New Year, New Post-Bloat Post: Standing Rib Roast

Momma Foodie's trip to NYC wasn't ALL about rolling from restaurant to restaurant--call it daughterly guilt, but I felt the Foodie Clan should have at least one home-cooked meal. So I searched and spliced together a recipe for the Granddaddy of Holiday Dinners: Standing Rib Roast.

I'm not what you'd call a natural at roasting--I make a pretty fierce Thanksgiving turkey, but that's about it in terms of really big cuts of protein.  This may be a myth perpetuated by 1950's Martyr Mommies, but I was inclined to equate muscle mass with difficulty.

Luckily, my momma isn't of this ilk, so when I told her I was a little apprehensive, she shrugged and said: "It's really not hard at all."

And lo, she was right! The roast was the most impressive, hands-off meal I've made in awhile, and it gave the fam something to pick at for days afterward.  Procuring said roast proved to be FAR more challenging than actually cooking the friggen thing. 

(MEGAPROPS to the selectively cheery Whole Foods staff that endured the madness! That's YOU, smiley fishmonger fella, and YOU, beneficent butcher dude! For the rest of you ...yes YOU, friggen nasty snarky cashier...well...hell is pretty much where you were, so I won't have to waste any more mojo wishing you ill.)

A few things I was looking for when cobbling Formula FrankenRoast:

1) Two to three days of fridge-based dry-aging.  Yes, nervous nellies, I've read up on the potential hazards of home dry-aging.  I personally think they're written by folks who can afford professionally-aged, "Prime" Grade meat.  Which I can't.   For steaks and roasts, I can attest that this extra little step goes a long way to make "Choice" Grade beef more palatable, but can easily be skipped by apocalyptic paranoids and those unable to maintain a biohazard-free fridge.

2) A minimalist rub.  I went with chopped fresh garlic and rosemary, kosher salt, black pepper, mustard powder, and olive oil to get the whole thing going.  Really, you don't need much else--an article in Saveur mentioned the whole cutting-tiny-pockets-in-the-meat-in-which-to-shove-garlic thing, but I didn't like the idea of extra holes to lose jus.

3) An initial blast of high heat followed by a cooler, slow roasting period.  Cooking temperatures and times varied a lot between recipes, but this combination made the most sense to me.  DO NOT rely solely on preconceived cooking times for perfect doneness; invest in a quick-read thermometer and keep tabs on the internal temperature. I started the roast at 450 degrees F for 25 minutes, turned it down to 275 degrees F, about 15 minutes per pound, and pulled my roast when it hit 125-128 degrees F (a bit past medium rare).

4) A half-hour of resting time before carving.  Otherwise, all the juice will end up on you, on your board, on your guests' plates, instead of where it's supposed to be--in the meat.

5) A simple reduction sauce.  EEEEEEHHHHH--WRONG! My fam pretty much ignored the red wine and shallot reduction I made with the jus.  So unless you screw up and need to resuscitate a dry roast, I wouldn't bother with sauce-making much beyond mixing a little horseradish, sour cream, and a taste of Worcestershire (which also makes great lube for sandwiches the next day).

A brilliant guest toting a half-sheet pan of kalua pig (THANK YOU, Kevin!), some no-brainer sides, a couple of bottles of wine, and you’ve got a swagger-worthy holiday feast.

Happy New Year, all!

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Standing Rib Roast with Rosemary-Garlic Yukon Golds

Adapted by An Effing Foodie
Spliced together from recipes by Alton Brown, Saveur Magazine, Lever House’s Dan Silverman (via NYMag.com), Cooking for Engineers.

Generously feeds 5 holiday revelers (with the assumption of sides).

