Sous Vide Rib Roast With Red Wine Jus

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This melt in your mouth Sous Vide Rib Roast with Red Wine Jus is perfect for holiday entertaining or special occasions! The sous vide ensures your roast is cooked the way you like it without sacrificing flavor or texture.

Serve it with creamy horseradish sauce for an elegant and impressive meal.

Side view of a slice of sous vide rib roast on a wooden board.

As prime rib is an expensive cut of beef, you definitely want to make sure it’s cooked perfectly, and what better way to guarantee this than with the sous vide?!

The controlled temperature of the water bath ensures the rib roast is cooked to your desired level of doneness without overcooking it!

We love to serve this roast with creamy garlic mashed potatoes and air fryer carrots, but the side dish options are pretty much endless!

If you’re new to sous vide cooking, you should know it’s our favorite way to prepare beef! It takes the guesswork out of cooking meat and ensures you get just the right temperature and texture every time.

After you’ve tried this prime rib roast recipe, be sure to check out some of these other sous vide beef recipes:

Check out the sous vide rib roast story!

What is Sous Vide?

Sous vide is basically a method of cooking using what is called an immersion circulator. This immersion circulator circulates water in a temperature controlled water bath at a certain temperature to perfectly cook your food every time.

Because the temperature doesn't change, and it keeps your meat (or dessert, veggies, etc.) at the same temperature, your risk of overcooking becomes very minimal.

To learn even more about sous vide cooking, head over and read "what is sous vide cooking."

What is the Water Displacement Method?

The displacement method is where you slowly submerge a ziplock bag in water pushing the air out of the top of the bag (the bag should be slightly open at the top to allow air to escape).

Use a clip (I use binder clips) to clip the bag to the side to keep it from floating and getting air and/or water inside.

Tools Used

Overhead view of a thick slice of prime rib.

What is a rib roast?

A rib roast, also called prime rib roast or standing rib roast, is a rich and tender cut of beef that comes from the rib section of the cow and is usually well-marbled.

We prefer bone-in prime rib roast, but boneless is also available. Bone-in is definitely the more tender and flavorful option.

Why this recipe works

As rib roast is a pricey cut of beef, you don’t want to risk overcooking it. That’s why it’s ideal for cooking in a sous vide water bath. You decide your preferred level of doneness and set the water bath to that temperature. The beef will not cook past this temperature!
While this recipe requires a little planning and some work at the end to make the red wine jus and horseradish sauce, cooking the prime rib is pretty easy and hands off. This frees up your time to run errands, set the table or just relax!
Using the sous vide to cook your main dish is perfect for feeding a crowd around the holidays. That’s because your oven is freed up to make all the side dishes or even dessert, like these pecan pie bars!

Ingredients

The following are some of the key ingredients to make sous vide rib roast. Please refer to the recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and quantities.

You’ll need a 4-6 pound ribeye roast for this recipe. You should opt for bone-in for the best flavor.

Side view of a raw prime rib roast on a white plate.

For the peppercorn red wine jus, you’ll need the reserved bag juice from the roast once it’s done cooking, along with red wine, cracked black pepper, garlic, butter and beef broth (enough to equal ½ cup total liquid between the bag juice and beef broth).

I find sweet red wine is best for the red wine sauce, but you can use any type you have on hand. If you prefer to not use alcohol, you can substitute with a non-alcoholic red wine.

You can use homemade or store-bought beef broth. When using homemade, this slow cooker beef bone broth recipe is my go-to.

The beef is also served with a creamy horseradish sauce. For the best sauce, make sure to use fresh horseradish, and not horseradish sauce.

Sous vide rib roast temperatures

The recipe calls for cooking this rib roast to 132F degrees. This will result in a rare/medium rare roast that’s tender and juicy. If you prefer your prime rib cooked another way, refer to the table below, adapted from Sous Vide Supreme.

