Standing Rib Roast– perfect EVERY time!
Rib roast is a perennial favorite at the Furman house. The hubs LOVES a nice, thick steak– and while we don’t indulge often, it’s definitely a nice treat now and then– and it’s a great holiday meal!
A few tips to selecting and butchering the rib roast– first, whenever possible, patronize a store that has a butcher on duty that can help select and “french” the roast for you. Frenching just means that they remove the ribs and then tie them on to the roast– if you don’t remove the ribs it’s difficult to cut the steak once it’s cooked as the bones are interlocked and there’s no easy way to cut through the roast. If you remove and discard the ribs prior to cooking you’ll lose out on the flavor that the bones/fat will impart to the rest of the steak.
The cooking time depends on the thickness of the steak and the strength of your oven, so use a meat thermometer to ensure that the roast is cooked to the appropriate doneness.
INGREDIENTS:
- Standing Rib Roast, any size (though I don’t like to go above 7-8 lbs as it makes it difficult to get it cooked appropriately in the middle without burning/drying out the outside with a roast that’s too large
-Raw garlic, a TON. About 3-4 bulbs. Yes, BULBS, not cloves. Peeled.
-Kosher salt, to taste
-Fresh cracked pepper, to taste
-Canola oil, a few teaspoons
DIRECTIONS:
Take the steak out of the fridge. Preheat oven to 375*. In a small food processor (or, if you’re feeling up for a challenge, a mortar and pestle will work, too!)– add garlic, salt and pepper– pulse to mince/chop– stream in just enough canola oil to get things moving. You want to make a thick paste that will adhere to the steak. Using a pastry brush or a soft spatula or even your hands, coat the entire roast in the garlic paste/mixture. You want it to look like this:
(one of these days, I’ll use a real camera instead of my cell phone to take these pictures, sorry for the horrible quality!)
Sear it in a 375* oven for 15-20 minutes, then drop the temperature to 325* and cook ’til the center is about 10*-15* below where you want it (i.e. medium rare is 131*, so take it out of the oven once the center of the roast hits 115*-120*) and tent it with foil and allow it to rest until it comes up to temperature. (PS if you find that the outside is getting too done while the interior is still not hot enough, tent it loosely with foil and return to the oven, this will allow it to continue to cook without getting the exterior too overdone)
You want it to look like this when done (but, again, go by the thermometer NOT the look of the roast!) Allow the roast to rest at least 15 minutes, check the temperature– then remove the ribs (again, if the roast was Frenched, they are already cut away from the roast and simply tied on!), and slice the steak. If you find the seasoning is too strong, simply scrape some of the crust off, but since the garlic roasts and carmelizes, it’s not at ALL like eating raw garlic, it’s mellow and nutty and YUMMY. Enjoy!
Not sure what temperature to cook your steak until? Check out this handy dandy chart from Wikipedia (find the article HERE)– you will want to remove the roast about 10-15* BELOW where you want it to end up as it will continue to cook once it’s removed from the oven.
- Rare — (52 °C (126 °F) core temperature) The outside is grey-brown, and the middle of the steak is fully red and slightly warm.
- Medium rare — (55 °C (131 °F) core temperature) The steak will have a reddish-pink center. This is the standard degree of cooking at most steakhouses, unless specified otherwise.
- Medium — (63 °C (145 °F) core temperature) The middle of the steak is hot and fully pink surrounding the center. The outside is grey-brown.
- Medium well done — (68 °C (154 °F) core temperature) The meat is lightly pink surrounding the center.
- Well done — (73 °C (163 °F) and above core temperature) The meat is grey-brown in the center and slightly charred. In parts of England this is known as “German style”.
