Low-temp prime rib roasting (Cook's Illustrated recipe etc.)

[Robert Lauriston]

This is discussed in several topics, since it's such a different method from the usual ~350 degrees I thought I'd start a new one.

In "Best Recipe," the 1999 Cooks Illustrated book, the key elements are:

- bring roast to room temperature
- tie roast
- sear the roast on all sides on the stove
- season with salt and pepper
- roast at 200 degrees F for about 30 minutes a pound
- let stand 20 minutes before carving

Is the 225-degree recipe mentioned in other topics from issues of Cooks Illustrated published after that book?

I'm not going to try this tomorrow, since I don't have a pan big enough to sear the 18-pound six-rib roast I've got. I guess I could broil it, but I don't want to have to start cooking at 8am.

[blue room]

Forgive me if this is idiotic, but if a person wanted to sear a big roast, could he use a torch?

[Robert Lauriston]

I think the kind of torch you use for creme brulée might just sear the surface. You want to render out some of the fat, get the cap cooked through.

[blue room]

hmm...a big torch, something Alton Brown would rig up, in a caveman costume! (Just kidding) I'm glad you mentioned "The Best Recipe", I usually just go to that for baking. Now I'm reminded.
BTW Merry Christmas and thanks for all your valuable/invaluable posts throughout the year.

[dcr20854]

You can use the kind of propane torch that you buy at the hardware store for about $20. In fact, if you try it you'll see that it's better for creme brulee than the teeny little torches sold for that purpose. Restaurant kitchens use butane torches.

[Sherri]

I have used this method quite successfully without the initial searing. Granted, there is no crisp, browned exterior and the fat remains, but the roast is succulent, juicy, and tender. If the meat is to be sliced in the kitchen, no one is the wiser. Of course, if the whole roast is to be presented at table then carved, it is not as delectable to present a dark beige piece of meat.

[Chile Head]

Searing and browning the roast is a must for appearance and to kill bacteria on the exterior of the meat. I just checked the New Best Recipes book (2004) and the recommended oven temp is 250 degrees and to remove when the meat is 130 degrees (medium rare).

[Robert Lauriston]

How many minutes per pound at 250?

[Chile Head]

I don't see any minutes per pound just internal meat temp. 130 degrees for medium-rare and to rest 20-30 minutes afterwards. The recipe in the book used a 7 pound roast which took 3 - 3.5 hours to reach 130 degrees.

I've used this method from Cook's Illustrated several times and was extremely happy with the results.

[Robert Lauriston]

The 1999 edition says 3-1/2 hours at 200F to reach 130F.

Maybe they just upped the temperature without retesting and revising the rest of the recipe.

[Alan408]

I have been using 225. IIRC, Jim H (on this site) recommends 200 but my oven drops to 175 when set at 200, I think 175 is too low, so I use 225.

Starting with a roast left on the counter for 2-3 hours, it takes ~1 hour per pound to get 130 on the instant read. If I start with a hot oven (450) for 15 minutes, the time decreases to ~45 minutes per pound. I haven't tried pan searing (yet).

[Chile Head]

FWIW, there is a long discussion of roasting temp in the the 2004 edition. It's discusses higher temps and concludes that 250F is the ideal temp and that's the lowest temp they tested. It also mentions that 250F, slow-roast method was used by many "great prime rib restaurants".

They have to change something to sell the latest edition... ha!

[Robert Lauriston]

I find a number of recipes online that say after an initial 15 minutes at 450F it'll take about 20 minutes per pound at 250F.

[CYL]

I am an enthusiastic advocate of low temp prime rib roasting.

Outside of roast with initial searing:

http://flickr.com/photos/96779408@N00/332331441/

Uniformly rare done to an internal temperature of 140 degrees – tender, juicy, and delicious:

http://flickr.com/photos/96779408@N00...

[ChowFun_derek]

That looks incredible!!!
Was high oven heat used to sear first, or perhaps a saute pan on the stove top?

[CYL]

It was seared under High Temperature easily in my wok with the ventilator on medium.

