Dinner Recipes

Classic Prime Rib

There’s nothing like a roast during the holiday season. As it slowly cooks throughout the day, it makes the house smell warm and inviting. And when you finally place it and all its meaty majesty in the center of the table, it seems to say, “Pull up a chair and stay awhile.”

This year, we’re building our holiday spread around a classic prime rib seasoned with a rub of rosemary, thyme, and plenty of garlic. It roasts up unbelievably tender and juicy — and the rub creates a charred, earthy crust all around that beautiful cut of meat. Every now and then, you get a bite with little nibs of caramelization that one of our tasters endearingly refers to as “meat candy.”

But what really takes this roast over the top is the jus: Made with beef stock, rosemary, thyme, peppercorns, and garlic, it’s a lovely extension of the roast’s flavors. Add the drippings from the roasting pan, and you get a jolt of richness to elevate all the herbiness.

The flavors in this prime rib are super versatile, so you can serve it with a variety of your favorite sides. In the test kitchen, we enjoyed ours with roasted Brussels sprouts and yams — both of which we drizzled with a bit of the jus in an act of pure indulgence. And naturally, this roast pairs exceptionally well with a big, bold cabernet sauvignon or a peppery syrah.

Our tip: if you don’t feel like fussing with the bone-removal for this roast, the Gelson’s butchers will gladly do it for you!

Servings: 6 to 8

Classic Prime Rib
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Dinner

Classic Prime Rib

Ingredients

For the prime-rib roast:
1 4-bone prime-rib roast (9lbs)
3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
4 garlic cloves, sliced
For the spice rub:
1 Tbsp Gelson’s dried European thyme
1 Tbsp Gelson’s dried rosemary
1 Tbsp Gelson’s onion powder
1 Tbsp Gelson’s garlic powder
2 Tbsp kosher salt
For the jus:
1 32-oz container unsalted beef stock
1 sprig Gelson’s organic fresh rosemary
2 sprigs Gelson’s organic fresh thyme
6 Gelson’s whole black peppercorns
2 cloves garlic, sliced
Kosher salt, to taste

Directions

  1. Remove the rib roast from the refrigerator 2 hours before cooking to bring it to room temperature.

  2. Ten minutes before cooking, remove the ribs from the roast: Place your knife between the roast and the ribs, and slice downward along the curve of the ribs to remove the rack from the roast. Pour the olive oil over the roast, coating it completely.

  3. In a small bowl, combine the spice rub ingredients. Rub the spices all over the roast to coat it completely.

  4. Place ribs back onto the roast and tie them in place with butcher’s twine. Wrap the twine completely around the length and width of the roast, twice in each direction.

  5. Cut ½”-deep slits along the top of the roast and insert the sliced garlic into the cuts.

  6. Preheat the oven to 500° and move a rack to the second position from the bottom.

  7. Transfer the roast to a roasting pan, rib side down. Insert an oven-safe thermometer into the center of the roast for 45 minutes. (Roughly 5 minutes per pound of meat.)

  8. To make the jus: Pour the beef stock into a medium pot. Add the rosemary, thyme, peppercorns, and garlic and bring to a simmer for 1 hour.

  9. After 45 minutes, turn the oven off and leave the roast in the closed oven for an additional 1 ½ hours. At that point, the meat should be medium rare, or 135° on the thermometer. If not, close the oven door and check the temperature every 15 minutes.

  10. Remove the roast from the oven, let it rest for 10 minutes, and then remove the twine and the bones. Slice the bones apart, and add them to the jus.

  11. Skim the fat from the roast drippings and discard it. Add the remaining drippings to the jus. Bring it to a rapid simmer, cook for 10 minutes, and season with salt to taste. Strain the jus into a bowl for dipping.

  12. Slice the prime rib into ¾” slices and serve hot au jus.


Recipe source: Food & Wine

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