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Prime Rib Tips
- If you can, get your meat from a butcher.
- Ask for the "first cut."
- Plan on serving about one rib for every two people.
- Ask your butcher to reserve the trimmings for you, if you'd like to make a side dish like gravy or Yorkshire pudding.
- Use a meat thermometer when cooking.
- To make carving a snap, ask your butcher to remove the meat from the bones. Roast your meat with the bones attached by a string; then you just need to cut the string and carve when the meat's done!
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Introduction
- Roasting a prime rib is not complicated, but that doesn't stop prime rib, also known as a standing rib roast, from being an elegant main course at any meal.
- A standing rib roast is so called because it "stands," or rests, on the ribs while cooking. This means the meat doesn't need to sit on a rack while roasting. And it means you don't need to worry about anything beyond selecting the best meat (perhaps with the help of your local butcher), and using a meat thermometer to make sure you cook your prime rib properly!
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Select Your Meat
- There are several considerations in selecting your roast:
- How much meat should I buy?
- A good rule of thumb is that one rib serves two people. The three ribs in your standard prime rib should serve 6-8 people.
- Where should I buy it?
- If you have a local butcher, it's time to visit him! You'll get better quality meat, be able to pre-order should you so desire, and specify any additional requests.
- Is there a difference in grade?
- The top grade of meat is USDA Prime. If your local butcher carries it, that's your best choice.
- If you can't buy USDA Prime, USDA Choice should be fine, as long as you select a well-marbled piece.
- (Marbling refers to the white fat you see in the meat—it's what gives the meat its moistness and flavor).
- There is a wide range in quality within the choice grade, so make sure to look at several pieces of meat side by side to compare them.
- What should I ask for?
- Ask for the first cut, ribs 10-12, from the small end of the roast. This meat is leaner, and also gives you more meat (because there's less bone) for your money.
- Remember the trimmings!
- As meat is much leaner today than in the "olden days," modern rib roasts may not generate enough drippings for you to prepare accompanying dishes like gravy, roasted potatoes, and Yorkshire pudding.
- If you'd still like to have these side dishes, ask your butcher to give you the trimmings (the excess fat that's usually trimmed off) when you order your meat.
- By roasting these with the meat, you should get enough drippings to be able to properly prepare all the dishes that call for them.
- If you only have access to pre-trimmed beef, you can add butter or suet to the pan, though you may lose a bit of flavor.
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Other Ingredients You'll Need
- Optional seasonings, such as:
- See the additional recipes at the bottom of this page for other seasoning suggestions.
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Step 2: Gather Your Tools
- Roasting Pan that will fit the roast with at least 1-2 inches of space around it.
- Don't use a non-stick pan, as it makes it more difficult to remove drippings.
- Baster to remove drippings while cooking.
- Large Glass Measuring Cup to hold the drippings.
- Meat Thermometer
- This is the single most important tool you'll use in roasting the meat.
- The best meat thermometer to use for a roast has a remote probe. A temperature sensor stays inside the meat while the unit itself stays outside the oven, displaying the temperature. This allows you to view the temperature of the meat as it changes, and means you don't need to keep opening the oven door (and therefore lower the oven's temperature).
- Some models have alarms you can set, to alert you when a pre-set temperature is nearly reached.
- This is the single most important tool you'll use in roasting the meat.
- Roasting Pan that will fit the roast with at least 1-2 inches of space around it.
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Step 3: Roast the Meat
- Cooking time varies depending on the shape of the roast, how cold it is to start, the fat content of the meat and how true your oven is.
- You can plan on about 20 minutes a pound for a standing roast—but this is just an estimate you can use to time your dinner. Do NOT use time estimates to cook your meat. Cook by temperature. And it's important to remember that the meat will continue to cook while standing, after you remove it from the oven.
- Allow the meat to come to room temperature, but for safety's sake don't leave it out for more than 1-2 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. This initial high temperature will let you sear the meat.
- Searing produces a nicer crust for the roast, sealing in the juices
- Season the meat, to your taste. Here's one suggestion:
- Rub a cut onion over the meat, then rub meat with salt and pepper.
