Cooking a large roast such as a 10 pound Prime Rib of Beef can be daunting and intimidating but after many years of cooking the King of Roasts I found that dry brining the Prime Rib gives the best results for a tender and juicy roast. I use 1 teaspoon of Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt per pound of meat. In this case I am using a 10 pound roast therefore I will use 10 teaspoons of DCK Salt. My method makes cooking a Prime Rib quite easy.
Serves 8 to 10
1 10 Lb. Prime Rib (About 5 Ribs)
10 Teaspoons Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt
1 Tablespoon Coarse Ground Black Pepper (Butcher’s Grind)
1 Tablespoon Garlic Powder
1 Cup Good Red Wine
3 Cups Homemade Beef Stock or Good Quality Canned Beef Stock
Horseradish Creme Fraiche as an accompaniment.
Dry brined the roast for 48 hours by rubbing Kosher Salt (Diamond Crystal Salt) all over the roast; about 1 teaspoon of kosher salt per pound. After rubbing, place the prime rib on a rack over a sheet pan and refrigerate, uncovered, for 48 hours . This will give the meat a tenderness and juiciness that is beyond compare.
On the day of roasting, remove the roast from the refrigerator 3 to 4 hours before cooking to bring to room temperature. Do not rinse off the salt. Sprinkle the pepper and garlic powder all over the roast (top, bottom and sides).
Preheat oven to 350ºF.
Place the Prime Rib in a shallow roasting pan.
Roast the Prime Rib until the internal temperature registers 128°F for medium rare on an instant read thermometer when inserted in to the middle of the roast (about 3 hours). The roast will continue to cook to about 135°F once removed from the oven.
Remove the roast from the oven, place the roast on a serving platter and let it rest for at least 1 hour before carving. In the mean time, pour off all of the fat left in the roasting pan and over high heat, de-glaze the pan with the red wine scraping up all of the bits on the bottom of the pan. Bring to a boil and reduce by half. Add the beef demi-glaze or stock to the pan and bring back to a boil. Reduce slightly (by about 1/3). Strain Au Jus and serve with Prime Rib. Serve Horseradish Creme Fraiche as an accompaniment.
Hints and Tips: Ask your butcher to trim the Prime Rib leaving some of the fat cap on and to remove the chine bone. Removing the chine bone makes it easy to carve. Have him cut the meat away from the rib bones and then tie it back on. This, also, makes it easy to carve and tying the meat insures even cooking. The meat will not pull away from the center muscle.
If you have a Probe that attaches to your oven, this is the time to use it. If you don’t have one, I suggest you invest in a Remote Probe which can be purchased at a kitchen store such as Williams-Sonoma or Sur La Table. Using a meat probe will insure a perfectly cooked roast. What I especially like about the probe is that it automatically gives you the internal temperature, you will be opening the oven door less keeping the heat where it should be – in the oven. I can’t stress this tool strongly enough. With a meat probe you can cook any kind of roast and always get perfect results. If you do only one thing I suggest in this recipe, make it this – USE A MEAT PROBE. (You won’t need to use an instant read thermometer if you use a Probe.)
Remember, it’s not about the time it takes to cook the meat but the internal temperature of the meat. Everyone’s oven is different so if it takes a little longer or a little less time it doesn’t matter, just as long as you get the right internal temperature.
If you use a Probe, do not take the probe out of the meat until you are ready to carve. If you do take it out when the meat comes out of the oven, the juices will run out. Not a good thing.
I use garlic powder, instead of fresh garlic, because fresh will get too dark and have a bitter and burned taste when used on a roast this size. Three hours is too much cooking time for fresh garlic.
If you want a thicker sauce, add a little cornstarch that has been dissolved with water. Use only 2 or 3 teaspoons of cornstarch to about 2 tablespoons of water. Dissolve the cornstarch in the water by using your finger tips. You don’t want any lumps. When the Au Jus comes to a boil, gradually add the cornstarch-water mixture stirring with a whisk the whole time until you reach a slightly thicker consistency. You want a thin sauce, not gravy.
I hope I have made cooking Prime Rib a less daunting task. You will be so happy I have spent these many years perfecting my Prime Rib Cooking Skills. As I said above, the key to a great Roast is two fold: A Great Piece of Meat and a Cooking Probe.
Happy Roasting!!! Let me know how it turns out.
