Boneless Rib Roast Cooking Times

Boneless short rib roast can be absolutely delicious if cooked correctly, and understanding the cooking time you need to get to your preferred doneness can go a long way in the kitchen.

Since boneless rib roasts come in different sizes, it’s best to know how to calculate cooking time, so you always end up with tender, moist meat, regardless of the size of the roast.

What is the best cook time for a boneless rib roast?

The best cooking time for a boneless rib roast will depend on how you want to cook it. Rib roast is also best cooked at a high temperature first, then at a lower temperature for the rest of the time.

Whether you like your boneless rib roast rare or well done, we’ve listed everything you need to know about cooking times and how to figure it out yourself, to accommodate lots of different sized roasts you could cook at home.

What is boneless rib roast?

Boneless rib roast is a cut of beef that comes from the prime rib section.

This section of meat is on top of the ribs, but once cut through, it’s much easier to work with since you don’t have to worry about carving around the bones yourself.

This cut of meat is also known as boneless rib, boneless rib roast, and standing rib roast.

Boneless rib roast is a great cut for oven roasting, as it often has a layer of fat on top of the roast that provides flavor and moisture to the meat as it cooks.

Boneless Rib Roast Cooking Time Chart

You can’t set a certain time for cooking your boneless short rib, as you most likely have a preference for how it should be done.

When cooking a beef roast like boneless rib roast, you can choose how you want it done, with the options being rare, rare, medium, or medium to well done.

The rarer you want your boneless rib roast, the less cooking time it will need.

You can check the boneless short rib roast as it cooks to check its doneness, but to avoid the guesswork, you can follow the guidelines for how long the roast should cook by weight to reach a certain level of doneness.

Although cooking time by weight varies, cooking the roast on high for a few minutes before turning it down is a great trick that helps ensure that the roast is very moist and golden on the outside.

Here is a table showing the cooking time for a boneless rib roast, per 450g of weight up to the different levels of doneness. For example, if you have a 900g roast then you would double that amount of time and so on.

The first High Temp Roast column is the same for all doneness levels and all weights, but then you need to calculate the last column based on the weight of your boneless roast.

Does boneless rib roast need to rest after cooking?

The secret to getting a tender, moist and juicy boneless rib roast is letting it rest after cooking. This gives the boneless short rib roast time to soak up all the juices, instead of leaking out when you cut it straight from the oven.

To allow it to rest properly, it’s a good idea to loosely cover the boneless short rib roast with aluminum foil while it’s on the pan.

Let it rest for 15-20 minutes, or longer if you have the time. During this time, the juices will distribute well throughout the joint so that each slice is tender and juicy.

How to choose the best boneless rib roast

There are a few tricks that will help you choose the best boneless rib roast in the store. It’s always worth buying your meat from a butcher, but knowing what to look for can help you choose some good options at the store, too.

Here are some of the characteristics to look for when choosing a boneless rib roast to ensure it has the best flavor and tenderness.

fat cap

Boneless rib roasts should have a layer of fat on top of the roast. This layer of fat on top of the roast adds great flavor and moisture to the meat as it cooks.

The layer of fat should be left when the roast is cooked, and the roast should be cooked fat side up.

marbling

Marbling the boneless rib roast is important to ensure juiciness and flavor. Marbling can be seen as small white specks of fat inside the meat of the roast.

The more marbled the roast, the more flavor and tenderness it will have.

Take a look at all the boneless rib roasts on offer to find the one with the most marbling.

Weight

Another factor to consider when choosing boneless rib roast is weight and size. You don’t want to find the perfect boneless rib roast, only to have it too small for the number of people you want to serve.

A general guideline to work with is to buy half a kilo for each person you are going to serve. So if you are going to make the boneless rib roast for 5 people, a 1.5kg rib roast would be adequate, and perhaps with some leftovers.

In order for the food to spread over several days, you can increase this weight a little. A few boneless prime rib sandwiches will be a hit the next day!

prepared tied

It really helps to buy a boneless rib roast that has already been tied up for you. This saves you some prep, and tethered roasting has some great advantages.

