Please read this recipe two
weeks ahead. If dry aging you need to plan for the time it takes. Order you
meat ahead of time so you have time to shop for a good price. Prime rib roast
is available from grocery stores during the holiday season at a discounted
price. The rib roast is available with or without bones. When this roast has the bones in it is called
standing rib roast. Because the meat is
always sweetest near the bone it is the preferred roast for prime rib. Prime rib is an absolute favorite at my house
for Christmas. Prime rib is so good it
needs very nothing more than salt-and-pepper and the right treatment. The recipe is practically foolproof unless
you plan to play a simultaneous round of golf or decide that this is a good
time to finish off several bottles of wine. The New York Strip roast also is very tasty and is prepared essentially the same way.
A full rib roast consisting of ribs 6 through 12 is often cut
and sold as two separate roasts known as the first cut (small end) rib roast
and the second cut (large end) rib roast. The small end rib roast
includes ribs 9 or 10 through 12, which is next to the loin. The large end rib
roast includes ribs 6 through 8 or 9 and is next to the chuck. The large end is
very tender but its proximity to the chuck means that it is slightly less
desirable than a first cut rib roast. A four rib roast should feed between 6 to
8 people on average. Each rib is approximately 2 pounds after trimming by the
butcher.
The words "Prime
Rib" simply refers to a rib roast not that is graded "USDA Prime".
Prime grade rib roast is rarely available to the generally public unless it is
specially ordered. Most rib roasts sold in food stores are graded “Select".
The next better grade is referred to as “Choice”.
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| Snakeriver Farms Standing Rib Roast |
Wet Aged or Dry Aged, USDA
Prime, Choice or Select Grades
Dry aged beef is the best and available only
through special order. Dry aging causes the beef to loose some of its weight
while the meat flavor intensifies and is more beefy. Wet age beef is vacuum
packed in plastic hence it is incapable of losing any of its weight to liquid
loss. Wet aging is inferior to dry aging
but less expensive. USDA beef graded “Prime” is top quality and represents only
about 2% of all the beef that is sold. Prime has the most marbling, which makes
it the most flavorful and tender. USDA Prime Dry age prime rib is about $35 per
pound. USDA Choice wet age prime rib is about $12 per pound and is still an
excellent and tasty grade of beef. The typical grade found in most food markets
is graded USDA Select which is much less costly than Prime and Choice but will
not be nearly as flavorful or tender and is about $7 to 9 per pound but may be
much less on sale during the holidays.
While some markets will hang
your roast to dry age for free, many do not have the facility to do so. You can
dry age your roast yourself for a 2 to 5 days uncovered in the refrigerator to
bring out additional flavor and produce a more buttery texture. This allows the
natural enzymes in the meat to break down some of protein and connective
tissues in the meat. Trim off any dry spots before cooking.
The Slow-Cooking Method is
the only one used here because it produces the best results. In the slow
cooking method, the meat is seared at high temperature, then subsequently roasted
at low temperature until its internal temperature reaches the degree of
doneness. When any cooked roast is
removed from the oven, its internal temperature will rise. For this reason, the roast is always removed
at a temperature lower than the desired final target temperature. The higher the oven’s roasting temperature,
the greater this residual temperature rise will be. During the slow cooking
method, the roasting temperature is only 220 F and the residual temperature
rise is typically only five degrees. (A
roast cooked at 450 F may rise 25 F after removed from oven and it would be
well done on the outside even if the inside were rare) The oven is initially
preheated to 450°F for an initial searing of the
roast. If you dry age your roast for a few days in the refrigerator, this
initial high heat will ensure any surface bacteria is killed.
Remove the roast from the
refrigerator 2 hours ahead to allow it to come to room temperature. Pat it dry
with paper towels and cover with plastic wrap. Adjust shelves in oven. Roast
will go on lowest shelf. It is best to remove the upper oven shelf to get out
of the way unless it will be needed for other purpose.
Remove plastic wrap from
roast, pat it dry again, and rub with ample salt. Preheat oven to 450°F. Place the roast in an oiled roasting pan, rib
side down and fat side up, and insert a meat thermometer in the geometric
center of the roast but insure it does not touch a bone. Roast on high for 15
minutes. Open oven door for a few minutes to dump excess heat. Reset the oven
temperature to 220 F. Now roast 25 to 30 minutes per pound, depending on the
size of the roast until the meat reaches 5 below the desired internal
temperature. I like the meat medium rare (130-135 F). The outer pieces of the
roast will be more done than the inner pieces just in case are some diehard holdouts
that do not eat rare roast beef. Let the
roast rest for 20 to 25 minutes before carving. Pepper the roast.
Anything this good deserves
the finest freshly prepared horseradish sauce and an excellent wine.
Notes:
- The roast is done when the internal temperature of the
roast reaches the target temperature minus 5 degrees.
- Some stores will dry age your beef for free if you prepay in advance. Ask.
- Roast go on sale before big holidays and may be many dollars per pound discounted.
- I let my guest pre-mix their own horseradish sauce by purchasing a hot grind and providing a premium sour cream such as Organic Valley or make your own cream fraiche.
- Suggested wines: Old vine Petite Syrah, Claret, Burgandy, Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel. Choose a bold fruit forward version with strong tannins.