The Carnivores Holy Grail

Christmas Dinner & Standing Rib Roast, the two are synonymous. They go together like a glass of wine and another glass of wine. I can’t imagine having one without the other. (One glass of wine?..... Really?)

An exceptional cut of prime rib is, in my mind the very best that beef has to offer.  There’s prime rib so luscious and tender that it literally melts in your mouth. Then there’s what I call ‘Las Vegas prime’, it’s cheap, tough, chewy and flavorless. When you invest a substantial amount of money in the purchase of a rib roast you obviously want the former not the latter. The quality of the meat you purchase is as important as the preparation, if not more so. The basic cooking technique for a rib roast is simple, a little patience and a good thermometer and you will have a masterpiece at dinner time. But no cooking technique can save a poor quality piece of meat. Know where your meat comes from; buy from a local butcher if possible. Purchase the highest grade of meat your budget will allow. If prime is out of the question, it’s running around $12.99 per pound at Costco and King Soopers right now.  Most of the grocers around town have their rib roasts on sale this time of year, Whole Foods has choice rib roasts at $10.99 lb and choice dry aged at 17.99 lb. Kings, Safeway, Sprouts, and Sunflower are all running specials between $4.99 & $5.99 lb for choice. There are varying qualities of ‘choice’ meat, buy from a butcher / grocer that you know and trust.  With proper preparation and cooking a choice roast will be delicious.

The general rule of thumb is low and slow. There are differing opinions as to how to achieve a beautiful brown crust, I’ll give you several options and you can decide which one is best suited for your kitchen and cooking skills.

The Tim Allen Home Improvement Special: Courtesy, Thomas Keller, from his acclaimed ‘Ad Hoc at Home’ cookbook.  (If you really like to cook you gotta buy this book, period.)

Blow Torch Prime Rib Roast: This is manly high adventure cooking. We’re not talking wimpy butane-fired torches here; we’re talking a propane blowtorch from the hardware store.

“I cook rib roast in a very low oven to ensure that it is a rosy medium-rare from the very center almost to its outer edges. But we like the dark caramelized surface, for flavor and for visual appeal, which is typically achieved through roasting at high heat.

We discovered that if you start by giving meat a quick heating using a blowtorch, though it won’t look particularly brown after the toasting, it will develop a beautifully browned surface even in that very low oven.

Propane torches are inexpensive and easy to use. Available at most hardware stores, they usually cost less than $20; replacement cylinders are usually less than $5. Avoid the smaller butane-fired torches sold at gourmet shops; propane torches are more effective.

You can use a torch for caramelizing sugar on crème brûlee, browning meringue, and, as we do, giving a crust to your roast beef. Be sure to store your torch in a safe place.”



Before attempting the torch, hubby recommends that you watch this informative video. He’s watched it countless times to ensure that he has the proper technique:

Blowtorch Prime Rib Roast Recipe

serves 6

Ingredients for Prime Rib Roast

One 2-bone center-cut rib roast (about 4½ pounds), trimmed of excess fat
Kosher salt
Coarsely ground black pepper
Gray salt or coarse sea salt
Horseradish Cream (recipe follows)

Directions for Prime Rib Roast

Position an oven rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 275°F.

Put the roast on a roasting rack in a roasting pan. Hold a blowtorch about 1 inch from the roast and turn to lightly brown the fat on all sides; the idea is to start the fat rendering and to torch the meat just until the surface begins to turn gray. Season the roast generously with salt and pepper.

Transfer to the oven, with the meat toward the back of the oven, and cook until the roast registers 128°F in the center. The total cooking time will be about 2 hours, but begin to check the temperature after 1½ hours. Remove from the oven and let rest in a warm spot for at least 30 minutes for medium-rare.

To carve, cut the meat away from the bones. Separate the bones and put them on a serving platter. Cut the roast in half through the center, turn each piece cut side down, and slice straight down into slices that are about ½ inch thick. Arrange the meat on the platter and sprinkle with gray salt and pepper.

Serve with the horseradish cream on the side.