Ingredients:

For the roast:

• 1 5-lb. standing rib roast, Choice or Prime Grade (mine was 4.5 lb, or two ribs wide)
• A few TBSP olive or canola oil
• 3-4 sprigs rosemary, leaves stripped and chopped
• 5-6 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2-3 tsp. Coleman’s Mustard Powder
• A handful of kosher salt
• Cracked black pepper

For the potatoes:

• 4 medium Yukon Gold potatoes, scrubbed, cut into 1-inch chunks (any high-starch potatoes will do just fine--reds, fingerlings, new potatoes--as will turnips, carrots, parsnips, or any combination thereof)
• 2-3 sprigs rosemary, leaves stripped and chopped
• 3-4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 tsp. kosher salt
• Cracked black pepper

Equipment:

• Instant-read thermometer (You don’t need anything fancypants--the ‘ol tire-gauge-looking sort will do just fine.)
• Heavy-gauge roasting or baking pan with high sides (at least 2 inches), or Dutch oven (i.e. something that won’t buckle, will comfortably house your meat and potatoes, and won’t spill juices)
• Lots of paper towels

Method:

If you are dry aging*:

Trot your hard-won roast home, unwrap it, and blot the surface of the beef with paper towels to remove any immediate moisture. Place said roast on a heavy plate or platter lined with a few paper towels. (Alton Brown uses a pan with a fitted rack—if you have the equipment and fridge space, this may be the better way to go.)

Cover the roast with yet more paper towels, and pop that puppy on the top shelf of your fridge. (Some recipes like the bottom shelf, as it is the coldest spot, but I didn’t like the idea of debris sprinkling down on the roast-rig. Uck.)

Allow the beef to sit there for 2-3 days, rotating occasionally (the roast, NOT the plate, so that every surface of the meat can be exposed to air) and changing the paper towels often (soggy = BAD).

*This Effing Foodie WILL NOT be held liable for any food-borne illnesses afflicting you or your guests. Again, if you are skittish, or the contents of your fridge have become self-aware, skipSKIPskip this step!

On cooking day:

2-3 hours before cooking, remove roast from the fridge to allow it to come to room temperature, discarding paper towels.

Place rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat to 450 degrees F.

Combine the chopped rosemary and garlic in a small bowl, along with a drizzle of olive oil. Mix into a chunky paste and set aside.

Place roast on a clean platter or cutting board. Rub the surface of the entire roast with oil (don’t forget the bones!). Once the roast is coated, sprinkle on and rub in the mustard powder. Repeat the procedure with the salt and pepper—don’t worry too much about measurements, it’s REALLY hard to overseason in this case, so go to town. Finish the meat massage with the garlic mixture.

Place roast ribs-side-up in a roasting pan or Dutch oven. Roast at 450 degrees F for 20-25 minutes, or until browned and sizzling. Reduce heat to 275 degrees F. Rare will need about 12 minutes a pound, 15 minutes a pound for medium (so about 60-75 additional minutes for a 5 lb. roast).      

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, toss the cut potatoes with enough oil to coat. Add rosemary, garlic, salt and pepper; toss to combine evenly. When there’s 30 minutes left on the roast, remove the pan from the oven. Spoon the potatoes around the meat, and replace pan in the oven.

When time’s almost up, check the internal temperature at the center of the roast, avoiding the bones. Pull roast at 115-120 degrees F for rare, 120-125 for medium-rare, 125-130 for medium. (The temp of the roast will continue to rise while resting.)

Carefully transfer roast to a clean platter and cover lightly with aluminum foil. Allow meat to rest for at least 30 minutes before carving.

Crank oven back up to 400 degrees F. In roast pan, carefully turn potatoes to coat with pan juices. Replace pan in oven and roast until crispy and browned, which just about the time when the roast is ready to be carved (20-30 minutes). Transfer potatoes to a serving platter.

Carve (take a peek at Saveur’s carving guide), serve, and bask in relief.

Notes:

• Aforeposted Brussels sprouts are a great accompaniment!
• If you prefer to reserve pan drippings for sauce or serving, feel free to roast the potatoes in a separate pan once the roast comes out, as the potato procedure tends to suck the jus up.

Comments

[Ben]

Hey, that is a tasty looking slab of meat.

Where do you get such a thing? Do they sell at the butcher counters of most grocery stores?

[EF]

Thankee kindly, Ben!

They do indeed carry standing rib roast in most of the larger grocery stores (particularly around the holidays), some of whom will even cut the roast to your specifications (poundage, # of ribs, cutting the ribs off for easier carving, etc).

I betcha Giant in TX will provide what you seek, as will Whole Foods, Costco or Sam's Club. ;>