F
freddy
Guest
Prime rib roast of beef recipe... shhhhhhh! My secret is a beef
thermometer!
Good afternoon, my grizzly little confidants~
Yes, here is the one for the Meat Eaters! At last, I know, but would
you really appreciate something if you didn't have a chance to
anticipate it? Okay, here's the deal. The only way you can ruin a
Prime Rib Roast is to do two things. (1) Buy a cheaper cut of meat and
pretend it's a rib roast or (2) Overcook it.
Hence, my very strong suggestion that you not attempt this at home
without a meat thermometer. Remember, my lovelies, you were forewarned
and the Diva tried to save your roast.
Tips for a Royal Prime Rib Roast
As a preface, remember that the highest quality graded beef in
USAmerica is 'prime', and this is usually only sold through fine
butcher shops or to restaurants, as nobody else seems willing to pay
that much per pound. Okay, so there are some exceptions and I am sure
people like The Donald or our Boy President dine on it at will, but
critiquing the filthy rich and other assorted felons is another long
post. (Non-filthy rich exist, of course, but make less interesting
copy.)
So here is what you will ask of your butcher:
Request the first cut, which is the first three ribs in the short end
of the beef. Once trimmed with the backbone and short ribs cut off, it
should weigh nine pounds and feed up to eight normal people. Ask the
butcher to trim and tie the roast for you and make sure the package
includes the short ribs when he gives it to you. They will add flavor,
meat juice and fat to the drippings you will later use for the
Yorkshire Pudding and a reduced wine/au jus. Also, the butcher should
have left a thin layer of fat on the top of the roast, which you do
need to leave there. If you must trim excess fat, do it only if it
seems radically excessive to you.
Little secrets regarding roasts:
Remember that when a roast is removed from the oven, it should be ten
degrees LESS by thermometer than your desired level of doneness. Rare
in the center and brown and crispy on the ends is how we like it, so
we take the roast out of the oven when its internal temperature (the
meat thermometer stuck centered and halfway into the roast) shows 115
Degrees.
Remember that meat should rest after it has been cooked to allow all
the juices (which have been raised to the surface by heat) to
redistribute themselves back into the entire piece of meat. Not only
will letting a roast sit help you with flavor, but the juices won't
run off and slicing the meat will be so much easier.
As the roast in its slightly under-cooked state sits and rests, the
heat it absorbed from the oven will continue cooking it another ten
degrees. When cooks aren't cognizant of this fact (or the ones who
prefer their red meat be well done and therefore punish the rest of
us), they will have a dried out roast, no matter how much they paid
for it. Trust me. It can happen, so I suggest your back-up plan
include offering gravy in addition to the au jus.
Okay, so I wanted you to think before you cooked rather than have you
blaming the butcher or wondering after dinner, what did I do wrong? I
hope you now have the correct mindset. Here is the actual recipe:
Prime Rib Roast Recipe:
Ingredients:
8 or 9 pound prime rib roast, tied by the butcher
Short ribs that were cut from the roast by the butcher
Kosher salt
Black peppercorns (use a pepper grinder to distribute on the roast)
1.5 cups of red wine (a good one, or your expensive meal will be
sorely diminished)
Take the roast out of the refrigerator two hours before you plan to
cook it as beef at room temperature cooks more evenly when roasted.
(If you have been paying attention, your Yorkshire pudding batter has
already been chilling in the refrigerator from either the night before
or at least a few hours ago. If you forgot, make the batter right
now!)
To prepare the roast, the butcher (or you) should have used kitchen
twine to tie the roast and keep the two layers (inner rib and outer)
from separating during cooking. I also like to tie the short ribs
together so I can remove them easily. I don't use a non-stick pan nor
do I use the racks, as the ribs work just like a rack and leave little
bits of meat and fat on the pan, which I'll later use to flavor the au
jus.
Rub the meat as evenly as you can on all sides with kosher salt and
freshly cracked black pepper and its appearance will be greatly
improved when it's done. I usually season the meat as soon as I take
it out of the refrigerator so I don't forget this important step.
After the meat is seasoned and at room temperature, place the roast
fat side up, directly onto a stainless steel roasting pan. Don't
forget the short ribs go in also.
You will be using the lowest rack in the oven, so move the second rack
up high if you need to do so. When you are ready to start, preheat the
oven to 450 degrees Farenheit. This higher temperature is part of an
important step to seal in the juices and brown the outside of the
roast, preventing that anemic look.
Put the roast in the oven at 450 degrees and cook for only 20 minutes.
