If you are going to make a beef roast this year, I highly recommend a prime rib roast. This “king of beef roasts” has a ton of flavour due to the marbling and ageing but is also a very tender roast. As far as beef roasts go, you really can’t go wrong. It is definitely a special occasion meal, but if there ever was a time to splurge and celebrate, it’s the holidays!
This recipe is abridged from Cooking Meat, my book of all thing meat. If you like the recipe, please check out the book! We sell it in stores and online, and it is a great reference book for anyone who loves meat and would like to know more about it.
Serves 8 to 10
Seasoning Salt
1 bunch rosemary, leaves picked and chopped
1 bunch thyme, leaves picked and chopped
1 bunch sage, leaves picked and chopped
10 bay leaves, leaves sliced
⅓ cup salt (divided)
8 garlic cloves
¼ cup pepper
Prime Rib
1 (7–8 pounds) prime rib, 3 bones, frenched
¼ cup olive oil
Red Wine Sauce
3 Tbsp butter, cold (divided)
3 Tbsp beef trim (page xx) or ground beef
3 shallots, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1 cup red wine + ¼ cup for finishing the sauce (divided)
6 thyme sprigs
3 bay leaves
4 cups Beef Stock
Salt and pepper
Method
- To make the seasoning salt, blitz the rosemary, thyme, sage, and bay leaves in a food processor with 2 Tbsp of the salt. Add the garlic and pulse to chop. Add the remaining salt and the pepper and pulse until well combined. The salt should have a greenish hue.
- Remove the roast from the fridge and rub it all over with oil, then the seasoning salt. Allow the roast to come to room temperature before cooking, about 1 hour for this size of roast. This step allows the meat to cook more evenly.
- Preheat the oven to 500°F and adjust the racks so the roast can fit in the oven. Have a roasting pan with an elevated roasting rack and a roll of strong butcher’s twine ready.
- Place the rib eye back onto the rib bones to recreate what the roast originally looked like. Using strong butcher’s twine, tie the rib bones to the meat, with knots in between each bone. Place the beef on the roasting rack.
- Place the roasting pan on the lower rack of the oven, close the oven door, and immediately turn down the heat to 300°F. Cook for about 20 minutes per pound for medium-rare, or 2 to 2½ hours for a 7-8 pound roast. To test for doneness, insert a thermometer in the thickest part of the meat. The roast is medium-rare to medium cooked when it reaches 125-130°F. Remove the roast from the pan and transfer it to a platter. Cover with aluminum foil, then a kitchen towel, and allow it to rest for about 30 minutes while you make the sauce.
- To make the sauce, first skim off any excess fat left in the roasting pan. Set the roasting pan over medium heat and deglaze with the 1 cup of wine, scraping up any cooked bits from the bottom of the roasting pan and reduce the wine by half. Melt 1 Tbsp of the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the beef trim and brown it all over. Add the shallots and caramelize, stirring constantly, then add the garlic and stir. Add 1 Tbsp of the butter and the flour and stir until the flour is nut-brown. Add the thyme and bay leaves. Pour in the reduced red wine from the roasting pan and stock, and bring to a simmer. Season with salt and pepper, then simmer the sauce until it coats the back of a spoon.
- Strain the sauce through a fine-mesh sieve into a separate saucepan and whisk in the remaining 1 Tbsp of cold butter and ¼ cup of wine. Pour into a gravy boat.
- To carve the roast, cut and discard the twine. Cut the rib bones into individual pieces and arrange them on a serving platter. Using a long slicing knife, slice the beef and arrange it beside the bones. Serve the gravy alongside.