Prime Rib

[Nate@Scarab]

I've been tasked with prime rib for Bebe Jeebus day.

Good recipe? Cut selection guidance? I submit to the will of the Salon.

[Dave Thompson]

Ah Prime Rib my favorite thing, after bicycles of course. Best grade is Prime, if you want to afford it, otherwise Choice is pretty choice. The best cut is the from the small or loin end. You can figure about a bone per person so if you have 4 people for dinner, ask to have a "4 bone" roast. More if you want leftovers. Best recipe that I've found, and have used for the last 10 years is pretty simple. First have your butcher cut the bones off and tie them back on. Pat dry with paper towels then plenty of garlic salt and pepper rubbed on well, then in a big skillet on high heat and a couple of tablespoons of vegetable oil, brown all sides of the roast, about 3~5 minutes per side including fat side. Put roast in baking pan that has sides about 2" high. Fill bottom of pan with Kosher salt about 1" deep and add enough water to make a thick salt slurry or paste. Bake at 200* until internal temp is about 125*. Remove and let rest tented in foil about 10~15 minutes. Roast will continue in cook and the internal temp will go up about 10*. Cut strings and remove bones, slice to desired thickness. I "paint" each slice with a sprig of fresh Rosemary and leave that on the place when served.

I've found this recipe provides a roast that is nice, crispy and flavorful on the outside, beautifully pink all the way through and very tender. A good zingy horseradish sauce completes the ensemble.

[Chance Legstrong]

regardless of how you cook or season it 2 things that must be done

1. after dressing with salt, pepper, rosemarry or your favorites dry rub/spices let the roast set for a few hours to come to room temperature. this allows for the most even roasting throughout.
2. after roasting tent with foil and allow to rest so that all of the moisture that is still sweating out may return into the roast.

enjoy!

[AJPM44]

A very simple way to prepare it is with a blowtorch. Let the meat come up to temp, season it, then take a blowtorch to it until it begins to turn grayish. Throw it in your oven set to 275, and pull it when it hits around 125-130. Let it sit and carve. This will give the meat a nice crust, while not having it be too well done throughout the rest.

[bking]

I've cooked Prime Rib everyway I've run across, with most every kind of seasoning, and come to understand this: you can cook it any way you want, season it with everything you've got, won't make a bit of difference unless the beef is good. Prime is expensive, but it's the easiest way to have confidence that the money you've spent will be well spent (if taste is the object). Best way other than prime would be to know your butcher.

I have a large family, so each year we do two roasts, this is how i've come to understand that when your cooking prime rib, especially a full roast, it's all about the beef itself (often one is really good, the other just ok). Steaks or other typical cuts you can season, smoke, tenderize, marinate. Prime rib roast, in my experience, doesn't matter what you do to it, if it's tough etc, nothing helps much.

This year we're breaking tradition and going it roast tenderloin with bernaise

[Too Tall]

I've cooked Prime Rib everyway I've run across, with most every kind of seasoning, and come to understand this: you can cook it any way you want, season it with everything you've got, won't make a bit of difference unless the beef is good. Prime is expensive, but it's the easiest way to have confidence that the money you've spent will be well spent (if taste is the object). Best way other than prime would be to know your butcher.

I have a large family, so each year we do two roasts, this is how i've come to understand that when your cooking prime rib, especially a full roast, it's all about the beef itself (often one is really good, the other just ok). Steaks or other typical cuts you can season, smoke, tenderize, marinate. Prime rib roast, in my experience, doesn't matter what you do to it, if it's tough etc, nothing helps much.

This year we're breaking tradition and going it roast tenderloin with bernaise

Would you consider a Maderia sauce?

[Dorman]

I agree with pretty much everything that has been said already. However, I do pull mine at 118 deg. and cover with foil for about 20 minutes before carving. I like my rib to moo a bit. If it is a big roast the ends will still be more done than the center if you have a couple people that can't deal with luke warm. I also use a dry rub from Penzey's that is an English prime rib rub that is pretty celery heavy. Goes over really well.

[bking]

Would you consider a Maderia sauce?

Mmmm. Very good. But Christmas is about tradition and memories for me. Several decades ago I learned to eat beef at "Beefeaters" on Camelback Rd in Phx. Traditional Engish place, served Prime Rib, and of course you know how memories work, no one has ever done it as well. Well, on special occasions we'd order the Chateaubriand and it came with Bernaise. They also made a Sherry dressing for the salad, as a kid i could eat two.

