How to Cook A Prime Rib?

[robyn]

I usually make a brisket for Hanukkah (with kugel - I like kugel better than potato pancakes). It has become impossible to find the cut of brisket I like where I live (choice point cut with a fair amount of fat). Everything here is flat cut - with no fat. Looks like shoe leather even before it's cooked.

I need a plain meat to go with the kugel (it's rich) - so I thought I'd make a prime rib. There are only 9 million recipes for how to cook a prime rib. Slow cook on low heat. High heat then low heat - low heat then high heat. Medium heat. Julia Child is my default - but I'd like to hear from experienced prime rib cookers before I decide (although I'm a decent and fairly experiened cook - I have never cooked a prime rib).

Note that I already bought the meat. It's not fancy - a decent looking 4 rib roast from my local supermarket with a fair amount of marbling. It will just be my husband and myself at dinner. He likes his meat well done - and I like mine rare. I figured he'd get the ends - I'd get the middle - and the rest would be leftovers.

So what's your favorite way to cook a prime rib to get great results? Robyn

[Marlene]

You have a four rib roast for two people?! Um, lots of leftovers! I cook prime rib a lot.

Here's what I do:

Convection oven 450 for 15 minutes then 325 for the rest of the time

Conventional oven 300

Preferably a stainless steel roasting pan.

Brush the roast with oil oil and sprinkle with coarse salt or garlic salt.

For regular oven, roast at 450 for 15 minutes then turn the oven down to 325 and roast for approximately 18-20 minutes a lb for rare. If you are roasting potatoes with the roast, add a little lard to the pan after you turn the oven down and add potatoes.

For a convection oven, you can skip the high heat step and roast steady at 300 for the same amount of time.

Even then the ends aren't going to be well done. You may have to cook them up a bit for him.

Good luck!

[jackal10]

Depends how you like it, and what equipment you have.

The object is to get the meat to 55C/130C (rare) to 65C/150C (well done).

Best tip is to use a digital thermometer that you can read from outside the oven. Here is a snap from an upcoming egCI unit on Kitchen Science/Molecular Gastronomy.

You also want to get the outside brown and flavoursome (Maillard reaction)

Ways you can achieve this:

a) High heat (425F) for one hour, then stand in a warmish place covered in tinfoil for half an hour for the heat to equalise and while you cook the yorkshire puddings. Probably the easiest method in a conventional oven, and gives a choice of well done or rare depending outside or inside.

b) Sear the outside (hot pan or blowtorch). Put in a 150F oven for 4 hours or so. This gives the best, juiciest and most succulant meat, since it never overcooks, but it is hard to get most home ovens to go that low reliably. You won't get much juice running (it stays in the meat) with this method, so you will need to make stock seperately for gravy, and use a seperate oven for the kugel etc

Other tips: Rub the fat with chilli powder before cooking for that certain something. Cook a cut onion in the pan for extra flavour.

Remember, like cooking steak, the more well cooked the smaller and tougher the meat gets.

Edited December 15, 2003 by jackal10 (log)

[Holly Moore]

Is Yorkshire pudding permitted for Hanukkah?

[Brad S]

This is from another site I posted to about a year ago,

hope it helps.

Here is how I prepare a 109 (prime rib).

When you order your meat specify if you want "choice" or "prime"

For prime rib I have no problem with "choice" $2.50 less a # than prime.

Pre heat your oven (I use a convection) to 325 degrees

If the meat is netted or tied remove it.

Pull back the fat flap on the top,This is usally seperated by the meat house.Take a good quility mustard and spread evenly on the meat,season with kosher salt and fresh milled black pepper. Cut about a cup of fresh rosemary and thyme and sprinkle it on the mustard and pat in.Then if you like you can dust with garlic and onion powder then close the fat flap and tie in between the bones. Turn the meat over and seasson with S&P on the bottom.

Place the roast on top of a medium miropoix and pack it under the sides so it does not burn.

Place in the oven for appx 3-3 1/2 hours...This is for a 22-24 # rib.

Cook until the internal temp is 125 degrees.

Pull from the oven and let rest for 15 minutes.Remove the roast and put the pan on high heat on top of your stove,Deglaze your pan with red wine (4 cups) reduce by half and add a gallon of beef stock ,simmer and check seasoning and adjust, cook for 20 minutes and skim the fat,stain into a clean sauce pan and keep warm.As far as the roast in conserned I remove the bones before service.Some places still serve a bone in "king cut" but for me thats just to much beef and doesn't translate well to the bottom line.

I also serve yorkshire pudding with the roast.

I hope this helps

[guajolote]

mine is similar to jackal's, but i start slow (200 degrees F until 115) and finish in a 500 oven for 15 minutes at the end after resting for 1/2 hour. i got this from alton brown.

col. klink smoked a prime rib the same way, i'm going to do it for x-mas

[woodburner]

mine is similar to jackal's, but i start slow (200 degrees F until 115) and finish in a 500 oven for 15 minutes at the end after resting for 1/2 hour. i got this from alton brown.

col. klink smoked a prime rib the same way, i'm going to do it for x-mas

Yep, I concur with that piece of writing.

