Perfect Prime Rib

A well-cooked prime rib roast is, in my most humble opinion, one of the finest pieces of beef you will ever eat. It's hard to cook a truly bad prime rib, but it's so easy to cook an amazing one. This is not so much a recipe as it is a guideline - there are no fancy ingredients, no tricky techiques to master. All you really need is an oven and a whole lot of time. A high-heat start gives the roast a nice crisp outside, while roasting for the majority of the cooking time yields a lovely tender roast with an even doneness. Because roasts don't come in standard sizes, and oven temperatures may vary between models, it is absolutely vital to use a meat thermometer to determine when the roast is finished. This roast is best cooked to no more than medium, any more and it's really just a waste of this cut of meat.

Perfect Prime Rib

Prime rib roast of your desired size
Sea salt
Freshly cracked pepper
Herb rub of choice
2 carrots
1 large onion

When choosing a roast, a good guess is to estimate that you can feed 2 people per rib. A 3-rib roast would easily serve 6 adults. Ask your butcher for the 'small' end of the prime rib if you ca, but as I said above, a bad prime rib is hard to come by. I have cooked both ends and found that they're both delicious!

A couple hours before roasting, remove the roast from the fridge and allow it to come to room temperature. Rub the meat all over with herbs. My rub of choice consists of rosemary, thyme, sage, basil and oregano. You can use fresh if you'd like, but I keep this dried herb blend on hand for various seasoning purposes, and find it's perfect for this. Just before cooking, season with salt & pepper.

Preheat your oven to 450F. Scrub your carrots and remove the ends, no need to peel. Cut them into a couple large pieces. Trim & peel the onion, cut it into quarters. Scatter the carrot & onion pieces in the bottom of a roasting pan, and lay the roast, rib side down, on top of them. If you have a remote meat thermometer, now is a good time to place the probe in a good position to monitor the internal temperature.

Place the roast in the oven and roast at 450F for 15 minutes. Without opening the oven door, turn the oven down to 250F, and continue to roast for 20-25 minutes per pound, until the roast reaches an internal temperature of 130F for medium rare. If you like your meat done a little more, roast to 140F for medium.

When the roast is done, cover it with aluminum foil and a kitchen towel to allow it to rest. It's important to allow the roast to rest for at least 20-30 minutes before carving.

If a jus or gravy is your thing, move the roast to a board for carving. Remove the carrot & onion pieces from the pan, and heat the drippings over medium heat. Deglaze the pan with a splash of red wine and, if necessary, supplement the drippings with beef stock. For a thick gravy, bring to a simmer and thicken with a couple tablespoons of cornstarch dissolved in a bit of cold water. You may find, however, that this roast rarely releases enough drippings to make a jus or gravy without supplementation. This is not a bad thing, it just means all those delicious meaty juices are still inside your roast!