[ChowFun_derek]

Ah!...I would never have thought of using my wok!!!
Did you oil the ouside of the meat, or actually put a couple of tblspoons of oil in the wok itself....you got some incredible carmelization!!
And the interior was a rosey blush! All together the most perfect roast for my taste, esthetically and otherwise!

[CYL]

less than a minute ago CYL replied

The latter, I put some oil in the wok. Though I have the temperature on high and the oil is smoking hot, the searing still does not penetrate too deeply into the roast!

[ChowFun_derek]

Your technique will DEFINITELY be the way I will do it...perfect char and juicy rare interior!
Thanks!

[gordon wing]

very nice! thanks for the pix and details....

[CYL]

Photos

[Robert Lauriston]

The 20-minutes-per-pound estimates for initial 450F > roast at 250F seem to have been way too high, looks like my 18-lb. roast's going to be done about three hours early. Recommendations? Reheating would be extremely problematic.

[Robert Lauriston]

Aha, my oven has a hidden "dehydrating" mode that I can set to 120 degrees. Problem solved. (normally the stupid computer won't accept anything under 170.)

For future reference, I put the 18-lb. roast in at 450F, probe read 59F. After 20 minutes reduced the heat to 250F. The probe reached 118F at 3'24". So not counting the initial searing, that was just over ten minutes per pound.

[Melanie Wong]

And, if it's a bit too cool at serving time, make sure the dinner plates are really hot to give the slices meat a couple degrees.

[Robert Lauriston]

2009 edition: 22-lb. roast, same method. Probe read 60F before cooking. The new oven apparently runs a bit hot when set to 250F (though it was spot on at 450F), and I had convection on, so it was done in a hair over three hours, or a bit over eight minutes a pound. Fabulous results especially considering next to no effort on my part.

Seven-rib dry-aged Niman, additional dry aging by the butcher (Cafe Rouge, Berkeley), fat cap removed, chine bone removed, presalted, fat cap tied back on.

[fourunder]

RL,

Did you use a regular oven or did you have a convection feature during roasting? Also, have you ever roasted at the lower temperature of 225*, and if so, do you recall how long the roast spent in the oven? I'm roasting a 22;b seven rib export tomorrow, but it is the first time I will be doing so in an oven with a convection feature.

Thanks in advance.

[Melanie Wong]

I'm a believer in this method now too. The results were impressively delicious.

Bought the 3-rib, 7-pound, choice grade roast from Costco on Tuesday, kept it wrapped in original package in the coldest part of my refrigerator. Last night trimmed the roast, salted liberally, and coated with the roasted garlic and prepared horseradish, about 15 hours before cooking -
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/recipe_views/views/3142

Took it out of the fridge this morning, allowing 5 hours to come to room temperature. Salt and pepper'd again over the garlic coating and sprinkled with thyme.

Roasted at 450 degrees for 15 minutes in the convection oven. Was happy with how the exterior browned up, but after cutting it, I'd do another 5 minutes next time to cook the cap meat a little more.

Whole roast resting -
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/130/333368221_0b1f0f19a7_o.jpg
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/132/333368220_a5b0916a5c_o.jpg

The white blotches on the cut ends are the garlic goo, which didn't brown on the sides. Next time, don't touch the sides.

Roasted at 250 degrees in the convection oven. Internal temperature at 30 minutes was 90 degrees; at 60 minutes it hit 110 degrees; at 90 minutes reached 115 degrees. Took it out after 105 minutes at 122 degrees. Temperature rose to 130 degrees after removed from oven.

Rested for 45 minutes before slicing. Uniformly medium rare, would have liked the cap meat a little more done. Meat was juicy and succulent. Here's the fourth slice from the end, cut off the rib.

Medium rare slice -
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/156/33...

[gordon wing]

Glad to hear that you had a successful roast off - like the pix and thanks for all the details about your procedure....

