Page 1 of 6 Contents Overview... 1 Planning... 2 Sizing the Roast... 2 Setting a Serving Time... 3 Setting a Cooking Time... 3 Table 1: Sizes, Cooking Times, and Temperatures... 4 Table 2: Timing of Steps... 4 Doing... 4 Shop... 4 Pick Up... 4 Season Day Before Serving... 5 Staging Day of Serving... 5 Preheat... 5 In Oven... 5 Half-Way Temp Check... 5 Last Hour Temp Checks... 5 Out of Oven... 6 Pan Roasted Vegetables... 6 Brown-off... 6 Serving... 6 Roast Notes... 6 Overview This recipe is intended for indoor cooking in an oven, for example, as a Christmas roast, when you are less likely to be outside on the grill. I will work on a grilling version someday. The word roast, or roast beef, in this recipe implies a large or chuck end roast. This roast is comprised of the 1 st through 5 th ribs. The bones can remain attached or the butcher can remove the bones and reattach them with string (bone-in-tied or semi boneless). Large or chuck-end roasts are larger in diameter, less tender, have more fat, and are less expensive. There are 12 ribs in all. Technically a Full Prime Rib or Standing Rib Roast is comprised of the 6 th 12 th ribs from the small or loin-end. These roasts are smaller in diameter, are supposed to be more tender, less fatty, and are more expensive.
Page 2 of 6 You can use this recipe for either a large-end or small-end roast but be careful with cooking times which might be a little less for small-end roasts. Temperatures are in degrees Fahrenheit. Cooking times are in hours unless otherwise specified. This recipe uses a low temperature right from the start and long cooking time approach to achieve uniform, juicy doneness, with browning-off as the last step. This method of cooking produces very uniform doneness all the way through. This is both a great thing and a possible problem if you have eaters with different doneness preferences. I am never quite sure how to cook one roast to meet everyone s taste. If you have some eaters who like a rare roast and others who like it well done, what do you do? You could cook it to medium doneness, in which case no one gets what they want. Or, since you can t undo an overcooked roast, I prefer to cook it rare to medium-rare and further cook a piece or two for those who like it well-done. Another option is to start your roast in a very hot oven and turn it down once it is in. This will cook the perimeter of the roast more than the center, possibly giving eaters with different tastes more options from which to choose. Planning Unless you serve a roast beef dinner often, start planning at least 2 to 3 days before. Planning your roast beef dinner is the most time-consuming step. The rest is easy. If you serve a roast often, skip the Planning section and go straight to Doing. Planning involves: Sizing the Roast Setting a Serving Time Setting a Cooking Time Don t forget you will also need a rack to hold the roast, a roasting pan, a meat thermometer, a carving board, carving fork and knife. A remote Redi-Chek thermometer (or similar) is very handy. Sizing the Roast Calculate the size of your roast. Here is my Roast Calculator based on a local price for Angus beef in December 2017. Smaller roasts (less than 4 ribs) need more attention and are less forgiving. If you really need a smaller roast, consider getting a 4-rib small or loin-end roast. For Large-End Bone-In Tied Prime Rib Roast Pounds @ 1.25 Ribs @ 1 rib Number of Pounds per per 2.5 People Person Pounds Price 2 2.50 1 $ 17.48 4 5.00 2 $ 34.95 6 7.50 3 $ 52.43 8 10.00 4 $ 69.90 10 12.50 5 $ 87.38 12 15.00 6 $ 104.85 14 17.50 7 $ 122.33 16 20.00 8 $ 139.80 18 22.50 9 $ 157.28
Page 3 of 6 Setting a Serving Time When do you want to serve your roast? Set a time and plan by working backwards from there. If you like to carve at the table, serving time is carving time. If not, allow a few extra minutes to carve the roast. Setting a Cooking Time Cooking time is important unless it doesn t matter what time you serve. If you have a serving time, you need to know your cooking time. You do have control over this, so you want to SET it. Cooking time includes: Oven Time 5 to 6½ hours depending on size of roast, desired doneness, and oven temperature Resting Time ½ to 1½ hours Browning-off Time 10-15 minutes Oven Time depends on several factors: Size of Roast Diameter probably matters more than length. This recipe factors-in a large-end cut. If you are using a small-end cut, adjust accordingly. Length, or number of ribs, is going to be different for each meal. However, cooking times will probably be about the same for a 4-rib or even a 3-rib roast as for a 7-rib roast. So, if you are using a 4 to 7-rib roast, the size of the roast is already factored in to the oven time. Smaller roasts require more attention and are less forgiving. Desired Doneness This you need to decide as was covered in the Overview. Oven Temperature This gives you control over achieving desired doneness at the set Cooking Time. Cook low (200 degrees or as low as 150 degrees) for juicy, even, care-free cooking. If you must cook at higher temperatures to shorten your oven time, be careful to watch your internal meat temperature more frequently or you will quickly have a well-done roast. Also, realize that cooking at a higher temperature means your roast will be more well-done at the perimeter, not as evenly cooked as it will be using lower temperature cooking. Sample Recommendation for 4 to 7-Rib Roast: Set Cooking Time: 6 hours o Oven Time: 5 hours o Resting Time: 45 minutes o Browning-off: 15 minutes Desired Doneness: 127 degrees internal temperature (rare to medium rare) Oven Temperature: 200 degrees. Here is a cooking chart for other doneness and cooking temperature and time ideas: Doneness Internal Temp (degrees F) Actual Internal Temperature (degrees F) 4-7 Rib Large-End Bone-In Tied Prime Rib Roast Hours to Achieve Actual Internal Temperature in Oven at the following Degrees F 150 170 200 225 250 Rare 120 to 125 125 5.5 to 6.5 3.5 to 4 Medium-rare 125 to 130 127 5 to 6 Medium 130 to 135 Medium-well 135 to 140 Well -done 140+
