You can judge a prime rib the moment you carve it, and HoneyBaked’s new version revealed its strengths right away: the knife glided through with almost no resistance. For than six decades, HoneyBaked’s hams and turkeys have been fixtures on holiday tables, so I was eager to see how the brand’s new prime rib stacked up — not just in flavor and convenience, but in price and that all-important leftover potential.

Weighing between 3 and 8 pounds each, the HoneyBaked Prime Rib was a project years in the making, according to HoneyBaked’s chief culinary expert, chef Tim Ziga.

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“Years ago, we started doing some research,” he tells Food & Wine. “We began looking closely at Thanksgiving and Christmas menus and what people actually like to eat.” What they found was striking: although the holidays sit just a few weeks apart, diners treat them very differently.

“Thanksgiving is a very static menu — everyone’s basically eating the same traditional dishes,” Ziga says. “But Christmas is a global holiday. Everyone has their own thing depending on where they’re from or what their family traditions are, so the menu changes a lot.” In a country as diverse as the United States, he added, that variety is even pronounced.

Still, one trend stood out. “Across all Christmas tables, ham was the number one protein, turkey was number two, and beef was number three,” he said. “And there was a significant number of people enjoying beef in all kinds of forms — but prime rib kept coming up again and again.” It’s what Ziga’s own family eats on Christmas Eve. “So we started studying it and really getting into it,” he said. “It just seemed like the perfect time for HoneyBaked to launch a beef center-of-the-table offering.”

Pricing for the prime rib varies by market, but it starts at $26 per pound. A three-pound prime rib, for example, would cost around $75 and serve up to seven family members. The Honey Baked prime rib will be available at select retailers and online. Customers can order prime rib à la carte or as part of a family pack with four side dishes.

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For comparison, getting a pre-cooked prime rib from H-E-B is a bit cheaper at $20 per pound, while Sam’s Club offers one for around $16 a pound. For those who prefer their meats a little smokier, a pre-cooked, smoked prime rib from 44 Farms costs approximately $47 a pound.

What does the Honey Baked Prime Rib taste like?

I may be a food writer, but I’ll be the first to admit my kitchen skills aren’t quite Michelin-ready. Thankfully, Honey Baked’s prime rib doesn’t require them. The straightforward instructions spelled out everything — from thaw time to cook time based on weight — making the entire process surprisingly stress-free. The main tool you need for prep? Patience. You have to thaw the prime rib for two days prior to cooking, but the end result was worth the wait.

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There’s no additional glaze packet for the HoneyBaked Prime Rib, but the meat is seasoned well enough that there’s no need for sauce. (But of course, if you prefer horseradish cream with your prime rib, it’s an easy enough accompaniment to make.) As Ziga explained, “My bosses were constantly like, we have to glaze this, right? And I had to say, you don’t really do that with beef, it’s different.”

Instead, the prime rib gets a simple rub that’s applied before Honey Baked’s prime rib’s initial cook time. “It’s salt, pepper, garlic — really simple — because we wanted the flavor of the beef to shine,” he said. That seasoning bakes into the meat during the first cooking step, creating a richly seasoned roast that stands on its own.

The salt-and-pepper notes are distinct, and the rendered fat adds another layer of flavor. The rub combined with the natural juices forms a light, flavorful au jus, making any extra sauce, salt, or seasoning unnecessary. It’s important to note that the instructions call for letting the prime rib rest after removing it from the oven, which helps lock in flavors and allows the meat to reach peak juiciness.

“They all start at rare. We recommend a thermometer probe,” Ziga explains. “Stick it in the oven and watch the temperature, and with our cooking instructions, it takes all the guesswork out of it. If you know where you want to end up — say, medium — you heat it to about 5–10 degrees below that, and the residual heat will carry it the rest of the way.”

Another unexpected strength of this prime rib? The leftover factor. Even after accidentally reheating a few slices a bit too long the next day, the meat remained just as juicy as when it came straight from the oven. Typically, I don’t enjoy a meat entree nearly as much the next day, so I was pleasantly surprised when the prime rib slices held up well in a sandwich. The most important thing is to let the meat speak for itself. Ziga says a Pinot Noir is an unexpected but perfect wine pairing for this beef entree. A Cabernet or Merlot would also work.

Easy to prep and cook, it’s hard to mess up this HoneyBaked prime rib.