How Long to Cook a 4 Lb Beef Steak

A uncomplicated dry rub and 75 minutes in the oven are all information technology takes to produce a beautifully marbled, flavorful, and juicy ribeye roast.

There'southward no demand to marinate the meat prior to cooking, and you can savour the leftovers reheated or cold.

A ribeye roast served on a wooden cutting board with a serving fork.

Tender, succulent, and very flavorful, ribeye is my favorite cut of beef. And this tasty recipe for cooking the whole roast is particularly easy to make.

Simply rub the meat with seasonings, so melt it in the oven until done. Your only real job as a cook is to avoid overcooking the meat.

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Ingredients
Instructions
Expert tip
Often asked questions
Serving suggestions
Storing leftovers
Related recipes
Recipe carte

Ingredients

You'll only need a few simple ingredients to make this very festive roast. The exact measurements are listed in the recipe card below. Here'due south an overview of what you lot'll need:

To season the meat: Kosher salt, black pepper, garlic pulverization, dried sage, and dried thyme.

Ribeye roast: I like to selection a 3-lb. piece. If possible, get a USDA prime number form, the highest beef form.

Instructions

The best thing virtually this recipe is that it'due south so very piece of cake. Simply rub the meat with seasonings. Roast information technology in a very hot oven (500°F) to get the fat cap crispy, and then lower the oven temperature to 350°F and continue roasting to medium-rare.

If you use an instant-read meat thermometer (every bit you should), you lot will know exactly when to take the meat out of the oven. Conventional wisdom says that later on the initial high-heat roasting, you'll need 20 minutes in the 350°F oven for each pound of meat you lot cook.

Then for a 3 lb. roast, this SHOULD take roughly 1 more hr. But for me in my oven, after that ane more than hour, the internal temperature usually reaches 120°F, and I need to continue roasting for viii-9 more minutes to reach 135°F.

A photo collage showing the steps for cooking a ribeye roast.

Practiced tip

It's very important to let the meat rest for 30 minutes before slicing it. This will let the juices to settle and redistribute, preventing all the yummy juices from gushing out every bit before long as yous cut into the meat.

There's null sadder for a meat lover than cut into a roast too soon and watching all the juices gush into the cut board!

Frequently asked questions

Are prime number rib and ribeye roast the aforementioned thing?

Almost, but not exactly. Prime number rib is cut from the prime, superior portion of the fauna, where the meat is particularly tender and well-marbled. Information technology includes ribs 6 through 12.

Prime rib is sometimes called a standing rib roast considering the bones enable it to stand up upright for roasting. But if you lot cutting the meat abroad from the basic, leaving the "center" (the big primal musculus) and a layer of fat, then that'southward a ribeye roast.

Some say that information technology's best to melt bone-in roasts because the bones produce a juicier and more flavorful roast. Information technology's truthful that the meat portions closest to a bone-in steak, for instance, taste the best. But it's also truthful that it'south difficult to become to them unless you lot're willing to gnaw on bones!

That'south why many abode cooks, myself included, prefer to cook a ribeye roast. It is smaller, and you lot tin can carve it hands since there are no basic. It is still very flavorful, and the fat cap is sublime.

What's the divergence between a roast and a steak?

A ribeye steak is essentially a prime number 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 private steaks. Costco has great roasts, by the way, and if yous practise it this way, you could save quite a bit.

Should I marinate the meat before roasting?

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

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

To what temperature should I cook this roast?

Since this roast is and so amazingly succulent, I always causeless that it's not something that I would desire to tackle at home. I thought it would be too complex.

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

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

What is the best cut of beef?

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

I used to love filet mignon - beef tenderloin. Relatively lean and very tender, filet mignon is good, merely 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 offset time at "The Prime Rib" restaurant in Washington DC, many years ago. It was i of those kickoff experiences that you cherish forever.

My kickoff bite into the juicy, succulent roast was unforgettable. I knew right then and at that place that ribeye is my favorite cutting 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 cull - either stop the ribeye or eat the mashed potatoes.

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

Serving suggestions

I recommend balancing out the richness of the meat by skipping the starch altogether and serving information technology with simply prepared veggies such as sautéed broccolini or steamed greenish beans.

A simple green salad such as this arugula salad is always practiced. And if you lot want a tasty alternative to mashed potatoes, try mashed cauliflower. Or get all out with loaded mashed cauliflower!

Storing leftovers

Leftovers keep well in the refrigerator, in an closed container, for three to 4 days. Reheat them very gently, covered, in the microwave on 50% power. Reheating does, unfortunately, take them from medium-rare to medium doneness, but this can't be helped.

Unless you simply piece them very thin and eat them common cold! They are surprisingly practiced this way, served with Dijon mustard, quick pickles, and fresh-cut veggies. Kind of like eating common cold roast beef.

A ribeye roast served on a wooden cutting board with a garnish of parsley.

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Recipe card

Ribeye Roast Recipe

Tender, succulent and very flavorful, ribeye roast is surprisingly like shooting fish in a barrel to brand at home. Simply rub the meat with seasonings, then melt in the oven until done.

Prep Time 10 mins

Cook Time 1 hr 15 mins

Rest time 30 mins

Total Fourth dimension 1 hour 55 mins

Class: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Servings: 8 servings

Calories: 450 kcal

▢ 2 teaspoons Diamond Crystal kosher salt (not fine salt)
▢ i teaspoon black pepper
▢ i teaspoon garlic powder
▢ 1 teaspoon dried sage
▢ i teaspoon dried thyme
▢ 3 lb. boneless ribeye roast USDA prime grade

In a small basin, use a fork to mix together the kosher salt, black pepper, garlic pulverization, sage, and thyme. Rub all over the roast, pressing to make sure the rub adheres to the meat.
Place the meat, fat side upwardly, on a rack in a roasting pan and allow it to get to room temperature, about one hour.
Preheat the oven to 500°F. Insert a meat thermometer into the middle of the roast and fix the thermometer to 135°F (medium-rare).
Identify the roast in the 500°F oven and cook information technology for 15 minutes.
Reduce the oven temperature to 350°F. Keep roasting the meat until the thermometer registers 135°F. For a iii lb. roast, this SHOULD take roughly 1 more hr (20 minutes per pound) according to conventional wisdom. But the only way to know for sure is to use a thermometer. For me in my oven, subsequently that 1 more 60 minutes, the internal temperature unremarkably reaches 120°F, and I need to continue roasting for viii-ix more minutes to achieve 135°F.
Remove the roast from the oven. Loosely cover it with foil and let information technology to rest for 30 minutes, then cutting information technology into thin slices and serve.

The but way to ensure the meat is done to your liking is to use a meat thermometer.

It's very important to let the roast residue for 30 minutes earlier slicing it. This will allow the juices to settle and redistribute, preventing all the yummy juices from gushing out as presently as you cut into the meat.

Nutrition info assumes USDA prime (fattier), and fat eaten.

The USDA says we should cook whole cuts of beef to medium.

Leftovers go along well in the fridge, in an airtight container, for 3 to four days.

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