Prime Rib au Jus

This was our main course for dinner last night.  It is an amazingly simple meal to make but the flavors are incredible.

Prime Rib Roast au Jus
- One 8-9 pound rib roast 
- ½ cup kosher salt 
- ½ cup freshly cracked black pepper 
- 2 medium onions, peeled and thickly sliced 
- 2 large carrots, peeled and thickly sliced 
- 3 stalks celery, diced large 
- 2 plum tomatoes, cored and diced large 
- 10 cloves garlic, peeled 

For the Au Jus Sauce 
- ½ cup dry red wine 
- 3 cups beef stock 
- Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste 

1. Preheat oven to 400F. 
2. Dry the meat with paper towels, then rub it all over with the salt and pepper. Pressing gently to be sure they adhere. Place the meat on a sturdy rack in a roasting pan and then arrange the onions, carrots, celery, tomatoes and garlic around it. Place in the oven and cook until well browned, about 20 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 300F, stir the vegetables around and roast until the meat it done the way you like it. To check for doneness, insert a remote meat thermometer into the dead center of the roast monitor the temperature. 120F is rare, 126F is medium rare, 134F is medium, 150F is medium well and 160F is well-done; we like to pull it at 125F. 
3. When the roast is done to your liking, place the roast on a cutting board and cover it loosely with foil. Set it aside for 15-20 minutes or so and allow the roast to rest. 
4. Place the roasting pan, with all the drippings and cooked vegetables, on the stove over high heat. Add the wine and bring to a simmer to deglaze, stirring to dissolve the brown crusty stuff on the bottom of the pan. Add the beef stock, bring back to a simmer and reduce the volume of the liquid by about one third (10-15 minutes). Season the sauce with salt and pepper and strain into a gravy boat. 
5. Carve the beef into slices about 1 inch thick and serve with the au jus. 

Cook's Notes: I used pre-made beef stock for the au jus (I did not have time to make it from scratch). It is important to allow the roast to rest for at least 10 minutes before you slice it.  It is also critical to use a remote sensing thermometer to monitor the temperature of the roast.  You can pick one up at most kitchen stores (or Bed, Bath and Beyond) for $25-35.  Once you cook a roast with a remote sensing thermometer, you will wonder how you ever cooked without one!

Prime Rib update

I am happy to report that the prime rib meal I made last night in support of the first night of the week long celebration of Deirdre's 35th birthday was nothing sort of fantastic. The menu was pretty stright forward:

Prime Rib au Jus
Parmesan Potatoes
French cut green beans

Thanks to the new stove, I was able to make the au jus in the roasting pan. With our old stove, I was unable to do that because of the small burner sizes. The Syrah we picked up at Art of the Table was a perfect match for the roast.

Deirdre's First of Three Birthday Dinners

Deirdre will soon celebrate her 35th birthday this week, so she is having "Birthday Reign" this weekend and next. See asked me on Wednesday to make her a Prime Rib roast for dinner on Saturday night for the first meal of her birthday festivities. I will cook the roast tonight, and serveit with baked potatoes and French cut green beans. I was thinking about a salad, but this meal is for Deirdre so green beans it is! We visited our friends at Art of the Table to pick out an appropriate wine for this meal. Ryan and Amy felt that a bottle of 2003 Bonaccorsi Santa Ynez Syrah will do the trick. Thw jury is still out as to whether we will have some Hudsonville Ice Cream or Irish Coffee for dessert. Updates to follow.

Post-Game of the Prime Rib

I am happy to report that last night's meal of Prime Rib us Jus was an unqualified success. Deirdre made a command decision that we should make a salad as our veggie instead of cooking some vegetable. We also made the following potato dish:

Redskin Potatoes (however many you think you need for the amount of people)
Minced Garlic (1 or 2 cloves or however much you wan to put in) (optional
Pepper to taste
Butter (just a Tablespoon or two)Milk and/or Chicken stock (enough to get the consistency you want)
Fresh Chopped Parsley to garnish (optional)

Half the redskin potatoes, put in a large pot, add cold water and salt (kind of like how you do when you cook pasta). Bring to boil. Cook until fork tender. Drain the potatoes. To the same pot add the butter, potatoes, garlic, pepper to taste, and a little bit of milk or chicken stock. For the mashing, you can either use a one of those mashing tools, a fork, or a beater. Mash until you get them to the consistency you like, keep adding liquid if needed. Add the parsley for a nice presentation.

This potato recipe was sent to us by our friend Ann Marie. The spuds were quite yummy. Thanks, Ann Marie!

Prime Rib au Jus

Tonight I will be making my first prime rib of the season.

We will be having our friends Mary, Deb, Margaret and Pat for dinner tonight. I am still thinking about the side dishes. I will serve some sort of potato dish and a veggie

Rib Roast “Prime Rib Style” au Jus
One 8-10 lb boneless or bone in (I prefer bone in)
½ cup kosher salt
½ cup freshly cracked pepper
2 medium onions, peeled and thickly sliced
2 large carrots, peeled and diced large
1 whole celery stalk, diced large
2 plum tomatoes, cored and diced large
10 garlic cloves, peeled
½ cup dry red wine
3 cups beef stock Cracked pepper and kosher salt to taste

1.Preheat the oven to 400F.
2.Combine the salt and pepper.
3. Dry the meat with paper towels, then rub all over with the salt and pepper, pressing gently to be sure the salt & pepper mix adheres to the roast. Place the meat on a sturdy rack in a roasting pan and arrange the onions, carrots, celery, tomatoes and garlic around it. Insert a remote reading thermometer into middle of the roast, then place the roast in the oven and cook until well browned, about 20 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 300F, stir the vegetables around, and roast until the meat is done to your liking. 120F is rare, 126F is medium-rare, 134F is medium, 150F is medium-well, and 160F is well done.I like to pull out the roast at 122F.
4.When the roast is done, remove it from the pan, cover it loosely with foil, and set aside to rest for 20 minutes or so.
5.Place the roasting pan, with the drippings, over high heat on the stove. Add the wine and bring to a simmer, stirring to dissolve the brown crusty stuff in the bottom of the pan. Add the beef stock, bring back to a simmer, and reduce by about 1/3. Season the sauce with salt and pepper to your taste. Strain the au jus into a gravy boat and discard the vegetables. 6.Carve the beef into 1 inch slices and serve with the au jus.