From our family to yours, we wish you a most loving and joyous Holiday Season. May next year bring you adventure, enlightenment, prosperity, and peace within. Thank you for reading our blog, your comments and ideas are invaluable. If you enjoy our blog please share it with your friends and family, the world needs more foodies!

Happy Eating!

Becky & Jack

Horseradish Cream Recipe

makes about 1 cup

Ingredients for Horseradish Cream

½ cup very cold heavy cream
2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
About ¼ cup drained prepared horseradish

½ teaspoon fleur de sel, or to taste
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or to taste

Directions for Horseradish Cream

This is a basic, and very easy, horseradish sauce—prepared horseradish and cream, seasoned with salt and pepper and a little bit of sherry vinegar. 

Put the heavy cream and vinegar in a medium bowl and whisk until the cream holds a soft shape. Whisk in the horseradish, salt, and pepper.

Refrigerate in a covered container for up to 1 week.

If you have Arsonphobia: ‘fear of fire’, (I’m not kidding, look it up yourself); then you may want to try this alternative method to achieve the same beautiful juicy results without the use of flame throwers.

The ultimate goal is a crusty brown crust, and rosy pink meat with very little ‘grey’ meat. ‘Grey’ meat is the color between the crust and the pink.  Low and slow is still the rule and the meat needs to be dry when it goes into the oven. If your meat is moist it will steam, not roast.  There are several ways to achieve this:

1. Remove all packaging, place roast on a rack on a sheet pan, salt heavily with kosher salt and allow to sit in the fridge uncovered for 2-3 days. Brush off salt crust prior to roasting, rub with canola or olive oil and roast.

2. Make a thick compound of Kosher salt, pepper, rosemary, garlic, spread over roast, place on a rack then on a baking sheet and allow to sit in fridge, uncovered for 2-3 days. Brush off seasoning crust prior to roasting, rub with canola or olive oil, roast.

3. Place roast on a rack on top of a sheet pan, cover with clean dry towels and place in fridge. Replace towels daily for three days. Prior to roasting, rub all over with canola or olive oil, salt & pepper.

Remember brining the turkey? This is essentially the same thing but with beef. You are seasoning and preparing the meat for roasting.

Always remove the roast from the fridge and allow it to come to room temperature before going into the oven, about 1 hour.

Roasting:

Preheat oven to 200 degrees F. Place roast on a rack in roasting pan in bottom 1/3 of oven. For a classically juicy, red, rare piece of meat, remove the roast from the oven when the internal temperature reaches 115. Lovers of ultra-rare, super tender beef that quivers like jelly may pull their ribs at 110. If you are a fan of medium rare beef, pull at 120.

Cover roast with foil and let rest until carry over temperature stops climbing, (about 15 minutes) Increase oven temperature to 500 degrees F. Remove foil and place roast back in oven for about 10 minutes, or until you’ve reached the desired crust. Remove and keep covered until ready to serve, allowing to rest at least 15-20 minutes.

Yorkshire Pudding

If you’ve not had the real thing, you probably think this is a disgusting misrepresentation of a muffin. When served with roast beef, a true Yorkshire pudding is a lovely accompaniment.

Recipe from Jamie Oliver – He’s a Brit and a brilliant chef, these are gorgeous and delicious. (Pictured above).

Makes 8-10 Yorkshire Puddings

Ingredients:
1/2 pint (285 millilitres) milk
4 ounces (115 grams) all-purpose flour
Pinch salt
3 eggs
Vegetable oil

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

Mix the batter ingredients together. Let rest for 10 minutes

Preheat a Yorkshire pudding tray or muffin tin with 1/2-inch (1 centimetre) of oil in each section.

After the 10 minutes divide the batter into the tray. Cook for around 15 to 20 minutes until crisp and puffy, don't open the oven door before then or they won't rise.

Our next posting will be a little easier on the arteries. We'll be writing about the southern New Year's Day tradition of eating black eyed peas for good luck and prosperity for the year ahead. Of course we'll have several yummy recipes for you to try, so stay tuned!