Doneness	Temperature
Rare	131°F
Medium Rare	135°F
Medium	140°F
Medium Well	145°F
Well Done (not recommended)	150°F and above

Step by step instructions

Coat the roast with salt and let it sit in the fridge, uncovered, overnight.

Heat a sous vide water bath to 132F degrees (or your preferred temperature from the table above).

Remove the roast from the fridge and sear it on all sides. Let it cool enough to be handled.

Place in a vacuum seal bag and cook for 8 hours.

Rib roast sealed in a large sealable bag.

Remove from the water bath, cut open the bag and pour the bag juices into a bowl.

Carefully remove the roast from the bag and set on a plate.

Heat a grill on high heat and sear the roast on all sides about 30-60 seconds per side.

Remove from heat, let cool slightly and slice the meat between the bones.

Cooked prime rib roast resting on a wooden board.

How to make peppercorn red wine jus

Sauté the garlic in butter until it softens.

Add the peppercorns and cook 1-2 minutes, until the garlic is very light brown.

Add the wine and bag juice (and beef broth, if necessary) and simmer 4-6 minutes, tasting to ensure it's not too salty.

Add any additional salt to taste and serve on top of sliced beef.

How to make creamy horseradish sauce

Mix all ingredients together and store in the fridge until ready to use.

Expert tips

For the best results, let the seasoned rib roast sit in the fridge, uncovered, overnight. This helps it tenderize and seals in the juices.
You’ll want to make sure to remove the air from the bag to avoid bacteria entering the bag.
Use a large enough bag to fit your roast, and be careful that the bones don’t pierce the bag and create a hole.
If air gets in the bag while the rib roast is cooking, open the sealable bag or ziplock bag, remove the air and reseal it again.
The bag should be fully submerged in the water bath so the roast cooks safely and evenly. To prevent the bag from floating, you can use something heavy like a sous vide sinker weight.
For a good sear, once the roast comes out of the water bath, pat it dry with paper towels before searing it on the grill. You should also make sure your grill is extremely hot.
Let the roast rest for a few minutes before carving it so the juices have time to redistribute throughout the meat and it gets tender and juicy throughout.
For the creamy horseradish sauce, be sure to use fresh horseradish, and not horseradish sauce.

Rib roast on a wooden board with a small bowl of horseradish sauce on the side.

Common questions

What temperature should you sous vide rib roast?

For a medium-rare prime rib roast, you’ll want to set the temperature of your sous vide water bath to 132F degrees.

How long does it take to sous vide a rib roast?

At 132F degrees, a rib roast will only take 8 hours to cook in a sous vide water bath.

Do you need to sear the roast before and after the sous vide water bath?

Yes, searing before the water bath seals in the juices and adds flavor as the roast cooks in its own juices in the sealed bag. Quickly searing the roast after the water bath helps get a browned crust on the outside. Just be careful to limit the searing to 30-60 seconds per side as you don’t want to over cook the roast.

What size rib roast should I use for this recipe?

This recipe calls for a 4-6 pound bone-in rib roast. Make sure you’re buying a roast that will fit the container you’re using for your water bath. If it’s too large, your roast may not fully submerge in the water.

Can you sous vide rib roast from frozen?

While you can sous vide a prime rib roast from frozen by adding another 2-4 hours to the cooking time, I prefer to defrost it first. This is because we’re salting it first and letting it air dry in the fridge overnight. This helps with searing and browning. A frozen rib roast won’t air dry or sear as well.

How much prime rib per person?

If I’m serving it as part of a large holiday meal, I usually estimate about ½ pound per person. If it’s a low key dinner party with fewer side dishes, I may allot up to 1 pound per person.

Overhead view of sliced rib roast on a wooden board with sprigs of fresh thyme on top.

Serving options

There are so many delicious side dishes to go with rib roast. Here are a few of our favorites:

Did you make this recipe? Leave a comment below and let me know how it turned out!