budrichard

Two problems. First, your butcher should have just cut through at each rib location so when you sliced, you obtained a complete rib bone with meat attached. I have seen a few butchers who really have no idea of how do prep a roast seperate not only between the rib bones but also seperate the meat fully. I had one do this to almb rib roast. I just cooked the meat without the bone and used the bone for soup. Better to cook just the meat as a boneless rib roast.. they think it helps, it does not. Secondly by having a frozen roast, I suspect that during the freezing a layer of ice may have built up where the meat was seperated from the bones. The meat around the bone is always the rarest in a full rib roast and now an additional factor of ice is introduced. If there was an air gap between the bone and the meat, that would also have an effect as air is an insulater and would have effected the heat transfer. As you noticed, the meat became more uniform the longer it rested. you should have rested for an hour. I know this is very difficult to do when everyone is standing around and hungry with the smell of rib roast in the air but is needed and works. I pick up my roast tommorow from Zier's in Wilmette. Prime, aged 2.5 weeks in the butcher shop. prepped. I will put the seasoning mix on as per Pepin and deliver to my daughter Wed. XMAS we will see how it goes with her oven. Oh yes, do not, do not, put the bones in a soup. Roast over high heat and enjoy! The best part of the roast. Takes you back 10,000 years. -Dick

he's an american indian? Merium-Webster on-line: Main Entry: oc·ci·den·tal Pronunciation: "äk-s&-'den-t&l Function: adjective Usage: often capitalized Date: 14th century 1 : of, relating to, or situated in the Occident : WESTERN 2 : of or relating to Occidentals

You said in your original message that the exact times and temps were meaningless since our ovens might be different. Could you give me a clue - pretty please ? The initial browning ("sear") on high heat - are you talking 300-400-500 degrees? Bake or broil? The lower temp cooking - is it 150-250-350? Then there's the final "warming" at 200 or less. Also - 100F - even for rare - sounds very low. Did you really mean 100F? By the way - if you or anyone else has an opinion - is there any advantage doing the "sear" before the cooking - as in Pepin's method - as opposed to doing the "sear" after the cooking - as in Alton Brown's method. Robyn What i have been trying to point out in some of my posts is that understanding why things are done is more important than specifics because then you can make judgements or alterations for differences like ovens. Our Viking convection oven will crisp on the lower levels above 400F faster than you can think. your oven may behave complelety different. As for temps. Pepin from the 'Art of Cooking' vol 1, page 217 'Rib roast Claire and Yorkshire Pudding' The recipe starts with the picture of a rib roast primal cut an shows how to cut off the outer fat and chine bone along with sectioing the roast for smaller gatherings, all in clear color pictures. Note: Nowhere does he refer to a'Prime' Rib Roast but always 'Standing' Rib roast. Place in a pre-heated 425F oven for 30 minutes. Reduce the heat to 375F and cook for one hour longer. At this point the internal temp won't be much more than 75F. Turn the oven off and let the roast continue to cook for at least 45 minutes to one hour in the oven. The roast is now cooked, baste with the fat, remove to a plate and keep warm in the oven. I have found that I need my oven to make additional items and that the full rib roast takes up most of the space, so I cooked mine to 100F internally, removed from the oven and tented with foil. Knowing that the objective was that the roast rest at low temp, since i was not in the oven, I increased from 75 to 100F and it works for me. I really enjoy this series of posts since for me cooking a 'Standing Rib' is serious business! Additional note. My daughter is having XMAS dinner this year. I am purchasing the roast for her and will bring it over the night before. I will give her instrcutions for the process(she has BS and Ms degrees in Chemistry so i know she can follow them) and we will see how the process works in a different oven. Good luck on Xmas everyone!(I sound like tiny Tim!)-Dick

I will try to respond to questions in a two part Post. First. My expereince with large gatherings is that there are always individuals that do not prefer rare. As we always cook a full standing rib, the ends always satisfy this group unless we run out! As to at which end of the cooking it is needed to brown. At the begining you are trying to get heat into the interior and obtain a crust before long term heating. My experience with professional chef's reccamandations is that they always brown at the beginning. since i have never reversed the process, I don't have comparative data, but what Pepin says works for me and he has alot more experience than I. -Dick

