Prime Rib of Beef makes a perfect last meal of 2009

There isn't much that can top a wonderful Prime Rib of Beef for the holidays. On that same note, not much can top its price these days either; however, if you shop around, you can find a nice cut, not too large, and boneless for a reasonable price. As an example, I recently found a boneless four pound roast for about $25 that served six and nobody went home hungry. That comes to just over $4 per person and not bad for a special dinner party.

There are a number of ways to cook a nice Prime Rib roast. I recently read a recipe that called for baking 30 minutes at 500 and then shutting the oven off and leaving the door closed, not removing the roast for several hours. Another calls for a slow cooking at 300. I've not tried either method. I like a nice rare cut of meat and so I have found that if you high heat it for a shorter period of time, you'll get that nice charred, caramelized exterior with a crispy fat tissue and wonderful pink interior that oozes out succulent juices for your sauce. Once you've found your method that works, it's hard to try something new. Afterall, why would you fix something that's not broke? Realizing this, I'm sure most of you have your own cooking that works; however, I still feel compelled to share mine with you and you can do what you want with it.

I decided to marinade this roast for a few hours this time around. I normally just rub it with olive oil, pepper and salt it well, sear it, and then in the oven it goes. Here is what I used for marinading:

approximately 4 lb boneless Prime Rib Roast
1/2 cup of olive oil
4 tablespoons of Worcestershire Sauce
2 teaspoons of coarse ground black pepper
2 teaspoons of sea salt
1 teaspoon of Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon of tomato paste
1 teaspoon of Cajun spice rub
4 cloves of garlic crushed to a paste

Take all ingredients and mix very well. Transfer to a large sealable plastic freezer type bag. One side of your rib roast will usually have a layer of fat. With a sharp knife, make a series of slits deep enough to cut through the fat but not into the meat. Place the roast into the plastic bag, seal tightly and roll the roast so that  it is coated with the marinade and place it in your refridgerator for about 2 to 3 hours.

In the meantime, have these ingredients ready:

1/4 cup of olive oil
1 teaspoon of coarsely cracked pepper
1 cup of red Burgundy wine
1/2 lb of baby button mushrooms (white or brown), stems removed
1/2 cup of beef stock
20 cloves of garlic, whole
1/4 cup of finely chopped parsley
1 tablespoon of butter

Preheat your oven to 450. While oven is preheating, remove roast from marinade bag. Heat half of your oil over medium high heat and sear your roast on all sides to lock flavors. Make sure you  sear approximately 2 minutes on each side. I should take a moment to request that you do not throw out the remaining marinade in the bag. You will want some of that for later. I'll explain when the time comes. Save the pan and drippings that the roast was seared in.

Now that you've seared your roast, transfer it into a baking dish. If your dish or pan has a rack, place the roast on top of that. Do not add any liquid what so ever to the bottom of the pan. Bake at 450 for about 20 minutes, then reduce oven temperature to 400 and continue baking for 14 minutes per pound for rare, 16 minutes per pound for medium rare and if you want it medium or well done, buy a chicken instead. This four pound roast is being baked at 14 minutes per pound. Bake with the fat side up so that any fat drippings will drip down the sides of the roast. Furthermore, the fat will be nice and charred and crispy when done. When cooking is complete, remove the roast from the oven and let it set for 15 minutes UNCOVERED, so that the juices will set in. Since the roast will continue to cook a bit while resting, covering it will not only cook it more, but it will also cause the steam from the moisture to soften the crispy surface and you don't want that.

In the meantime, while the roast is in the oven, you can begin your sauce preparation. You can wait until 30 minutes before your roast is finished baking if you want. It's not that important. Take the frying pan that the drippings are in and reheat over medium high heat. Once hot, add the wine and beef stock and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to low and scrape the bottom of the pan carefully with a wooden spatula. Remember that marinade I asked you to save? Well, now take two tablespoons of it and stir it into your sauce. Continue to stir so that drippings are well blended. Allow to slow cook so that liquid reduces by half.

While sauce is cooking, in another saute pan, heat the rest of the olive oil over medium high heat, then add your mushrooms, sauteeing them until they are a light golden color. Do not add any seasonings, especially salt, as salt will cause the mushrooms to sweat and you won't get that golden brown color you're looking for. Once mushrooms are nicely browned, add the garlic and saute for an additional 2 minutes. When complete, add the mushrooms and garlic to your sauce and stir well. Reduce heat to simmer or warm and cover.

When the roast is out of the oven and has rested for 15 minutes, it's time to finish your sauce. Add your butter and stir until it is melted and has blended well. If the roast has given you drippings while resting, add that to the sauce. Add your pepper and parsley and stir well. Set your roast on a serving platter and pour a few tablespoons of the sauce over the top. Take the rest of the sauce and serve it separately in a saucier or small bowl.

Your rib roast should be a beautiful pink rare when sliced and be very moist. You can serve a baked potato and steamed baby green beans as side dishes, or buttered linguine and peas. Either works wonderful with this meat. Enjoy this dish on New Year's Eve with close friends and it will be an evening you will remember. Bon Appetit!