Being tied helps the roast maintain an even, round shape that allows for even cooking, so that one part does not cook faster or slower than the rest.

It is difficult to estimate the cooking time for a boneless rib roast that has not been prepared evenly.

Preparation of boneless rib roast

Hopefully, the boneless rib roast comes pre-tied from the grocery store or butcher, so you don’t have to do it yourself.

If not, however, you should purchase oven-safe twine and tie the boneless short rib roast into a uniform cylindrical shape, with the same thickness all around.

This way you will make the most of the cooking time you have set, and you will ensure that all zones cook equally.

Once your boneless rib roast is tied up and done, you can start seasoning it. One trick is to season the boneless rib roast with salt and pepper quite generously the day before.

Use your hands to rub the salt and pepper well into the roast, then place it on a rack in the roasting pan and leave it in the fridge overnight.

This allows the outside of the boneless rib roast to dry out, which helps give it a nice crispy exterior when browned before cooking.

If you can’t leave the rib roast overnight, a few hours ahead of time also works well. You should also make sure that the rib roast reaches close to room temperature before cooking it.

Cooking it while it’s still cold from the fridge can cause an uneven roast. Leave it out for an hour or so to bring it to room temperature, but don’t leave it out for more than two.

Salt and pepper are great on their own for seasoning boneless rib roast, but adding some fresh herbs, garlic, and olive oil to the roast just before cooking adds a punch of flavor.

You can make a paste with minced garlic, olive oil and fresh herbs, to rub on the outside of the boneless short rib roast for a fragrant crust.

How to tell if boneless rib roast is done

The best way to tell when your boneless rib roast is done is to follow the cooking guidelines. However, ovens vary, and one oven may cook a rib roast more slowly than another and vice versa.

A sure way to determine when a roast is done to your preferred level of doneness is to check the internal temperature with a thermometer.

Here’s a guide to what the internal temperature of a boneless rib roast should be based on the level of doneness:

• Rare -125°F with a cool, moist red center
• Medium-done -135°F with a warm red center
• Medium -145°F with a warm pink center
• Medium-Fine -150°F without pink center
• Well done -160°F fully done

It is important to remember that roast beef can be cooked medium and medium rare, without too much concern for food safety.

Other meats, such as pork and poultry, need to be cooked well, but beef can be cooked just undercooked to keep it moist and tender.

The longer the beef cooks, to the midpoint and beyond, the more dry it will become. This is obviously a popular preference for many, but if you want the meat to be flavorful and moist, then it’s best to cook it medium rare.

It’s a good idea to remove the boneless rib roast from the oven when it reaches 5 degrees below the above readings, to allow it to continue cooking while resting on the counter.

Cooking a Bone-In Rib Roast

You can use the time guidelines above to cook a bone-in rib roast, but you just need to take into account the additional weight the bone adds to the rib roast and increase the time accordingly.

The bone in the roast can help add great flavor to the meat and make it wonderfully tender as well. However, a bone-in roast is not as easy to carve as a boneless roast, and both have great flavor to offer.

Does boneless rib roast need to be covered while it cooks?

Boneless rib roast does not need to be covered while cooking, as the timing guidelines above allow it to cook for the proper length of time without drying out or overcooking.

The only time you should consider coating your rib roast is when you take it out of the oven and let it sit on the counter.

Related questions

Now that we’ve gone over the cooking time for a boneless rib roast, let’s look at some related questions!

Can boneless rib roast be cooked to 400°F?

You can cook the boneless rib roast at 400°F, but only for the first 10-20 minutes, and then the temperature should be lowered to 350°F for the remainder of the cooking time.

Is a prime rib roast the same as a prime rib roast?

A rib roast and a prime rib roast are effectively the same thing and of the same cut, but the difference is that a prime rib roast is bone-in, while a prime rib roast is boneless.

The prime rib is also cut from a specific area of the cow and generally tends to be a higher quality cut of meat.

You can get a boneless rib roast, which is the same as a prime rib roast.