Prime Rib Cooking Times

As you look over a couple of prime rib recipes you'll notice a wide range of prime rib cooking times. Some recipes call for a cooking time of one hour and some recipes say that the roast should be cooked for six hours. Very confusing! Well, there's a reason for this discrepancy -- prime rib cooking times depend a lot on the cooking temperature and the size of the roast.

There are two basic methods for cooking prime rib roasts -- high temperature and low temperature. Each method has its advantages and there are people who swear by a one cooking process or the other. Prime rib cooking times are mostly determined by whether you are cooking the meat at high temperatures or low temperatures.

Some people love the slow cooking methods that is used in smoker barbecues. It can't be denied that smoking brings out wonderful flavors in the prime rib and produces some of the juiciest roasts imaginable. The low temperature of smoker barbecues means that prime rib cooking times can be extended to five or six hours.

On the other hand, there are those who swear by cooking the prime rib in a hot oven. This method reduces prime rib cooking times to the minimum while searing the exterior of the meat so that it contains the juices. When placed in a 500