Probably the best web site out there for Japanese knives, but for artizan knives produced in single person shops which almost never get out of Japan, I used Murray Carter, a Canadian knifemaker living in Japan as a broker for the knife I purchased. Forged Hitachi #1 polished steel, ebony handle and scabbard with ivory inlays. Cuts like a dream but in reality not much different from a commercial Japanese 'Yanagi' that I have. -Dick

Be aware that at least in the Wusthof line PCD does not list the larger blades that are more suitable to larger people(read male). they will order for you but you have to know what wusthof has available. -Dick

My two cents since we just redid our kitchen. Settled on Franchi Manor House sink. http://www.franke.com Commercial grade thickness SS and ONE BIG OPENING(33"). Companion faucet is Franke Single handle Pot Faucet that works like a dream. Franke "Little Butler" on order to complement and provide instant hot water for tea/coffee and filtered cold water. Go to http://www.homecenter.com for the best prices. You will have to call to order specifc finishes but they saved me at least 1K .Be sure to order Franke drain plug as the sink does not come with one. -Dick

Chandon California sparkler is my best buy for the quality. Interms of Champagne, I have tried most of the vintage and superpremiums but still come back to the first Champagne I ever purchased while pursuing my wife, Tattinger Blanc de Blanc. Started with the 1955 vintage and have sampled almost everyone since. -Dick

All the high end Sushi places such as Heat and Murai have been using it since they opened. BTW, if you want to know or purchase truly high end knives for Sushi/Sashimi email me and I will tell you about them. Bring your AMEX card because they go for upwards of $2-3KUS. -Dick

QUOTE (rlibkind @ Dec 17 2003, 09:29 PM) The idea of spending such sums on steak knives seems ridiculous to me. I'd rather make the investment in the steak. Hey, I just got a dozen triple-riveted, full-tang cheapo stamped serrated jobs for $18. They cut meat, they don't tear it. Decent ergonomics and balance. They may not impress, but they work. I suppose. But they'll match the Wusthof set of knives I'm hoping to get for Christmas I have a 12 piece set of the new Wusthof 'Mignon' pattern on order. I expect this set will pass on to at least 2 future generations and make me very happy when I use them. Go ahead Marlene and order your Wusthof and don't say 'I suppose'. Your decision is the right one and should not be subject to ridicule. -Dick

If you follow the method I outlined from Pepin you avoid all the problesm you found with your roast. The outside will be browned, salty with great taste. The ends will have well and medium slices and most of the interior will be the rare where the charachter of the meat has changed from raw to cooked and pink. This is for a whole roast. You will not have to cook two roasts. You will not have to add time at high heat at the end which is the worst time to brown the roast. I am not trying to flame, believe me, but I have a difficult time consolidating your statement "We were really happy with the results" with your "for good or bad" statement? Also your picture looks like a very underdone rib roast. After hearing and viewing your results my initial opinion of reading the Cook's article in confirmed. They wasted a lot of time and effort and probably screwed up a lot of roasts for people who followed thier method when tried and tested methods of cooking a rib roast have been around for years.-Dick

They do not ship fresh wasabi root except as plants for growing. They do ship a paste but that is different. -Dick

I believe most problems with domestic duck are with the duck and not with the cook. A fresh duck raised on grain has so much fat that it is almost impossible to ruin. The frozen ducks are a hit or miss proposition and I think are raised as cheaply as possible. -Dick

In my opinion, brining will not do anything except make the pheseant salty. The reason not to brine is health related. For roasting, one can rub with olive oil or butter or wrap in bacon but I really believe that is more cosmetic. I have been hunting/eating phesaent for 40 years and if cooked by one of the two mentioned methods, you should have good results. If a wild bird and improperly cleaned and chilled, nothing will help the bird. Remember, it's not going to be chicken, so an attempt to make it taste like chicken is a waste of time. Appreciate it as a different fowl. -Dick

I have a Wusthof 12" 'Bonespliiter' which is essentially a wide heavy cook's knife where the back half of the blade is used for actually splitting bones for marrow and the front half for slicing and so marked. The knife can be used to chop a lot of vegetables very fast. I imagine a large person could use a 14" knife. One of things i have learned with Wusthof is that the longer or wider the blade, the larger the handle. My first Wusthof was a 10" cook's since replaced by a 10" wide cook's which is far more comfortable on the other hand, my wife uses a smaller cook's. -Dick

