Dry-Aged Prime Rib

If you're thinking about dry-aging your own prime rib of beef for the holidays, start here. After lots of research, I decided I'd have to age the beef at least 30 days for any noticeable change in flavor; it ended up going for 42 days before baking. The meat came out extremely juicy and tender but somehow never developed that funky fermented flavor I wanted. It might've tasted a bit more concentrated, though, after having lost 2 pounds of water weight.

• Preparation Time: 30 mins
• Cooking Time: 1 hr 50 mins
• Total Time: 2 hr 20 mins
• Calories: 422 Calories

Ingredients

• ½ cup cold water
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• kosher salt to taste
• 1 (10 pound) bone-in prime rib roast
• 1 ½ cups coarse sea salt, or as needed
• ½ cup Himalayan pink salt, or as needed

Recipe Instructions

Step 1

Dissolve kosher salt in water and use it to wipe down the prime rib. Pour enough sea salt over a rimmed sheet pan to cover it completely; sprinkle pink salt on top. Place a roasting rack over the salt. Place prime rib on the rack and refrigerate at 34 to 38 degrees F (1 to 3 degrees C), uncovered, 30 to 40 days.

Step 2

Remove prime rib from the fridge. Trim off fat as needed. Transfer the rack into a roasting pan and place prime rib on top. Spray the surface with water and season generously with kosher salt. Refrigerate 24 to 48 hours to let meat absorb salt.

Step 3

Remove prime rib from fridge and cover loosely with aluminum foil. Let warm up slightly, 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

Step 4

Preheat oven to 500 degrees F (260 degrees C). Insert a probe thermometer into the prime rib.

Step 5

Roast in the preheated oven for 20 minutes. Reduce temperature to 300° F (150° C). Bake for about 90 minutes, or until desired doneness is reached, 125° F (52° C) for rare, 130° F (54° C) for medium-rare, or 135° F (57° C) for medium. Let rest for 30 minutes before slicing.