Prime Rib Recipe

Filed under Beef, Low Carb, Main Course, Seasonal Favorites: Winter, Wheat-free

Make sure to buy the prime rib roast properly tied and ready to put in the oven. The rib bones should actually be cut first, away from the roast, and then tied back on the roast with kitchen string before roasting. The butcher where you buy your roast should do this for you. Estimate 2 people served for every rib. Note that true prime refers to the quality of the meat (i.e. Select, Choice, Prime), graded by the USDA, and must usually be ordered from a good butcher well in advance of when it will be needed. In recent years many sellers have taken to use the term "prime rib" for the cut of rib roast, regardless of the quality. If you want the high quality prime rib, make sure that is what you are getting from your butcher - look for the USDA Prime stamp.

1 Remove roast from the refrigerator a couple hours before cooking. Roasts should always be brought to room temperature first, before they go in the oven.

Cookbooks often call for the excess fat to be removed. By "excess" fat they mean any fat more than an inch thick. The fat is what provides the flavor and what you are paying for with prime rib, so you want to leave it on. Your butcher should have removed any excess fat.

2 Preheat your oven to 500°F, or the highest it will go (our oven only goes up to 450°F). Salt and pepper the natural fat covering the roast.

3 Insert a meat thermometer into the thickest part of the roast, making sure it doesn't touch a bone. (Most meat thermometers require that you poke a hole first with a skewer, and then insert the thermometer.) Place the roast, fat side up, rib side down in a roasting pan in the oven.

4 After 15 minutes on 500°F, reduce the heat to 350°F. To figure out the total cooking time, allow 15 minutes per pound for rare and 20 minutes per pound for medium rare. Roast in oven until thermometer registers 120°F. for rare or 135°F. for medium. Remove from oven and let rest 15 minutes before carving. The roast continues to cook while it is resting.

5 With a knife, cut the strings which attach the meat to the bones. Remove the bones (save for making stock for soup. Then, using a sharp carving knife, slice meat across the grain for serving, making the slices about 1/4-inch thick.

Making gravy

To make the gravy, remove the roast from the pan. Place pan on stove on medium high heat. Pour off all but 2 tablespoons of the drippings to a separate container. Into the 2 tablespoons of drippings in the pan stir in 1 to 2 tablespoons of flour. Stir with a wire whisk until the flour has thickened and the gravy is smooth. Continue to cook slowly and stir constantly. Slowly add back the previously removed drippings (remove some of the fat beforehand if there is a lot of fat). In addition add either water, milk, stock, cream or beer to the gravy, enough to make 1 cup. Season the gravy with salt and pepper and herbs. (See also How to Make Gravy.)