Naturally Noel Standing Rib with Baked Garlic

Naturally Noel Standing Rib with Baked Garlic

Naturally Noel Standing Rib with Baked Garlic


Posted on December 5, 2011 at 2:50 PM

Updated Tuesday, Dec 20 at 8:10 AM

Nothing, but nothing, complements the wintery smells of the Christmas kitchen more than a standing rib roasting in the oven. So here's a recipe that I guarantee will get you rave reviews from your entire family.


1 trimmed and re-tied prime rib (6-8 lb. average)**

2 Tbsp. Frank Davis Beef Seasoning

1 Tbsp. coarse-ground black pepper

2 tsp. garlic powder

2 tsp. onion powder

1/2 cup kosher or sea salt

4 cups Madiera wine

1/4 cup baked garlic pods, creamed

2 Tbsp. finely minced parsley

2 Tbsp. finely sliced green onions

1/2 cup prepared, seasoned butter roux


First, lay out the roast on a large cutting board and select a baking pan roomy enough to hold it without crowding it.

Then lightly coat the pan with a misting of non-stick spray and set it aside momentarily.

Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 450 degrees.

Now take the beef seasoning, ground pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder, blend them together in a small bowl, and rub the mixture briskly - but evenly - into the roast.

Then place the roast into the baking pan (bones up, fat side down) and carefully pour the 1/4 cup of salt evenly over the bones, making sure that nothing more than a few grains fall into the bottom of the pan.Note: Don't be alarmed by the quantity of salt! It won't ruin the meat and it won't make it salty! As the salt bakes, it forms a crust that forces the natural juices to go into the roast rather than bubble up and run down over the top.

Now here's your baking technique.

Put the roast - uncovered - into the oven and bake it at 450 degrees until the meat starts to brown slightly (this should take about 12 to 15 minutes).

Then reduce your oven temperature to 350°and continue to bake the roast to the degree of doneness you desire. Because prime rib is such an expensive cut of meat, I heartily recommend you insert a meat thermometer dead center in the roast (not touching any of the rib bones) and cook until it reaches the correct internal temperature. Remember, the roast is rare at 130, medium at 145°, and medium-well at 160°. Roughly, this equates to about 20 minutes to the pound, but only by using a meat thermometer will you get a perfect roast.

When the prime rib is done, remove it from the oven and place it on the countertop to set for about 15 to 20 minutes. Don't forget that it will continue to cook for about 15 to 20 minutes after you take it from the oven, so figure that into your cooking time so that your "rare" roast doesn't turn out to be a medium roast.

When you're ready to serve it, take a couple of meat forks, gently remove it from the pan, and turn it salted rib-side down on a cutting board.

Then slice through the twine that holds the bones to the meat, remove the meat temporarily to a platter and scrape away the crusted salt from the bones.

Then after discarding all the salt, place the meat back on the board and slice the prime rib as if it were a jelly roll. Remember that the slices will range from well done to medium rare as you cut from the ends to the center, giving every one or your guests the doneness they prefer.

To prepare the sauce for the prime rib, skim off as much fat as possible from the pan drippings and deglaze the pan you baked the meat in with the Madiera wine.

Then pour the wine-drippings mixture into a 10-inch saucepan and bring it to a boil.

When it reduces to about one-half of its original volume (2 cups), stir in the baked garlic pods, the parsley, the green onions, and enough of the prepared roux to thicken the sauce to the consistency you desire.

Simmer over medium heat for about 10 minutes, season it to taste with salt and pepper, and ladle it generously over the rib slices. I suggest you make the sauce while the roast "sets" on the countertop.


Chef's Notes:

  1. **A prime rib that's cut properly will have the chine bones removed and the ribs separated from the meat. Your butcher will then take twine and re-tie the bones to the meat so that all the marrow flavor soaks into the meat as it cooks. If you prefer to serve rib steaks instead of slices, have your butcher leave the bones attached to the meat, but have him split the base of the bones where you'll cut them into steaks.
  2. To bake garlic, place the whole garlic head into a shallow cake pan, top lightly with olive oil, cover with aluminum foil, and bake at 400 degrees for about 45 minutes. The softened garlic can then be squeezed from the peels, creamed, and added to sauces and gravies, mixed with butter and used for making garlic bread, or spread over chicken, beef, and shrimp.
  3. Never, never, never cook a standing rib until it's well done! The meat will become totally dried out, lifeless, tasteless, tough, and stringy.
  4. To reheat the rib-or any other roast for that matter-so that the degree of doneness doesn't change, wrap the roast first in lettuce leaves, then wrap the whole thing in aluminum foil and place it in a 350 degree oven for about 15-20 minutes. The steam created from the moisture in the lettuce will heat the roast without drying it out or changing the texture.