I just purchased Peterson's book Sauces, a bit more involved then most, but i'll give his Bernaise a try.

[Too Tall]

Mmmm. Very good. But Christmas is about tradition and memories for me. Several decades ago I learned to eat beef at "Beefeaters" on Camelback Rd in Phx. Traditional Engish place, served Prime Rib, and of course you know how memories work, no one has ever done it as well. Well, on special occasions we'd order the Chateaubriand and it came with Bernaise. They also made a Sherry dressing for the salad, as a kid i could eat two.

I just purchased Peterson's book Sauces, a bit more involved then most, but i'll give his Bernaise a try.

Wow, Camelback rd. I know THAT place!
That gave me a laugh. My family would plotz if I changed one dish or the order for Passover dinner.

[Nate@Scarab]

Thank you for the help!

Following question might earn some scorn here - but is a Prime cut going to be worth 4x as much as a Choice? Definitely going to go the blowtorch option, methinks. Going for a nice rare 115 deg center.

[Chance Legstrong]

IMO if you choose less than prime

serve a rump roast instead

[maunahaole]

Deep Fried Prime Rib

Disclaimer: I have not tried this technique, but I am totally game to do this. I've had good luck with the boiling oil technique on a few things.

[WFO]

To late cold age in your fridge.

10 days does wonders.

[Nate@Scarab]

One of the local grocers does dry-aged roasts, but I'm afraid to ask how much...$19.99 a lb for standard prime is terrifying enough.

[WFO]

Worth it IMO, it's Christmas and if you're going to eat chow-cow it might as well be awesome.

[RIHans]

Dave T had it correct...prime rib is Prime. This is a very nice rib of beef. You can get good results with a step down to Choice,
and spend the savings on a couple of nice bottles of nice red wine.

Season well with S+P, some garlic and herbs, 375F oven until 120-128F in the thick part of the rib...it will carry over.

Horseradish cream sauce is a classic, but a bearnaise is nice too. It's all good , just don't over cook!
You will have guests who want an end cut, and others who want rare-midrare, you are covered!

[Bob Ross]

You will have guests who want an end cut

Yes please!
I don't know dookie about cooking prime rib, but one thing I learned ~30 years ago from my old man was that if I'm getting prime rib in a restaurant, order an end cut. I have yet to regret that decision.

[lavi]

As a direct result of this thread I'm about to embark on cooking a $100 chunk of Prime meat for my family. Wish me luck.

[jbartmc]

I served a standing prime rib roast with a rub of salt, pepper, fresh thyme and fresh rosemary. After making this a couple of years now, it is nearly autopilot cooking. Everyone loves the beef, and the drippings make an outstanding sauce. The trick is to make great sides to stay traditional, yet liven up the meal. As others mentioned, for Christmas it's worth the money to splurge on the cut and beverages.

[Nate@Scarab]

Reporting in...

Things went well, all things considered! I had a near-disaster with a broken ancient thermometer and brutally uneven oven at my mom's. Blowtorched it, tossed it in at "300". Couple hours later it was clocking in at 130 and I was pissed, thinking I'd overcooked the beast. Freed it from the oven, tented/rested for 20m, pulled tyhe bones off to discover the underside nearly raw. Since I'd claimed the oven for biscuit and gratin baking, fired up the BBQ and got it up to temp in ten degree weather. 20 minutes later and it was at rare-status...perfect for myself. Luckily, most of my family (spawn of Mormon Idaho dirt farmers) believes in shoe-leather meat, so I carved and browned most of it anyway. The medium-rare endpiece I snagged was delightful - even the choice-grade roast was up to par.

Blended up a slightly modified bearnaise sauce to accompany - note Mormon comment, no vino on hand...So I subbed for a flask of bourbon I had on my person. PERFECT. Smash hit with the fam.

Accompanying dishes:
-Sweet potato/marshmallow biscuits
-Roasted asparagus in a balsamic reduction
-Garlic mashed potatoes with a duck gravy
-Cauliflower Gruyere gratin
-Maple-nutmeg butter cookies

So much fat, so much tasty. Back to manoerexia. Thanks for the help and suggestions, everyone!