[Melanie Wong]

I had a moment of panic on Christmas eve on the drive down when I realized I'd forgotten to bring my thermometer with me. Getting off the freeway, Orchard Supply dead ahead turned out to be closed already at 6:30pm. Dashed over to the Long's Drugs near my parents' house to find four slots for thermometers empty. Then I pulled up to Nob Hill in time for them to close the door in my face at 6:45pm. Luckily I was able to borrow one from my cousin this morning. I didn't calibrate it with some boiling water before relying on it. I wonder if it might read a little low, as the roast was not as rare at 130 degrees as I thought it would be.

[jasonlee]

Thanks for all your posts here, Melanie! I used to do the sear before you low roast, but after your post here with the 450 start and then 250 roast -- no more need to be searing beforehand! YAY!

Sorry, I don't have pictures to post about the result - but the family loved it! This was the first time I had to roast the whole prime rib section (from Costco - all 13 pounds of it) too.

Also thanks for the tip about brining the meat to room temp - it definitely evens out the cooking and posting the cook times too - I thought I was going crazy seeing the meat done so quickly...but I stuck to your times and the believed in my instant read thermometer and went from there!

Now, onto learning how to not procrastinate and buy the meat early enough so I can age it and marinade it!

Thanks again!

[QSheba]

My mom uses a different variation, given to her by the butcher. It's almost identical to Paula Deen's Rib Roast recipe and it turns out perfectly.

5 lb rib roast (this method works w/ other sizes as well, supposedly)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Allow roast to stand at room temperature for at least 1 hour. Rub roast all over with seasoning. Place roast on a rack in a pan with the rib side down and the fatty side up. Roast for 1 hour. Turn off oven. Leave roast in the oven but do not open oven door for another 3 hours. About 1 hour before serving time, turn oven to 375 degrees F to reheat the roast.

Note: Do not remove roast or re-open the oven door from the time roast is put in until ready to serve.

From Cooks Illustrated's Cooks Country (online version) - I guess they adjusted the technique?

1. Adjust oven rack to lowest position and heat oven to 450 degrees. Season roast with 2 teaspoons salt and 1 teaspoon pepper and arrange on V-rack set inside roasting pan. Roast until well browned, about 1 hour.

2. Combine herbs, mustard, oil, flour, and sugar in small bowl. Remove roast from oven and reduce heat to 250 degrees. Spread herb mixture evenly over top of roast. Return to oven and roast until center of meat registers 125 degrees (for medium-rare), about 1 1/2 hours. Transfer to cutting board and let rest, uncovered, for 30 minutes.

[bayareaberg]

The 200 degree method above proved to be the best method I've ever used.

I bought a whole rib from my local Cash & Carry...choice grade. I trimmed it a tiny bit, cut 6 nice steaks off it and ended up with a 12 pound rib roast for Xmas eve.

I salted the crap out of it and let is stand in the fridge for about 4 hours. After this point, I took it out to let it warm to room temp for about 6 hours. At 4 AM, I seared it on all sides with clarified butter and placed it in a 200 degree oven on a rack in a roasting pan. By about 10 AM, the internal temp at the thickest point was 126. I decided to let it stand in the oven uncovered at 150, because we weren't eating until 5, and I was shooting for a mid rare 140 by serving time.

At about 3pm, the internal temp was 132, and I continued to let it warm in the oven until about 4:30. I had to switch to a 200 degree oven at this point, and it stayed there until about 5:30, at which point I let it rest covered in foil for 20 min.

I was very skeptical, because the texture felt a little overdone with the poke test, but I sliced off the end to see a perfectly uniform pink roast, with no red center of brown ring on the outside.

Honestly, I could have eaten this with a spoon. It was more tender than any piece of rare meat I've ever eaten in my life. They do not lie, all the juice is preserved in the roast. There was only about 2 tablespoons of juice that came out during carving (and only a 1/2 cup of drippings). I served it with a demiglaze sauce and a savory horseradish whipped cream. Instant classic.

In my mind there is no other way to do 'prime' rib.

