Prime Rib

Jess and I stumbled upon a beautiful 4 pound prime rib roast (on sale!) at Kroger one evening while picking up our normal grocery items.  Having never made one before, I was initially a bit daunted...could I handle it?  What if I screw up such an expensive cut of meat?  Even on sale, it was definitely a treat to get one.  It took a couple minutes of fierce internal debate, but then I pulled myself together and bought the darn thing!  Good choice, internal dialogue.  Good choice, indeed!  Because it came out beautifully!!!

If you've watched me come up with dishes, read this blog, and/or have spent time in my kitchen, you might know that I'm into savory flavors...as many as I can get per dish!  I decided that herbs and garlic would be the way to go for this dish.

Oven preheated to 450.

After being freed from it's temporary butcher paper prison, I rubbed it down with olive oil.  Then I cut about 15 slits in various parts of the meat to insert a garlic clove in each one.  Oh yes...garlic studded prime rib!  I then chopped about a 1/4 cup of fresh rosemary and about 3 sprigs worth of fresh thyme from my garden.  These coated the prime rib nicely.  A final sprinkle of salt and pepper, and the roast hit the oven. 

Garlic - o - rama!

 



It hung out in there for about 15 minutes and then I dropped the oven heat to 325, where it stayed for the duration of the roasting.  An hour later, I opened the oven to find a gorgeous prime rib!

It's not blood...it's just meat juice! 

 

We like our prime rib pretty rare...nice and brown on the outside and juicy pink on the inside (internal temp about 125-130 degrees).  Cook yours a bit longer if you're not as keen on that.  But c'mon, can you really resist something this lovely?

Best slices since...um...sliced bread?

 

Even if you don't like it this pink, don't overcook this bad boy.  You'll lose the moistness of the meat and that would be tragic. In case yours isn't juicy enough for you (or if you're a gravy-holic like me), here's a quick and easy rosemary gravy I whipped up that went quite well with the meat:

 

1 tbsp. butter

1 tbsp. flour

1 cup beef broth

1 clove garlic

1 tsp. rosemary

 

Chop the garlic clove into 4 pieces and set aside. Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat.  Add the flour and whisk continuously.  The result will be a thicker pasty looking substance.  While still whisking, pour in your beef broth slowly to combine.  It should start to thicken up immediately.  Bring to a simmer and add your garlic and rosemary.  Serve hot.

 

Ta-dah!  Meat and gravy...ooo baby! 

 

Try it.  You'll like it.

 

-Sam