Do not open the oven door, but reduce the heat to 325 degrees. For
this second step, cook the roast for approximately another hour and
fifteen minutes to one hour and twenty-five minutes. Using the meat
thermometer to determine the doneness you prefer is the only failsafe
method, as you cannot tell from looking.
While the roast is cooking, make all the side dishes except the
Yorkshire pudding, which will be your last dish once the roast comes
out. When the roast is done, place it on a large serving platter near
the stove so that it remains warm, but do not cover it or the crust
will get soggy.
Traditionally you would surround the roast with fresh parsley, roasted
shallots, pearl onions and whole green beans, but parsley with even a
fresh or roasted cherry tomato or two strewn about is often enough.
The short ribs should be removed when the roast is done and
refrigerated for some other use later.
If you have a fat separator, pour the beef drippings into it as you
will be using the clear drippings (mostly fat) for the Yorkshire
pudding. If you don't have a fat separator, tilt the pan and the fat
will generally rise to the top of the drippings. With a baster you can
try to suck up the fat for the pudding or use a spoon and laboriously
continue scooping until you have the few tablespoons you need. (Fat
separators, by the way, come in handy for soups and other roast meats
too.)
Add the red wine to the roasting pan with the remaining drippings and
bring the mixture to a boil, using a wooden spoon or spatula to scrape
and mix in the caramelized remnants of meat still stuck to the pan.
Once you have all those little bits loosened, reduce the heat to
medium and, stirring occasionally, cook about eight minutes until half
of the liquid has been reduced. Add salt and pepper to taste and
strain the au jus through a piece of dampened cheesecloth for the best
presentation or, like me, leave it unstrained. It isn't as pretty when
served but very flavorful.
You may want to transfer the au jus to a sauce pan and keep it
simmering until your Yorkshire pudding is done. One note on the
pudding is that if it is undercooked it will collapse completely. It
collapses fairly soon after being removed from the oven anyway though,
so bake it thoroughly and serve quickly.
To serve the meat, cut the twine away from the roast with kitchen
shears and remove it. Using a sharp blade and holding the bones in
hand, cut completely until the bones are completely separated. The
meat can then be served on the serving platter, appropriately
garnished, and sliced into either thin or thick slices.
I hope you enjoy your lovely roast, my little darlings. Oh, I would
suggest you allow a pound per person, as part of that weight is in the
rib bones.
Happy gnoshing, my loves.
Clark County Diva
thermometer!
Good afternoon, my grizzly little confidants~
Yes, here is the one for the Meat Eaters! At last, I know, but would
you really appreciate something if you didn't have a chance to
anticipate it? Okay, here's the deal. The only way you can ruin a
Prime Rib Roast is to do two things. (1) Buy a cheaper cut of meat and
pretend it's a rib roast or (2) Overcook it.
Hence, my very strong suggestion that you not attempt this at home
without a meat thermometer. Remember, my lovelies, you were forewarned
and the Diva tried to save your roast.
Tips for a Royal Prime Rib Roast
As a preface, remember that the highest quality graded beef in
USAmerica is 'prime', and this is usually only sold through fine
butcher shops or to restaurants, as nobody else seems willing to pay
that much per pound. Okay, so there are some exceptions and I am sure
people like The Donald or our Boy President dine on it at will, but
critiquing the filthy rich and other assorted felons is another long
post. (Non-filthy rich exist, of course, but make less interesting
copy.)
So here is what you will ask of your butcher:
Request the first cut, which is the first three ribs in the short end
of the beef. Once trimmed with the backbone and short ribs cut off, it
should weigh nine pounds and feed up to eight normal people. Ask the
butcher to trim and tie the roast for you and make sure the package
includes the short ribs when he gives it to you. They will add flavor,
meat juice and fat to the drippings you will later use for the
Yorkshire Pudding and a reduced wine/au jus. Also, the butcher should
have left a thin layer of fat on the top of the roast, which you do
need to leave there. If you must trim excess fat, do it only if it
seems radically excessive to you.
Little secrets regarding roasts:
Remember that when a roast is removed from the oven, it should be ten
degrees LESS by thermometer than your desired level of doneness. Rare
in the center and brown and crispy on the ends is how we like it, so
we take the roast out of the oven when its internal temperature (the
meat thermometer stuck centered and halfway into the roast) shows 115
Degrees.
Remember that meat should rest after it has been cooked to allow all
the juices (which have been raised to the surface by heat) to
redistribute themselves back into the entire piece of meat. Not only
will letting a roast sit help you with flavor, but the juices won't
run off and slicing the meat will be so much easier.
