences. But generally, the temperature is usually between 131°F and 141°F, which is the temperature required for the marbling to react when cooking the meat at a much higher temperature.

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How to buy a bbq smoker video

It’s usually not recommended to go beyond 137°F unless you are serving it to people who prefer the meat at medium. But make sure you don’t go below 130°F when cooking for a few hours.

Sous Vide prime rib temperature chart
Doneness Time(hr) Temp(°C/°F)
Rare 7 – 8 56 / 133
Medium Rare 6 – 14 60 / 140
Well Done 5 – 11 70 / 158

How to Sous Vide Prime Rib

This cooking method is actually beneficial for those who are cooking for a huge crowd of people who each have different preferences on the level of doneness of their meat.

To do this, cook the meat at the lowest temperature that people prefer.

Then divide the meat into sections and cook them base on the level of doneness preferred. During the searing process, the well-done meats should be seared much longer until the center portion turns to the color that they prefer. Thus, those who prefer a medium rare or rare will be happy, and there’s little extra work for you to do.

Store Leftover Sous Vide Prime Rib

When dinner is over, make sure you store any of the leftovers in a plastic wrap. Then put it in the refrigerator or freezer. Although it’s best to eat the meat on the following day, any of the sous vide prime rib leftover can still be consumed after a week or even up to six months for as long as they are frozen.

French vs Not French prime rib

rib-roast-french-vs-not-french

Frenching refers to a culinary method that requires exposing the rib bones of the meat, a process that’s done by cutting the meat and fat off from the roast’s bone side. The primary purpose of frenching is to make the meat look even more presentable.

But for recipes that require trimming excess fat, such as prime ribs, then frenching is necessary. Furthermore, prime ribs will look even fancier when frenched.

If you’re adventurous enough and you don’t mind learning a new skill, you can try frenching the rib in your own kitchen at home. You will be able to quickly execute this method if you use a very sharp knife.

How to Finish a Sous Vide Prime Rib Roast

For the whole roast, you’ll have two options when it comes to learning sous vide prime rib, depending on whether you want the crust flavored or not.

If there’s no crust, you can use a torch to sear the roast. But if you got no torch, then a hot pan will be your best bet. However, it can be a bit difficult to sear the prime rib using the pan due to its shape. But with a little bit of control, you should be able to sear the rib decently. Before searing, make sure you dry the prime rib.

Sous Vide Prime Rib Recipe

Sous Vide Prime Rib Roast

Sous-Vide-Prime-Rib-Recipe

Serving: 6-8 | Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 40 min | Sous Vide Time: 6 hr | Total Time: 6 hr 55 min

Ingredients:

  • 6-8 lb prime rib roast
  • 1⁄3 cup of extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 tbsp chopped thyme
  • 2 tbsp chopped rosemary
  • 6 cloves minced garlic
  • 1 tbsp paprika
  • 1 tbsp black pepper
  • 1 tbsp salt
  • Mushroom sauce: 1/2 cup chopped mushrooms, 1/2 cup onions chopped, 1 tbsp minced garlic, 1/3 cup of red wine, 1 tbsp olive oil, 3 tbsp unsalted butter, 1 tbsp chopped rosemary, 1 cup beef broth, Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

  1. Preheat your pool to 140°F
  2. Make rub combine this together in a bowl chopped rosemary, thyme, garlic, olive oil, and paprika.rub-rib-roast
  3. Massage the whole roast then put in the zip lock or vacuum bag also add few branches of rosemary and thyme seal and soak in your pool cook for 6 hr.prime-rib-in-sealed-bag
  4. Make the sauce, grab a pan heat olive oil with medium heat. Throw onions and garlic then cook until onions are caramelized, about 4-5 min. Dash the mushrooms and cook until it soft, again, about 3-4 minutes. Pour red wine and spring rosemary and simmer until the wine almost has gone. Add beef broth and continue to simmer about 15 min then put out the heat and flit the butter in the sauce and done.cook-onion-with-mushrooms
  5. Take out from the pool and pack, and pat dry with a paper towel then let burn them. Preheat the oven to 450°F. Put your roast on a baking pan and throw in the oven and cook it about 15 min or until you satisfied your roast texture.
  6. Once done, take the roast out off the oven. Curve and serve with a special sauce. Enjoy your perfect rib roast Sous Vide.slice-sous-vide-roast

Note: In step 4: You can also finish your roast with pan, torch. The thing to keep in mind that your rib has cooked then don’t try to cook it just get the perfect sear on the roast.

Also read: this is the best way to reheat your prime rib

How long does it take to sous vide a roast?

The length of time to sous vide a roast will vary but the minimum time for a bottom round roast is 12 to 36 hours. It’s highly recommended to make it reach at least 20 hours so you’ll end up with more tender meat. The temperature should be around 130 to 134°F.

What can I cook in sous vide?

Here are some of the most recommended foods to cook using sous vide.

  • Tougher cuts of meat
  • Pork
  • Liver
  • Lamb
  • Filleted fish
  • Fillet steak
  • Eggs
  • Carrots

Is rib eye roast and prime rib the same?

Both the prime rib and rib eye come from the same cut of beef. The rib eye is basically a section of the rib roast, which is cut before it’s cooked.

The prime rib is also known as the standing rib roast, and the roast is obtained from the same part where the rib eye is taken. If you’re going to order a prim eye rib from a restaurant, you’ll most likely be given a slice of meat coming from the cooked roast.

It’s important to note that although the prime rib is called this way, it’s not really rated as USDA prime meat. To be sure, take the time to double check the grading of the meat before buying. You’ll find that the ribeye has many different names, but don’t get too confused with the terms.

Can you overcook in a sous vide?

One of the questions that people have when it comes to knowing sous vide rib is whether it will overcook the meat or not. Fortunately, this cooking method won’t overcook in any way since the water bath will be set at the same temperature, as you want the meat’s temperature to reach.

Related: Best Way to Cook a Tomahawk Steak

Joost Nusselder, the founder of Lakeside Smokers is a content marketer, dad and loves trying out new food with BBQ Smoking (& Japanese food!) at the heart of his passion, and together with his team he's been creating in-depth blog articles since 2016 to help loyal readers with recipes and cooking tips.