Don't know where it was from, but it was the real thing! Sometimes communication is a little difficult not because of the Japanese language barrier entirely but the Spanish language barrier. Luckily the butcher is occidental. Sweet Willie: I have never been able to find REAL Kobe beef for sale in the US. Some of it is raised in the US, shipped to Japan live and finished in the prefecture of Kobe. Best I have done is Waygu, not frozen from Lobels that they get from Australia. -Dick

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

As with any bird, the most important aspect is obtaining a fresh goose. But since thier is so much fat that must be rendered, a frozen one can be good. It's also pretty difficult to ruin one. For two people, I would really suggest a duckling as a goose is too much for two but if your heart is set on it, go to it! -Dick

For German wines locate a copy of Frank Scoonmaker's "Wines of Germany" and start with QBA's working up to TBA's. It won't be a quick journey but I guarantee that you will love it. For Sauternes, locate some 2001 375ml bottles. Since some of the vineyards have still not delivered the 2001, you may be able to buy some futures if not all gone. I only know I'm waiting for 2 cases of Suiderat 375ml. Once in while i sample other sweet wines from around the world but since my palate was formed on French and German, the rest don't measure up for me. -Dick

$80/#. -Dick

The PROBLEM with the Food Network is that instead of trying to produce a product that has superior programming that entices people to watch implying revenue, after obtaining a stable base market and assuming inelastic demand, they are now only concerned with maximizing profit. This means entertainment shows versas real information shows. An entertainment show with one or two people costs a lot less than Tony's shows. Don't worry, Food Court is next or maybe there already is one. I don't watch the Food Network anymore. -Dick

Purchased some Japanese 'New Year Celebration Ale' 2004 'Hitachino' at Mitsua yesterday. Does this qualify? $4.69US/bottle. Lable says "Ale brewed with spices"-Dick

In reality when you get above a certain proof, the high alcohol content needs dilution by H2O for optimum taste. For tasting cask strength, we only have a tiny sip. Drinking is diluted by water. BTW after all is said and done, we prefer JW 'Blue'. Scotch is one of those items that originally was blended to produce a satisfying product. Marketing has brought us all sorts of products and aging. Marketing has taken product that would have gone into blends and increased the profit margin. Our tasting of many Scotches has shown, that we prefer 'Blue' with a little water. Smell a glass of cask strenght Lagavulin that has dried and sat out overnight. It's as strong as smoked fish! Not objectionable but we prefer a softer product. Of course I would never turn down a single malt experience. -Dick

On my way back from Pheasant Run west of Chicago stopped at Mitsua in Arlington Heights for my usual shopping for Japanese ingrediants and alcohol. Besides the selection of superb quality fruits and vegetables, they had whole fresh Wasabi root. Two roots went into my cart. Came home, broke out the Sashmi 'Yanagi' knife, cut the fish, cooked the rice, peeled and grated the Wasabi root, made sashimi selections and two bowls of Chirashi. For those that have never had fresh grated Wasabi, there is no comparison to any other product. The root is fresh, not overly hot, a little crunchy and just grate(pun!). You get fresh Wasabi at Heat, Murai and other high end Sushi restaurants but this is the first time I have found it fresh in the midwest. Mitsua no longer carries 'Kobe Style' beef. Butcher told me that there was low demand. An indication that the Japanese really like our beef especially at the prices. If you purchase Japanese beer at the liquor area, be aware that most is now 'imported' from Canada. Kirin is actually produced by Bud in Los Angeles! They still have some cases of Saphoro Silver and Reserve from Japan but that is going, at least two cases went into my wagon and Asahi 'Super Dry' in the liter cans is still available from Japan which meant another case into the wagon. Glad I have Volvo wagons because with the large cooler full of fish and meat, bags of fruit and veggies along with the beer and bottles of assorted condiments I still had room to spare. They also have a good selection of 'Jun Mai' Sake. I spent an hour in the store and didn't even touch the book store or the restaurant area. Only store i know of that has crushed ice available for your perishables and understands how to pack the Sashimi quality fish seperate from other items. Only regret is that was no Toro or quail eggs. I think I am spoiled? -Dick

Edsel: "This reminds me of a series of step-by-step books published by Simon and Schuster in the early 80s. I have two of them: Classic Techniques of Italian Cooking by Giuliano Bugialli and Chinese Technique by Ken Hom" I also have Bugialli's book! I will search out Hom's book. I have Hom's "The Taste of China also.-Dick