Sear at the end.

Flawless.

woodburner

[robyn]

What a lot of reading .

By the way - blowtorches are out. Have never used one - and trying to master a new cooking technique that involves direct flames while I'm enjoying some holiday wine would probably make for a bad learning experience. But I do have double 30 inch ovens. One is a decent convection oven. They are also both self-cleaning - so I don't worry about making a mess. Robyn

[budrichard]

Pepin in his book "The Art of Cooking" has the best method that i have ever used and it is a standard now for me.

Prepare an herb rub including a little paprika(browns the roast and adds color) and a touch of cayenne(joke!) and spread on the top with some bread crumbs.

Brown on high heat for say 15-30 minutes, what's important is to brown the top not the time.

Cook at lower temp until the internal temp is 100F for rare.

Cover with al foil or in warming oven at 200F or less for one hour(full roast) smaller roasts less time.

You will have two well done end pieces and the rest will be rare and uniform.

Since your oven is different than mine, exact temps and times are meaningless, what's important is understanding why you do things

BTW can't resist, "For prime rib I have no problem with "choice" $2.50 less a # than prime." Old debate, no flame intended. A choice roast is a 'Standing Rib Roast'. -Dick

[jschyun]

This reminds me of an article cooks illustrated did in their Nov/Dec 1995 issue. I just bought a couple of the bound books from the friends of the library bookstore, and happened on this recipe.

the author tried a bunch of different roasting styles: high heat first then low heat, all high heat, all low heat, etc. they found that they liked best the roast done at 200 deg for the entire cooking time (30 mins per pound, they used a 3 rib, 7 pound roast). the roast looked virtually raw after cooking, but inside, the slices were rosy pink, juicy, and evenly cooked. also the internal temp only rose a couple of degrees after resting, while the roasts done at higher temps increased a lot more. i guess this is bad.

To solve the raw looking roast, they seared it before roasting, but it looks like alton solved the problem by raising the temp at the last 15 mins.

They also found that salt brining/packing didn't do anything for the texture or flavor of the beef inside. A little salt and pepper is all they rubbed on their roast.

[Stone]

I followed Alton Brown's method. Very good. He uses low heat to get the roast up to temp, then hits it with high heat to get a good browning at the end. Check out the Good Eats Fan Page.

[TrishCT]

I also concur with Alton's method of cooking a prime rib roast. This year I'm making a 6 ribber.

On another note, I ask my butcher to "Newport" the roast. What that means is he saws through the back end that holds all the bones together. Then with butcher string he re-attaches them to the roast. This way you get the rib bones for flavor and eating without the hassle of cutting around or through them because they easily detach when you're ready to slice. I apologize for not explaining this more artfully...

Edited December 16, 2003 by TrishCT (log)

[Marlene]

On another note, I ask my butcher to "Newport" the roast. What that means is he saws through the back end that holds all the bones together. Then with butcher string he re-attaches them to the roast. This way you get the rib bones for flavor and eating without the hassle of cutting around or through them because they easily detach when you're ready to slice. I apologize for not explaining this more artfully...

Up here, we call that "rolling" the roast I get my butcher to do this all the time, it's so much easier.

[Kim WB]

Married to a major carnivore, I cook prime rib often.

I think its imperative to get a "prime" prime rib. We prefer it rare.

IA 3 rib roast (5-7#) gets 10 min at 550 degrees, when lower to 350 degrees and roast 1hr, adding on about 10 min for every pound over 5. I get it up to about 105 degrees on the thermomemter, then let it sit and rise to 115-120.

I use minced garlic with a bit of oil, lots of salt..we like it crusty onthe outside, hence the high seer at the start.

Schlesinger and Willoughby hace a great book, How to Cook Meat, which really explains the importance of searing the meat..and I've read Mr. Brown's theories as well..but I'm a high heat to start, med heat to finish kinda gal!

[mnebergall]

Do you cook with the bones up or down?

[Marlene]

Do you cook with the bones up or down?

Bones down. Always

[phaelon56]

I just saw a rerun of the Alton episode in which he dry ages a rib roast in the home refrigerator before cooking it. Couldn' seem to find the recipe on his page or ythe Good Eats Fan page but here's a link to it at a Weber smoker site

Alton's Dry-Aged Rib Roast

He used a rectangular Tuuperware style container for aging, - inverted so the juices would run down to the edges of the inside, waway from the meat, and with small holes poked in the exterior for the air to circulate. Aparently, putting in the lower back portion of most refrigerators will get you in the required 33 to 36 degree range. The againg will cause about a 10% weight loss in hte meat and is said to intensify flavor but I haven't tried it myself.

[badthings]

My father, who is my personal meat expert, has always been a proponent of the quick sear, then cook as slow as you can method. He makes a mean rib roast.