Page 4 of 6 Table 1: Sizes, Cooking Times, and Temperatures Plans Sample Planner Your Planner Size of Roast 5 ribs Serving Time 6:30 PM Set Cooking Time 6 hours (5 hours Oven Time, 45 minutes Restring Time, 15 minutes Browning-off) Desired Doneness 127 (rare to medium rare) Oven Temperature 200 degrees Table 2: Timing of Steps Steps Sample Timings Your Timings Time Required for Step Shop At least 2 days but up to 4 days before serving At least 2 days but up to 4 days before serving Pick-up 1-4 days before serving 1-4 days before serving Season 1-4 days before serving 1-4 days before serving 10 minutes Staging 8 hours before serving 5 minutes Preheat 6 hours 15 minutes 1 minute before serving In Oven 6 hours before serving 1 minute Half-Way Temp Check Half way through Oven 1 minute Time Last Hour Temp Checks 1 hour before end of Oven Time 1 minutes each time Out of Oven 1 hour before serving 3 minutes Brown-off 15 minutes before serving 4 minutes Doing Shop Order a Large-End, Bone-In-Tied Prime Rib Roast (also known as semi boneless) for pickup a day or two before you want to serve it. You will usually order this by the number of ribs using the Roast Calculator (above). Pick Up Between 1 and 2 days before serving, pick up your roast and refrigerate. Here is a typical 5-rib roast, bone-in tied:
Page 5 of 6 Season Day Before Serving Time: 10 minutes The day before serving, coat the roast with Kosher salt and ground black pepper. Leave it uncovered in the refrigerator overnight. Staging Day of Serving Time: 5 minutes At the designated time in your planner, remove the roast from the refrigerator. Arrange on rack in roasting pan. If you are using an in-oven meat thermometer or continuous remote temperature monitoring, insert the thermometer probe ½ way into the large end. Preheat Time: 1 minute At the designated time in your planner, preheat oven to 200 degrees F. In Oven Time: 1 minute At the designated time in your planner, put roast into the oven. Half-Way Temp Check Time: 1 minute Half way through the planned Oven Time, check the roast internal temperature. Do not be alarmed if the internal temperature of your roast has not yet hit 100 degrees F. The internal temperature will rise faster and faster as your roast approaches doneness. However, if are afraid your roast will take longer than you want, crank the heat by 25 degrees F. If your roast is cooking too fast, try to cool your oven down. Last Hour Temp Checks Time: 1 minute each time In the last hour of Oven Time, periodically check the roast internal temperature. It should be approaching doneness. The internal temperature will rise faster and faster as your roast approaches doneness. If you are afraid your roast will take longer than you want, crank the heat by 25 degrees F. If your roast is cooking too fast, try to cool your oven down.
Page 6 of 6 Out of Oven Time: About 5 minutes When you roast internal temperature reaches proper doneness, remove the roast from the oven. Put the roasting pan on a board and cover with a little aluminum foil. It should rest for 30 minutes and may rest for up to 1½ hours. Pan Roasted Vegetables If you are serving pan-roasted vegetables, this is the time to do cook them. Crank the oven to 425-450 degrees and cook the vegetables (onions, potatoes, carrots, etc.) in one or more roasting pans for about 45 minutes. Brown-off When the veggies are close to being done, crank the oven to as hot as it gets (500-550 degrees F at least). Leave the veggies in if you have room but keep an eye on them so they don t burn. Put the roast back in the oven for 10-12 minutes or until the fat is sizzling. Serving Transfer the roast to a carving board, preferably one that catches the essence (drippings from the roast). Remove the strings. Separate the bones from the roast. If the bones were not bone-in tied, carve them away from the rest of the roast. Slice the roast. I was always taught to slice the roast very thinly. Others like thick slabs. This is your choice. I still prefer thin slices. Serve with essence, fresh horse radish, salt and pepper, roasted veggies, and a nice Cabernet Sauvignon. What a feast! Roast Notes Take notes when and if you can to help with your next roast. Here are my notes from 2017 This recipe was planned as a 6:30 PM Christmas Eve roast dinner. Planned for 6 people plus possible drop-in guests. I bought a 5-rib Large-End, Bone-In-Tied Prime Rib Roast. It went into the oven at 12:30 PM and came out of the oven at 5:30 PM. I cooked for 2.5 hours at 200 degrees F and 2.5 hours at 225 degrees F to an internal temperature of 127. The temperature was cranked to 225 degrees F to speed up cooking. It came out with a very uniform juicy doneness of rare to medium rare. Next time I will probably take it to an internal temperature of 130 degrees F. We only had 6 for dinner so we had lots of left-overs. The left-overs were able to be warmed-up and still be medium rare. Good luck with your recipe, Dad