Prime Rib

Don’t think that you need an army to feed to justify cooking a whole ribeye, this is a slow roast with infinite possibilities. We will get to all of it’s uses soon, first we need to cook it.

I have two rub styles that I like to use, both will be cooked the same. The rub featured in the picture is the most straightforward.

I take beef base and massage it all over the ribeye, then over the top I sprinkle a good amount of granulated garlic, onion powder, and white pepper.

The base provides the needed salt, and intensifies the beef flavor. This is the standard “steak house” crowd pleaser. It dose not disappoint.

For this rub I like to dry age the Ribeye about 4 days under refrigeration, so I loosely wrap it in plastic and move it to the fridge.

The second rub...

My preferred method, I create a seasoning blend that will bake into a “bark” on the outside of the roast. You are going to need a cup of coarsely ground black pepper, two cups of brown sugar, 4 oz granulated garlic, 4oz granulated onion, and a bunch of fresh thyme picked and chopped fine.

Mix this seasoning blend and rub deeply into the ribeye. This method is ready to roast right away, and creates a wonderful caramelized crust effect.

How to Cook

Have an oven set to 300 degrees.

Place your prime rib directly on your oven rack with a sheet pan beneath it, will need this to collect juice. Placing your ribeye directly on a pan will keep it from cooking evenly.

If your ribeye is under 15 pounds (and most bought in grocery settings are) this will take 3 and 1/2 hours until ready.

Check occasionally with a meat thermometer around this time, if its internal temperature of 120 degrees pull it out of the oven. It will continue to cook as it rests.

If you want to learn how to gauge this by touch, the resistance of the very center of the loin would feel similar to pressing your finger to the tip of your nose.

Now that all the work is done be sure to let the meat rest, don’t slice into this for at least 30 minutes. Don’t worry, it won’t get cold.

How to Serve

When cutting steaks out of your prime rib understand that the rarest portions will be in the center and the most well done will be on the ends.

I like to serve with a portion of Au Jus (beef stock seasoned with black pepper, balsamic vinegar, and worcestershire.) This broth is delightful for dunking chunks of cut steak into before eating.

Some creamy horseradish sauce.

(1 cup mayonnaise, 1 cup sour cream, 3 heaping tablespoons of ground horseradish, with the juice of one lemon, season with salt and pepper.)

A simple baked potato is a nice touch as well.

If you have ribeye left after diner simply move to the fridge. Let it cool completely and wrap.

You could slice this roast as thin as you can. It’s the best roast beef you could dream of, and at a much better price than buying it at a market.

Try making French dip sandwiches by dipping the meat into hot Auj Jus and serving it with melted provolone cheese and fried onions.

Or maybe a pot roast sandwich with a root vegetable slaw and a parsley vinaigrette.

Alternatively, skip the sandwiches all together, dice the ribeye into chunks and throw into a stew.

Possibly use the tender chunks to make a nice stroganoff with egg noodles.

The whole loin can be broken down into more manageable steaks and frozen. That way you only pull a steak out at a time to use for recipes. Theres really no fear having waste. You will have a beautifully tender steak ready to thaw and utilize in any dish.

Getting into the habit of cooking a whole prime will ultimately save a lot of cooking time down the road.

Roasting this 15 pound piece of meat may seem daunting at first, but it’s easy to get the hang of. It’s hard to think of another way to produce as much delicious food with such minimal effort. So have a go at it, and enjoy!