However, one Christmas I did a rib roast in my old apt., where the oven had no thermostat. It was either on or off. The temperature had to average at least 550. I would "control" it by just turning it off for a while. I don't remember exactly what I did, but it was probably the best rib roast I've ever had. This was confirmed by the guests, two of whom had just arrived from the east coast, and had eaten another rib roast the night before, prepared by a woman who is the best cook I know.

Now that I have a real oven (or at least a somewhat predictable thermostat), I can't cook for shit.

Oh yeah, it was prime.

[mnebergall]

Here is a link to a transcript of the Alton Brown show on rib roasts.

[robyn]

Here is a link to a transcript of the Alton Brown show on rib roasts.

I have the Alton Brown cookbook (I'm Just Here for the Food). He's in the "low heat first then high heat" camp. Have you ever tried doing this? Robyn

[robyn]

My father, who is my personal meat expert, has always been a proponent of the quick sear, then cook as slow as you can method. He makes a mean rib roast.

However, one Christmas I did a rib roast in my old apt., where the oven had no thermostat. It was either on or off. The temperature had to average at least 550. I would "control" it by just turning it off for a while. I don't remember exactly what I did, but it was probably the best rib roast I've ever had. This was confirmed by the guests, two of whom had just arrived from the east coast, and had eaten another rib roast the night before, prepared by a woman who is the best cook I know.

Now that I have a real oven (or at least a somewhat predictable thermostat), I can't cook for shit.

Oh yeah, it was prime.

Sounds like me. I can't repeat some of my best dishes - because it was a "little bit of this - little bit of that" - plus let it age in the refrigerator for 1-2-3 days.

No one here sells "prime" prime rib. I'd rather learn on a $30 cut of meat than a $130 cut of meat (I'd have to buy mail order).

I just hope with marbling in the beef - and a meat thermometer - I can't go too far wrong. Robyn

[robyn]

I just saw a rerun of the Alton episode in which he dry ages a rib roast in the home refrigerator before cooking it. Couldn' seem to find the recipe on his page or ythe Good Eats Fan page but here's a link to it at a Weber smoker site

Alton's Dry-Aged Rib Roast

He used a rectangular Tuuperware style container for aging, - inverted so the juices would run down to the edges of the inside, waway from the meat, and with small holes poked in the exterior for the air to circulate. Aparently, putting in the lower back portion of most refrigerators will get you in the required 33 to 36 degree range. The againg will cause about a 10% weight loss in hte meat and is said to intensify flavor but I haven't tried it myself.

I have the Alton Brown cookbook - and read about his refigerator "dry aging" process. I'm in Florida. Even though it's North Florida - it was 70 today - with high humidity. It's supposed to be 30 Thursday morning. I doubt my environment is sufficiently controlled to insure that I get "aged" beef - as opposed to "rotten" beef. Robyn

[robyn]

Married to a major carnivore, I cook prime rib often. 

I think its imperative to get a "prime" prime rib. We prefer it rare.

IA 3 rib roast (5-7#) gets 10 min at 550 degrees, when lower to 350 degrees and roast 1hr, adding on about 10 min for every pound over 5.  I get it up to about 105 degrees on the thermomemter, then let it sit and rise to 115-120. 

I use minced garlic with a bit of oil, lots of salt..we like it crusty onthe outside, hence the high seer at the start.

Schlesinger and Willoughby hace a great book, How to Cook Meat, which really explains the importance of searing the meat..and I've read Mr. Brown's theories as well..but I'm a high heat to start, med heat to finish kinda gal!

Like I said - there's no "prime" prime rib where I live. So choice with decent marbling will serve as my first attempt (if it looks perfect - but isn't juicy - I can blame the cut of meat - not myself ).

When you use your recipe - do the end cuts get reasonably done (not incinerated - but not rare)?

Also - have you ever used seasoning other than garlic/salt? I've seen a lot of references to thyme and/or rosemary in various recipes. Robyn

[robyn]

This reminds me of an article cooks illustrated did in their Nov/Dec 1995 issue. I just bought a couple of the bound books from the friends of the library bookstore, and happened on this recipe...

I have a subscription to the Cook's Illustrated web site. I'll take a look there. Guess it makes a difference whether I like "crust" (I do). My favorite beef is rib eye on the grill - burnt fat on the outside - rare on the inside. Robyn

[robyn]

...On another note, I ask my butcher to "Newport" the roast.  What that means is he saws through the back end that holds all the bones together.  Then with butcher string he re-attaches them to the roast.  This way you get the rib bones for flavor and eating without the hassle of cutting around or through them because they easily detach when you're ready to slice.  I apologize for not explaining this more artfully...

My supermarket does that - remove the chine bone and retie the roast. I know it is controversial - but I thought it would be easier for a first try (and after I try carving it - I may decide it's the only way to go!). I'm sure they don't call it "Newport" the roast in Florida . Robyn