As the roast in its slightly under-cooked state sits and rests, the
heat it absorbed from the oven will continue cooking it another ten
degrees. When cooks aren't cognizant of this fact (or the ones who
prefer their red meat be well done and therefore punish the rest of
us), they will have a dried out roast, no matter how much they paid
for it. Trust me. It can happen, so I suggest your back-up plan
include offering gravy in addition to the au jus.
Okay, so I wanted you to think before you cooked rather than have you
blaming the butcher or wondering after dinner, what did I do wrong? I
hope you now have the correct mindset. Here is the actual recipe:
Prime Rib Roast Recipe:
Ingredients:
8 or 9 pound prime rib roast, tied by the butcher
Short ribs that were cut from the roast by the butcher
Kosher salt
Black peppercorns (use a pepper grinder to distribute on the roast)
1.5 cups of red wine (a good one, or your expensive meal will be
sorely diminished)
Take the roast out of the refrigerator two hours before you plan to
cook it as beef at room temperature cooks more evenly when roasted.
(If you have been paying attention, your Yorkshire pudding batter has
already been chilling in the refrigerator from either the night before
or at least a few hours ago. If you forgot, make the batter right
now!)
To prepare the roast, the butcher (or you) should have used kitchen
twine to tie the roast and keep the two layers (inner rib and outer)
from separating during cooking. I also like to tie the short ribs
together so I can remove them easily. I don't use a non-stick pan nor
do I use the racks, as the ribs work just like a rack and leave little
bits of meat and fat on the pan, which I'll later use to flavor the au
jus.
Rub the meat as evenly as you can on all sides with kosher salt and
freshly cracked black pepper and its appearance will be greatly
improved when it's done. I usually season the meat as soon as I take
it out of the refrigerator so I don't forget this important step.
After the meat is seasoned and at room temperature, place the roast
fat side up, directly onto a stainless steel roasting pan. Don't
forget the short ribs go in also.
You will be using the lowest rack in the oven, so move the second rack
up high if you need to do so. When you are ready to start, preheat the
oven to 450 degrees Farenheit. This higher temperature is part of an
important step to seal in the juices and brown the outside of the
roast, preventing that anemic look.
Put the roast in the oven at 450 degrees and cook for only 20 minutes.
Do not open the oven door, but reduce the heat to 325 degrees. For
this second step, cook the roast for approximately another hour and
fifteen minutes to one hour and twenty-five minutes. Using the meat
thermometer to determine the doneness you prefer is the only failsafe
method, as you cannot tell from looking.
While the roast is cooking, make all the side dishes except the
Yorkshire pudding, which will be your last dish once the roast comes
out. When the roast is done, place it on a large serving platter near
the stove so that it remains warm, but do not cover it or the crust
will get soggy.
Traditionally you would surround the roast with fresh parsley, roasted
shallots, pearl onions and whole green beans, but parsley with even a
fresh or roasted cherry tomato or two strewn about is often enough.
The short ribs should be removed when the roast is done and
refrigerated for some other use later.
If you have a fat separator, pour the beef drippings into it as you
will be using the clear drippings (mostly fat) for the Yorkshire
pudding. If you don't have a fat separator, tilt the pan and the fat
will generally rise to the top of the drippings. With a baster you can
try to suck up the fat for the pudding or use a spoon and laboriously
continue scooping until you have the few tablespoons you need. (Fat
separators, by the way, come in handy for soups and other roast meats
too.)
Add the red wine to the roasting pan with the remaining drippings and
bring the mixture to a boil, using a wooden spoon or spatula to scrape
and mix in the caramelized remnants of meat still stuck to the pan.
Once you have all those little bits loosened, reduce the heat to
medium and, stirring occasionally, cook about eight minutes until half
of the liquid has been reduced. Add salt and pepper to taste and
strain the au jus through a piece of dampened cheesecloth for the best
presentation or, like me, leave it unstrained. It isn't as pretty when
served but very flavorful.
You may want to transfer the au jus to a sauce pan and keep it
simmering until your Yorkshire pudding is done. One note on the
pudding is that if it is undercooked it will collapse completely. It
collapses fairly soon after being removed from the oven anyway though,
so bake it thoroughly and serve quickly.
To serve the meat, cut the twine away from the roast with kitchen
shears and remove it. Using a sharp blade and holding the bones in
hand, cut completely until the bones are completely separated. The
meat can then be served on the serving platter, appropriately
garnished, and sliced into either thin or thick slices.
I hope you enjoy your lovely roast, my little darlings. Oh, I would
suggest you allow a pound per person, as part of that weight is in the
rib bones.
Happy gnoshing, my loves.
Clark County Diva