A roast primer
By Louise Durman Scripps Howard News Service
Fear strikes many cooks at the thought of preparing and serving a prime rib roast for Christmas dinner.
“They’re scared to death,” Barbara Tenney says of those in her cooking classes at Williams-Sonoma in West Town Mall in Knoxville, Tenn. She includes a prime rib roast in some of her sessions.
“They don’t know how to cook it since they don’t do it frequently. It’s expensive to buy, so they don’t want to ruin it.
But she explains that it’s actually easy: “Put it in the oven and forget about it.”
As Tenney says, you want the roast to be done (to taste), not almost raw when it’s sliced, but you don’t want it well done and tough.
Tenney has found the perfect temperature for cooking a prime rib is 200 degrees.
The most important step, she emphasizes, is searing the roast first on top of the stove. This keeps it pink, juicy and tender, and it looks more attractive.
Mostly, “prime” is the grade of meat sold to restaurants; customers in grocery stores usually will find “choice,” and it may go by “rib roast,” “eye of the rib roast” or “standing rib roast.” If it is boneless, it may be called “eye of the rib”; if ribs are still attached, it’s a “standing rib.” A boneless roast is easier to carve and serve. If the roast has ribs attached, ask the butcher to remove the chine bone (backbone). You may want to order the type and size roast you need in advance.
Butchers tend to cut a rib roast – which consists of ribs No. 6 through 12 if left whole – into two distinct cuts. Ask the butcher for the more desirable of the two cuts: ribs 10-12.
Because this portion of the roast is closer to the loin end, it is sometimes called the “loin end.” Other butchers call it the “small end” or the “first cut.” It is more desirable because it contains the large, single rib eye muscle and is less fatty.
A less desirable cut but still an excellent roast consists of ribs 6-9, closer to the chuck end, and sometimes called the “second cut.” The closer to the chuck, the more multi-muscled the roast becomes. Because muscles are surrounded by fat, this means a fattier roast. Some cooks may prefer this cut because the fat adds flavor, but usually the more tender and more regularly formed loin end is considered the best.
Purchase a roast you can fit into your oven. Usually plan on at least 6 ounces of cooked, trimmed meat per adult. A boneless roast gives about two servings per pound while bone-in provides one to one-and-a-half servings.
A roast wrapped in transparent film may be refrigerated three to four days or frozen up to two weeks without rewrapping. For longer freezer storage, repack the roast in heavy-duty foil, freezer paper or plastic freezer bags. Remove as much air as possible. If frozen, let it thaw in the refrigerator four to seven hours a pound for a large roast and three to five hours a pound for a small one. Do not defrost at room temperature.
Be sure you also have a meat thermometer to test for doneness.
PERFECT PRIME RIB
1 three-rib standing rib roast (7 pounds), first cut (ribs No. 10-12), tied at both ends running parallel to the bone
Salt, ground black pepper
Allow roast to set at room temperature for one to three hours.
Adjust oven rack to low position and heat oven to 200 degrees. Heat large roasting pan (not glass) over two burners set at medium-high heat. Place roast in hot pan (do not grease pan) and cook on all sides until nicely browned and about a half cup fat has rendered, 6 to 8 minutes (or longer).
Remove roast from pan. Set wire rack in pan and then set roast on rack. Generously season with salt and pepper.
Place roast in oven; do not cover it and do not add water to the pan. Roast until meat registers 130 degrees (medium rare) on meat thermometer, about 3 1/2 hours (or about 30 minutes per pound). If you want it medium, roast to 145 to 155 degrees. Remember that the roast’s temperature will rise 5 to 10 degrees after it comes out of the oven.
Slices at the ends of the roast will be the most done, and slices in the middle will be more rare.
Let stand 20 minutes or longer before carving and serving with the pan drippings.
A sharp knife is a must for carving. For uniform slices, hold the knife at the same angle for each cut. The more tender the roast, the thicker the slices can be.
(Contact Louise Durman of The Knoxville News-Sentinel in Tennessee at http://www.knoxnews.com.)