Prime Rib (for printing) …

What follows is the shameless use of a blog post to simply record some instructions for the next time I want/need to prepare the King of Christmas dinner: Prime Rib. At least, I have come to associate Prime Rib (PR) with a December holiday meal akin to turkey for Thanksgiving; however, growing up this wasn’t the case. My family did meat fondue on Christmas Eve. The burning pots of oil were intimidating, but they did a marvelous job of crisping up small chunks of beef which were then plunged into one of three different sauces and chased down by fluffy crescent rolls. Anymore, Janet and I make cheese fondue … still delicious but much less dangerous. So, the affinity for PR developed later in my adult life, probably much later, given the price of a 3 bone-in standing rib roast from the local butcher these days. Regardless, I have come to regard the PR as a legend in the meat ecosystem. It’s general knowledge that Rib Eyes are among the most flavorful of the steaks. Well, the PR is the 7-bone piece of the cow from which the Rib Eye steaks are taken. In other words, eating PR is like eating Rib Eye that has been seasoned and slow cooked to a deliciously soft, mouth-watering, medium-rare slab of pure tastebud heaven. 

As detailed in an earlier post, I have a robust relationship with Tik Tok, and right now the algorithm is delivering about 2-3 PR “how-to” videos per day. While it seems daunting to bring a large and expensive cut of beef to perfection, these online tutorials really boil the process down to a few steps (see below). Fundamentally, you need to grill, smoke, deep-fry or oven bake the standing rib roast to an internal temperature of 120 to 130 degrees. This produces a juicy and very pink-to-red slice of PR. You’ll never see a photo of a well done slab of PR, but, once cut, it’s easy to “brown it up” over a stovetop burner in a lightly oiled pan … de rigueur chez Watson. In addition to preparing this offering of meat over fire, it’s also worth thinking about the seasoning that will be liberally applied to the outside of the roast to ensure a savory crust. Finally, the PR should be accompanied by a zesty horseradish sauce and a liberal amount of au jus made from the PR drippings.

The information below is subject to change/revision over time as experience dictates:

Chef John’s Perfect Prime Rib:

• 1 (4 pound) bone-in prime rib roast (room temperature)
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 TB freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tp herbes de Provence
• Kosher salt to taste

1. Place prime rib roast on a plate and bring to room temperature, 2 to 4 hours
2. Preheat oven to 500 degrees F
3. Combine butter, pepper, and herbes de Provence in a bowl; mix until well blended. Spread butter mixture evenly over entire roast. Season roast generously with kosher salt.
4. Roast in the preheated oven for 20 minutes (if your roast is larger or smaller than 4 pounds, multiply the exact weight times 5 minutes)
5. Turn the oven off and, leaving the roast in the oven with the door closed, let the roast sit in the oven for 2 hours
6. Remove roast, slice and serve.

Beef au Jus:

• 1/4 cup beef drippings
• 11/2 TB all-purpose flour
• 2 cups beef broth
• Salt and black pepper to taste

1. Melt drippings in a skillet over medium-high heat. Whisk in flour and cook, whisking constantly, until the mixture thickens, about 3 minutes
2. Add beef broth gradually, whisking constantly, then increase heat to high and bring to a boil; season with salt and pepper to taste

Horseradish Sauce:

• 1/2 cup nonfat sour cream
• 3 TB reduced-fat mayonnaise
• 2 TB prepared horseradish
• 1 TB cider vinegar
• 1 tsp mustard powder
• 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

1. Gather all ingredients
2. Whisk sour cream, mayonnaise, horseradish, vinegar, mustard powder, and cayenne pepper together in a small bowl until well combined.