I cooked my first genuine bone-in standing rib roast last Christmas for my family, and it was spectacular, if I do say so myself! I bought two items in late fall in preparation for this day that I don't think I could have managed without.
First was this large roasting pan....$40 at the link below and probably one of two kitchen gadgets I didn't own.
https://www.hayneedle.com/product/cuisinart711716urchefsclassicstainlesssteelroastingpanwithrack.cfm?ltype=child&tid=CUI473-1
The other was this digital thermometer...$14.00 on Amazon
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B013A81VW4/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Both purchases were brilliant, as my roast could have been a disaster without them.
BEEF – STANDING RIB
(NOTE: Beef stock and Au Jus recipes below)
Select a large end standing rib roast - plan on 1 RIB for every 2 people and then ADD ONE MORE RIB for good measure.
INGREDIENTS:
Oil
Kosher salt
Fresh ground pepper
NOTE: IF YOU ARE MAKING AU JUS, RESERVE THE PAN
DRIPPINGS!!!
OPTION 1 - DIRECTIONS FOR OVEN ONLY:
Preheat oven to 450˚
Prepare the meat:
Brush the roast with oil; rub with fresh pepper.
Place in a shallow roasting pan on a rack, fat side up,
and bake uncovered 15 minutes.
Reduce heat to 325˚ and continue baking about 15
minutes/pound until temperature reaches 120˚ - 124˚.
Remove from the oven and cover lightly with
foil and let rest 30-45 minutes. Slice
and enjoy!
OPTION 2 - DIRECTIONS FOR GRILL/OVEN:
This is what I did...the intent is to slightly sear the outside of the roast to seal in the juices.
Prepare a charcoal grill for direct cooking. Coals need to be VERY hot.
Prepare the meat:
Brush the roast with oil; rub with fresh pepper.
Place on a shallow roasting RACK (like the one I bought),
fat side DOWN and place over hot coals – CLOSE LID ON GRILL - for 15 minutes. Carefully
rotate roast to fat side UP and return to the charcoal – CLOSE LID ON GRILL – for 15
minutes. Remove from the grill and place
rack in roasting pan, insert thermometer, and place in pre-heated 325˚oven.
Bake about 14-15 minutes/pound until temperature reaches 120˚
- 124˚.
Remove from oven and cover lightly with foil and let rest
30-60 minutes before serving. Serve with
individual bowls of Au Jus. (See below)
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
BEEF STOCK AND/OR AU JUS
BEEF STOCK (make a week ahead and freeze, as this process is VERY time-consuming - but you will have wonderful stock on hand for soups, gravies, etc.)
Note: DO NOT ADD ANY SALT TO THIS UNTIL YOU ARE READY TO USE IT IN IT'S FINAL FORM.... (as the volume reduces, it will cause the stock to become way too salty)
Makes about 3-4 quarts
Time: 2 DAYS! But worth every minute!
INGREDIENTS:
6-8 pounds soup bones - THAWED***
Oil
2 large onions, peeled and
quartered
10 peppercorns
Cheesecloth for straining
liquid
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 375°F. Rub a little oil over all the bones and
onions. Place everything EXCEPT
PEPPERCORNS in a large, shallow roasting pan.
Roast in oven for about 30
minutes; turn the bones and roast another 30-40 minutes until they are
lightly browned. If bones begin to char
at all during this cooking process, lower the heat. They should brown, not burned.
When the bones are lightly browned, remove them
and the roasted onions and place them in a large (12 to 16 quart)
stockpot. De-glaze the roasting pan by
placing it on the stove-top on very low heat (may cover 2 burners), pour 1/2
cup to a cup of hot water over the pan and use a spatula to scrape up all
of the browned bits stuck to the bottom of the pan. Pour the browned bits and water into the
stockpot.
Add peppercorns to the
stockpot. Fill the stockpot with cold
water to 1 to 2 inches over the top of the bones (4-6 qts probably). Put the heat on high, bring the liquid to a
low simmer, and then reduce the heat to low.
If you have a candy or meat thermometer, the temperature of the water
should be between 180° and 200°F (boiling is 212°F). The stock should be at a bare simmer, just a
bubble or two coming up here and there.
(You may need to put the pot on your smallest burner on the lowest temp,
or if you are using an oven-safe pot, place it in the oven at 200°F.) Cover the pot loosely and let simmer for 4-8
hours. DO NOT STIR THE STOCK while
cooking. Stirring will mix the fats in
with the stock, clouding up the stock.
As the stock cooks, fat will
be released from the bone marrow and any meat pieces and will rise to the
top. From time to time, check in on the
stock and use a large metal spoon to scoop away the ‘scum’ that rises to the
surface. Discard that.
After about 4 hours, remove
one bone and see if the marrow is soft.
If it is, use a crab pick or a long, thin knife to scrape out the marrow
from all the bones into the pot. (Return
bones to the pot.) Continue cooking the as
long as you can but at least 4 more hours.
At the end of cooking time (4
hours minimum, 8 hours if you can do it) use tongs or a slotted spoon to gently
remove the bones and onion pieces from the pot and place in a colander over a
shallow pan to drain. Then discard. DO NOT STIR THE STOCK. Let the stock cool completely and then
cover the pot and refrigerate overnight.
Once the stock has chilled,
the fat will have risen to the top and solidified. Remove it and discard – or save for some
other project.
After removing the fat, heat
the stock to barely WARM – not boiling. Place
a colander on the top of another large pot (8-quart) and line with 3-4 layers
of cheesecloth. Pour the stock SLOWLY through
this to strain it of remaining solids.
REDUCING THE STOCK
Note: The more the level of the stock drops, the faster the process goes. Watch it closely.
Measure the depth of the stock with a clean knife and lay the knife aside. Return the stock to the
burner and bring to a boil. Reduce to a
slow gentle simmer and cook UNCOVERED until the volume has been reduced by
HALF. (Measure depth of liquid with a different knife – then check depth every 20-30 minutes – I had about 1-1/2 quarts of reduced stock when I finished the
reduction, but this will vary) Allow to cool and then freeze in 1 C portions.
*** My grocery store only has
FROZEN soup bones but they have lots of marrow.
If you can get shank bones with a little meat on them, ask the butcher
to slice them lengthwise to expose the marrow.
Use about 4-6 pounds of the soup bones and 3-4 pounds of shank bones.
AU JUS (makes
about 4 nice – 2 oz servings)
INGREDIENTS:
Pan drippings from roast (the one you're serving)
1/2 C QUALITY red wine (one you would drink)
2 C reduced
beef stock (that you made ahead)
S&P to taste
Bring beef stock to a simmer
– add about 1/2 C to the roasting pan and scrape to de-glaze the pan. Using a fine wire mesh sieve, add the pan juices to pot. Add wine and bring to a boil – cook over med/low
heat until reduced by about half - watch closely as this goes pretty quickly.
Remove from heat and add kosher
salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
Serve warm in shot glasses! Freeze any leftover au jus in little plastic
‘bathroom’ cups – these are about a one-serving size. (I use leftover au jus to warm up a slice of
Deli roast beef. Just heat it in a
shallow pan and add the beef slices – Voila!)
One final word - DO NOT SALT the stock!!! If you salt it and THEN reduce it for au jus, it's like a salt lick! I learned this the hard way!
