Rib primal · Beef cut guide
Prime Rib
Prime rib is a large bone-in beef roast cut from the rib primal between the 6th and 12th ribs. It is the whole-roast version of the ribeye muscle. The name refers to the cut, not the USDA grade, a prime rib can be USDA Prime, Choice, or Select. The same marbling, color, and texture factors that grade a ribeye steak grade the whole rib roast.
Anatomy and naming
What this cut actually is
A prime rib is the rib primal kept intact for roasting with the rib bones still attached. American restaurants serve it as a slow-roasted whole section sliced to order. A 7-bone rib is the full primal; a first-cut 3 to 4 rib roast is the loin-end half (typically more marbled), and a second-cut is the chuck-end half (with more separated muscle but still rich).
Outside the US, the same cut is sold as standing rib roast in US butchery, forerib in the UK, or côte de boeuf in France when served as a bone-in single-rib steak. Grading is identical to ribeye: graders inspect the ribeye cross-section between the 12th and 13th ribs to assign the carcass grade, and that grade applies across the whole rib section.
Also known as
Standing rib roast · Rib roast · Bone-in rib roast · Forerib (UK) · Côte de boeuf (France)
Prime Rib sits in the rib primal, highlighted in red
How to spot a good one
Visual markers
Heavy, evenly-distributed marbling visible across the cross-section of the cut end
Bright cherry-red lean with no surface darkening or browning
A thick white fat cap on the outer side, firm not oily
Bones cleanly cut and frenched when served bone-in for presentation
A visible spinalis dorsi cap along the upper edge of each rib, the most prized eating muscle on the cut
Cooking, on Pro
Cook prime rib like its grade
MeatGrader Pro gives you a cooking guide tailored to the exact cut and quality grade in front of you. Temperature, time, primary and alternative methods, resting, pairings.
A USDA Prime prime rib gets a different guide than a Choice prime rib, and an A5 BMS 9 wagyu cut gets something else again. Generic recipes do not know which one you have. Pro does.
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How it grades
Grading prime rib
Prime rib is graded as ribeye. The same regional systems (USDA, CBGA, JMGA, MSA/AUS-MEAT, KAPE) all apply at the rib cross-section. A USDA Prime prime rib is the same grade as USDA Prime ribeye. BMS 8+ prime rib is exceptionally rare and usually portioned into individual steaks before sale.
FAQ
Common questions about prime rib
What people ask most about picking, cooking, and grading this cut.
Related cuts
Other cuts to know
Score any prime rib from a photo
Photograph your prime rib and see how it grades against the regional system you select.