- Remember to check the other recipes on this page if you'd like more elaborate seasoning ideas.
- Place the meat in the roasting pan, fat side up.
- Place the trimmings you got from the butcher in the pan, as well as your quartered onions.
- Put the roasting pan in the oven.
- After 15 minutes, remove the meat from the oven.
- Turn the temperature down to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Insert meat thermometer into the roast.
- Make sure the thermometer doesn't touch a bone.
- Meat can have harmful bacteria on the surface from the slaughtering process, equipment from the processing plant, or other contamination. Proper cooking will kill harmful bacteria on the surface of a solid cut of meat, but any bacteria that is forced inside the meat won't be killed unless the meat is cooked to a temperature of at least 160 degrees Fahrenheit. By waiting to insert the meat thermometer until after you've seared the outside, you can enjoy meat that is not well done without worrying about bacteria from the surface of the meat causing food poisoning.
- Return the roast to the oven.
- Keep an eye on the drippings—if it looks like a lot are accumulating, use the baster to bring them into a measuring cup as the meat is cooking.
- Remove the meat from the oven when it's 5-10 degrees under the final temperature you want (remember, it will keep cooking outside the oven.) This means that you should remove it from the oven at:
- 115-120 degrees Fahrenheit for rare meat
- 125 degrees Fahrenheit for medium rare
- 135 degrees Fahrenheit for medium
- 155 degrees Fahrenheit for well done
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Step 4: Your Final Preparations
- A few more minutes and your meal will be ready.
- Let the meat to sit, allowing the juices to settle for 15-30 minutes.
- You can use this time to make gravy and/or Yorkshire pudding.
- When you're ready to serve, simply cut the strings that hold the meat and bones together.
- Carve and serve. And enjoy!
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Additional Prime Rib Recipes
- Food Network: Dry-Aged Standing Rib Roast with Sage Jus
- This recipe from Alton Brown takes a unique approach of cooking the roast in a terra cotta planter.
- Food Network: Foolproof Standing Rib Roast
- A simple recipe that requires a garlic and salt rub and four hours of cooking time.
- Williams-Sonoma: Slow-Smoked Rib Roast
- Williams-Sonoma shares the secrets of grilling a prime rib roast.
- Epicurious.com: Roast Prime Rib Au Poivre
- This prime rib is coated with mustard, and three types of pepper for a savory roast.
- Epicurious.com: Black Pepper-crusted Standing Rib Roast Au Jus
- The name says it all: a spicy roast coated with freshly-cracked peppercorns.
- Martha Stewart: Prime Rib Dinner
- Martha's recipe for prime rib includes her instructions for traditional Yorkshire pudding.
- All Recipes: Blackened Prime Rib
- All Recipes suggests pairing this spicy version of prime rib with garlic asparagus and horseradish sauce.
- All Recipes: Restaurant-Style Prime Rib Roast
- A roast recipe seasoned with garlic powder, paprika, and onion powder, among other flavors.
- Cooking for Engineers: Prime Rib or Standing Rib Roast
- A recipe that slow cooks the roast at 200 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Recipezaar: Wonderful Roasted Prime Rib
- Prime rib seasoned with a salt crust.
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Resources for How to Cook Prime Rib
- The BBQ Report: Understanding the USDA Beef Grading System
- Chowhound: Prime Rib Roast vs Rib Eye Roast vs Cross Rib Roast
- Chowhound: Beef Drippings for Yorkies?
- Chowhound: Meat Thermometer vs. Probe Thermometer
- FDA: The Safe Food Chart
- Iowa Beef Industry Council: How to Prepare the Perfect Prime Rib
- Martha Stewart: Prime Rib
- Prime Steak Houses: How to Cook A Prime Rib Roast
- Sam Cooks: How to Cook a Standing Rib Roast, Prime Rib or Beef
- Simply Recipes: Prime Rib Recipe
- South Carolina Department of Agriculture: Beef Industry, AHA Team Up to Promote Meat (February 24, 2005)
- USDA: Beef...from Farm to Table
- USDA: Inspection and Grading - What's the Difference?
- Yahoo! Food: Martha Stewart's Prime Rib 101
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