Ingredients
1 6 pound Prime rib or beef rib roast rib bones removed and tied back up (ask the butcher)
3 tablespoons Diamond Kosher salt or 2 tablespoons Morton’s Kosher salt
1 tablespoon coarse black pepper
For the au jus
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 pounds oxtails, neck bones, meaty beef bones
1 teaspoon Better than Bouillon beef base see notes below
6 cups low-sodium beef stock
1/2 cup dry red wine
5 cloves garlic
2 large carrots chopped
3 ribs celery chopped
1 large onion chopped
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 sprigs thyme
1 large bay leaf
salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
Salt 1 day before
Season the roast with salt and pepper on all sides then place on a wire rack lined baking sheet and refrigerate uncovered overnight.
Roast the prime rib
4-5 hours before cooking, remove the prime rib from the fridge to bring it close to room temp for more even cooking.
Preheat the oven to 250F and set the rack to the middle level. Place a digital probe into the center of the roast and set it to go off at 120F.
Place the roast in the oven and remove once the roast achieves 120F (anywhere from 2 1/2 – 3/12 hours). Lightly tent the roast with foil for 30 minutes.
Set one oven rack to the lowest level and line it with foil (to prevent drippings from smoking and setting off the fire alarm). Set the second rack to the middle level and turn on the broiler.
Broil the roast on the middle level until well browned on all sides (about 2 minutes per side – use tongs to move) then remove from the oven and set it on a carving board. Remove the strings and bones and slice the roast into pieces. Enjoy!
Meanwhile, make the au jus during the roasting process
Heat a large heavy pot or Dutch oven to medium heat. Add the olive oil to the pot. Dry off the bones with paper towels then add them to the pot and brown on all sides (about 10 minutes).
Add the tomato paste, onion, carrot, celery, and a pinch of salt to the pot and cook for 10 minutes or until soft then add the garlic and cook for another 1-2 minutes.
Add the wine, beef base, beef stock, and herbs to the pot and bring to a boil. Dislodge all of the brown bits from the pot with a wooden spoon. Once boiling, lower to a simmer and cook uncovered until the roast is finished.
Strain the au jus through a fine mesh strainer. Add a ladle of the au jus to the roasting pan to deglaze and dislodge any brown bits, then pour the drippings from the roasting pan into the au jus. Taste test and season with salt and pepper before serving with the Prime rib.
Notes
If using homemade beef stock, only use 1 teaspoon of beef base. If not using homemade beef stock, use 6 cups of mixed beef stock from reduced sodium Better than Bouillon beef base.
The exact cooking time will vary based on the size of a roast. For an almost 7 pound roast, our cooking time to 120f took exactly 3 hours.
A bone-in roast will serve approximately 1 person per pound, so a 6-pound bone-in roast would serve 6, and so forth.
Use a meat thermometer for the utmost precision for a perfectly cooked roast.
Leftovers can be saved for up to 3 days in the fridge and can be reheated covered with foil in a 275 oven until warm.
Almost all commercially sold rib roasts will be sold with the chine (part of the backbone) removed. If you come across a roast sold with the chine bone you should ask the butcher to remove it since it needs to be cut off with a meat bandsaw. The rib bones should be saved and tied back onto the roast. Again, ask your butcher.