The Christmas Beast

This was the third year that we had a Christmas Rib Roast and I've got to say, I love the tradition!  This was the first year I had to cook it myself.  Here is the website that was really helpful: http://www.thehungrymouse.com/2011/03/22/restaurant-style-prime-rib-roast/  This year our roast was 7lbs... I think.  It had the bone on with it cut and then tied on.

And here is a reprint of the recipe from Pat:

If you have time or desire – you can “dry age’ the roast for 1-3 days in the fridge. (Pat dry, place on rack over plate with paper towel. Put in fridge, not touching anything) This intensifies the flavor even if done only one day. If your fridge has any “odors” you may just want to skip this step. We had a 3.5# “large end” rib roast in 2010.It fed 6 adults and 4 children with sparse leftovers. For that size we made a seasoning mix of 2 ½ to 3 T of Fleur de Sel + 2 ½ T cracked black pepper + 5 coarsely chopped cloves of garlic. Take roast out of fridge an hour before cooking to bring to room temp. Tie the roast with cotton twine, near each end parallel to the bones – it keeps the outer layer of meat from pulling away from the muscle Adjust the oven rack to lowest position and preheat to 250 degrees. (I think we did 250 w/ convection) . If you plan to make some gravy – you can put about ½ cup of flour in a small ovenproof container. Put it in the oven at the same time as the roast. It will brown/cook and when you use it to thicken the drippings it will give the gravy  a better flavor…since the flour has “has cooked” …plus it will  brown giving the gravy a deeper color. Heat a large heavy bottomed roasting pan ( I used the large cast iron frying pan) over medium high on a burner. Place the in the hot pan and cook on all sides until nicely browned. It should take about 6-8 minutes and may render about ½ cup of fat. Remove roast from pan, set a rack in bottom of pan and return roast onto the rack. Now is the time to season the meat w/ the mixture. Place the roast in oven until the thermometer registers 130 for medium rare – I think it should take about about 2 ½ hours. Once at 130 – remove from oven, tent with foil and let stand about20 minutes ( our roast went from 130 to 143 at the end of resting). Carve away. That’s all I have in my notes – hope it works out as well as your memory of the 2010 beast. Most of the guidance I used is from the Cook’s Illustrated “the New Best Recipe” book. Gravy is always a challenge. I poured the juices from the roasting pan, separating the fat out. I returned the “defatted” drippings to the roasting pan and adding some good beef stock/broth. Scape up any bits from the bottom of the pan. From here on in it’s a personal “game”. . . you need to taste to check for salt level – then decide whether you want to use broth, wine or water to “expand” the quantity … and you can make a thick paste with some of the browned flour – and add a tsp at a time to “thicken” to desired level. Be creative as you like – or if you have enough drippings, you may just want to defat and use it. Hope that provides some type of a recipe for you. Have fun and enjoy! Love to all Pat/Mom