Experimenting with Standing Rib Roast

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...The Silver Fox and I live in an area where cattle and sheep are raised. That would be immaterial, save for the fact that availability makes them dirt cheap during the holiday season. In one of our local markets, standing rib roasts were actually cheaper per pound than ground beef. Now, the only person less capable of resisting a bargain than me, is the Lord of the Manor. To make a long story short, on an errand meant to pick up a quart of eggnog, he passed the meat counter and came home with three rib roasts. We were on the verge of creating a herd of our own when they joined the two I had already purchased and stored in the freezer.  As it happened, I spoke with my youngest daughter on Christmas morning, and she was in the middle of preparing her holiday dinner. She mentioned that she was using a Paula Deen recipe for her rib roast. While I had other plans for the day, I was curious about the technique she was using and made a mental note to explore it further. Years ago, Anne Seranne developed a recipe for a closed oven rib roast that appeared in  the New York Times. It made a delicious roast that  I stopped using only when we had smoke detectors installed in the house. The 500 degrees needed for her technique managed to set off the smoke alarms in my kitchen and I couldn't stand the noise. The Deen recipe my daughter was using was similar, but the meat roasted at a lower temperature. I had to try it. I love it when simple things produce spectacular results and I'm happy to report that this is a great recipe. It is effortless and truly foolproof if you remember two things. The meat must be at room temperature before roasting and once you put the roast in the oven, the door cannot be opened until you are ready to serve the meat. I did very slightly change the original recipe. I applied my own version of a salt rub to the beef the day before I planned to roast it. The rub, of course, adds flavor, but it also makes a wonderful crust that covers the surfaces of the meat as it roasts. I do hope you'll give this recipe a try. It produces a really nice, nearly effortless rib roast. Here is how it is made.

Standing Rib Roast

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...I rarely make a standing rib roast for our Christmas dinner. I prefer to serve a whole tenderloin or New York strip roast for holiday meals because they are easier to serve and they are definitely less wasteful. That's not to say we don't like rib roast. While others rush to the mall the day after Christmas, you'll find me at the grocery store looking for bargains on meat that was overstocked for the holiday. I rarely leave empty handed and usually have 5 or 6 roasts that will feed the freezer before they feed us. There is always at least one rib roast in my stash. While it may lack the marbling and beautiful cap of butcher trimmed meat, the roast I bring home it is perfect for a family meal when it is properly prepared and cooked. I noticed that Ann Seranne's recipe for rib roast of beef was very popular this holiday season. While her recipe is a treasure, I can't use it. The temperature at which it first cooks sets off every fire alarm in the house and destroys the homey ambiance I like to create for my family and holiday guests. When I make a rib roast I use a recipe that comes from Cook's Illustrated. I think that whenever low temperature roasting is used, it is imperative to have two thermometers. One to judge the temperature of the oven, the other to judge the temperature of the meat. The meat here cooks at 200 degrees F. Make sure that your oven holds that temperature once it has preheated. Mine does not, so I have to set the oven to 225 degrees in order to maintain the correct temperature and have some idea of when the meat will be done. I also strongly suggest you invest in a snake probe for reading the temperature of the meat. You want to keep the oven door shut and the snake probe makes that possible. While it is not specified in the recipe, I bring the roast to room temperature before starting and I personally view step 5 in the recipe to be optional. I hope you will give this recipe a try. Once you have a handle on the timing, this is really simple to do. Here's the recipe.

Standing Rib Roast...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite inspired by Cook's Illustrated

Ingredients:
1 (7-pound)first-cut beef standing rib roast (3 bones), meat removed from bones, bones reserved
Kosher salt and ground black pepper
2 teaspoons vegetable oil

Directions:
1) Using sharp knife, cut slits in surface layer of fat, spaced 1 inch apart, in crosshatch pattern, being careful to cut down to, but not into, meat. Rub 2 tablespoons salt over entire roast and into slits. Place meat back on bones (to save space in refrigerator), transfer to large plate, and refrigerate, uncovered, at least 24 hours and up to 96 hours.
2) Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 200 degrees. Heat oil in 12-inch skillet over high heat until just smoking. Sear sides and top of roast (reserving bone) until browned, 6 to 8 minutes total (do not sear side where roast was cut from bone). Place meat back on ribs, so bones fit where they were cut, and let cool for 10 minutes; tie meat to bones with 2 lengths of twine between ribs. Transfer roast, fat side up, to wire rack set in rimmed baking sheet and season with pepper. Roast until meat registers 110 degrees, 3 to 4 hours.
3) Turn off oven; leave roast in oven, opening door as little as possible, until meat registers about 120 degrees for rare or about 125 degrees for medium-rare, 30 to 75 minutes longer.
4) Remove roast from oven (leave roast on baking sheet), tent loosely with aluminum foil, and let rest for at least 30 minutes and up to 75 minutes.
5) Adjust oven rack about 8 inches from broiler element and heat broiler. Remove foil from roast, form into 3-inch ball, and place under ribs to elevate fat cap. Broil until top of roast is well browned and crisp, 2 to 8 minutes.
6) Transfer roast to carving board; cut twine and remove roast from ribs. Slice meat into 3/4-inch-thick slices. Season with coarse salt to taste, and serve.

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