Prime Rib Roast

You know what's awesome?  Prime rib roast.

It's not often that I crave meat and potatoes.  Usually I want spicy, garlicky ethnic food.  But sometimes, you just want a good piece of prime rib.  Until recently, I'd always gone to a restaurant to fill those cravings.  Like Lawry's.  MMMM!  There's just something about a nice slab of medium rare prime rib complete with mashed potatoes, creamed spinach and Yorkshire pudding....and don't forget the horseradish and au jus.

Make sure you get:

Prime Rib Roast (I usually got for 4-7 pounds. That's enough to feed 4-6 regular people or one Indian dood)

kosher salt

black pepper

olive oil

crushed garlic

dried herbs (optional)

It's actually really simple to make.  You just have to invest in a good piece of USDA prime grade prime rib roast (bone in.  ALWAYS get bone in).   It looks like this:

This is about a 5 pound piece.  It was on sale for Easter for a mere $5 bucks a pound!  There's usually good deals around major holidays.  Nothing says holiday like pigging out! Be prepared to pay more than that without a sale.  I think they have a good deal at Costco, but I'm not prepared to buy it in bulk like that.  I like to buy it ahead of time and let it age in my fridge.  It's not real aging.  I don't have the right temperature conditions for real aging.  Why age your meat?  I know this sounds strange, but aging helps break down the connective tissue which will make your beef super tender and the process helps deepen the flavor of your beef.  So I just do my version of it.  (Ask the butcher for about 2 feet of twine.  They usually will give it to you for free.)

I bought this 5 days before I cooked it.  Ask your butcher to cut it away from the bone, but don't completely cut off.  Then have him tie it back on with butcher's twine.  This is usually how it comes, but make sure to ask.  Trying to cut it yourself is tedious and almost impossible unless you have really good butcher knives.  I salted with Kosher salt and wrapped it back up and let it sleep in the fridge.

This is the tedious part...Check your rib roast everyday to make sure its not sitting in moisture (blood).  I use paper towels to wrap it and change them every day. Then I wrap it back up in the butcher paper that it came in.  Look.  I get it.  You're taking advice from a girl who can't even remember to scoop her poor cat's litterbox everyday...but you have to do it.  If you let it sit in moisture, it will rot and go bad.  I don't always salt it.  I think it helps season all the way through.  Maybe not.  But you have to check it to make sure it is not sitting in wetness for every day its sitting in your fridge waiting to be cooked.  Okay? Cool.

When you're ready to cook your meat baby, make sure you let it come to room temperature.  Some cooking sites will say to pull it our at least 30 minutes before cooking.  But trust me, it will take more than 30 minutes to come to room temperature especially if your roast is on the larger side.  I took mine out and let it sit in the oven (turned off, of course, and still wrapped in butcher paper) for about 3 hours.  It's okay.  It won't rot in that time.

Turn on your oven.  Set it on roast (if you have settings) and to 450 degrees.

Okay.  Now the seasonings for your meat.  In a bowl, I add about 2 tablespoons of olive oil.

To the oil I add 1 heaping tablespoon of crushed garlic and 1 heaping tablespoon of dried herb d'Provence (which is just thyme, oregano, savory, rosemary, marjoram, and lavender).

Mix it up and make a paste.  Add more oil if you need to.

Also, make sure to have kosher salt and pepper on hand.

I take the butcher's twine off and expose the side that's tied to the bones. 

Don't cut it.  Unless you have some extra to tie back onto the bones

Slather your garlic, herb paste and salt liberally with kosher salt and pepper as much as you want.

Don't be afraid to really add a good amount of salt (it's a large piece of meat you need to season).

You can do all this in your open butcher paper that your meat came in.

I tie the meat back onto the bones and slather the oil herb paste onto the the exposed sides of the meat.  

Make sure you salt and pepper all sides.

Grab yourself a shallow baking pan with a wire rack like this:

Oh!  And if you seasoned your meat in the paper...

Clean up is a snap!  Boom.  Throw in the trash.

Place your meat bones down, fat side up.

Your oven should me nice and hot by now and ready to go.  Place your meat baby in the center rack.
I like to let it sear on high for about 20 minutes.  This will help form a nice crust.

Then I turn it down to 325 and let it roast for about 15 minutes per pound.  15 minutes per pound if you like your prime rib medium rare (like I do!!! mmmm.), more if you like medium/medium well.

Take your roast out and let it sit for about 15 minutes before slicing.  You have to give it time to relax. It will continue to cook while it is resting.

Slice and eat with horseradish and au jus....mmmmm.

This 5 pound roast can feed 4 - 6 people depending on what kind of sides you have. 

If you have leftovers, you can slice up and make french dip sandwiches or chop up and make prime rib hash for breakfast.  I like to save the bones and make my own beef stock.