[marccogan]

I've used the 200 degree method ever since Cook's Illustrated published it in 1995! In fact, my late wife and I got a letter published in Cook's Illustrated regarding the question of letting the roast sit after it has reached the temperature you want in the oven. We wrote:

"[T]here are two traditional reasons for letting the meat sit for 20 minutes or so after coming out of the oven. (1) To let the heat become evenly distributed from the outside to the inside. (2) To let the juices retreat throughout the roast. . . . This method of cooking the prime rib ought to render both ancient requirements irrelevant. The meat cooks evenly during the whole process, as the small amount of temperature rise after leaving the oven shows. Similarly, since the roast loses so little weight during cooking, no juices are being extruded, hence, no need to let the juices retreat to the interior. We think you could probably slice this roast as soon as it reaches the desired temperature on the meat thermometer without any loss of juice or any significant change in the interior temperature. The benefit of doing it this way is that it would be as hot going to the table as it was coming out of the oven."

This sent Cook's back to the test kitchen to check--what sacrifices they made for science; they had to cook another set of prime ribs--and they agreed the roast could be sliced as soon as it came out of the oven. Unfortunately, that change did not get included in any of the versions of the recipe published in their books. But I still believe you can safely slice the roast immediately, and I recommend doing so.

[fourunder]

Sorry, but I will have to disagree with your assessments to some extent......my experience from my 2009 Christmas Prime Rib Roast cooked at 200* to a target temperature of 120*, pulled out of the oven with a 30 minute rest and then put back into the oven for an 8 minute blast @ 450* and taken out immediately to the cutting board(seriouseats.com recipe)..........with about another 15 rest(not planned).........after slicing the roast to individual portions as need, there was still bleeding from the roast. evident by the pooling of the juices in the cutting board's juice grooves.

This is the first year I tried the roast at 200*...as I normally roast at 225*...my findings are the 200* doesn't result in a significantly better roast...or worth the extra 1.5 hour needed to hit the target temperature.....my conclusions are the roast benefits from an even longer resting period if/as possible....I came to this conclusion by reheating both a half inch slice in a fry pan on low flame for one minute on each side....and also a one inch slice in the oven @ 225* for about 20 minutes in a preheated oven. Both reheated pieces had no moisture loss during the reheat and the meat was actually more tender....thus, I believe longer/estresting is better than slicing immediately........but I will agree it is possible to slice immediately if you so desire....but for me I would not recommend

[marccogan]

I suppose you could be right, fourunder, that if you let the roast sit it will lose less (or no) moisture when reheated. But there you're talking about leftovers (as I discovered from your post on another thread). Here you specifically mention your 2009 Christmas Prime Rib. And I was thinking of precisely such a grand occasion as such a meal and the show-offy moment of bringing the whole splendid roast out and carving it at table. It was for that moment, and so those slices would not be cold, that I thought to mention that you could carve straight from the oven with a low-temperature-cooked roast. (Your blasting your roast at 450 at the end might well necessitate some recovery time. I do the outside browning of my roasts at the start, so there's no high heat at the end.)

[fourunder]

m,

I have had some more recent results I just posted in the other thread, using a boneless rib eye roast and a four bone prime rib roast. In both cases, the meats were removed immediately after the final blast and sliced without any bleeding.

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/6847...

For the record, even with the little bleeding of the meat, i.e., the 2009 Christmas Roast, it was still pretty darn good.

[sissy34484]

could i cook this in a roaster oven

[Germ]

Lots of people talking about using a rack in the roasting tin,but personally I prefer my method of raising the beef joint:
Cut some large onions in half and place cut side down in the roasting tin and spread garlic cloves,BIG chunks of carrot and parsnip around the tin and sprinkle with chopped rosemary,black pepper,salt and extra virgin olive oil.
You then brown/caramelize the beef in a pan and sit it on the onions (you want enough onions to support all the roast so it doesn't touch the roasting tray).
Then just cook the beef as per your preferred method .
Once you remove the meat to rest you should have lots of meat juices,herbs and vegetables sitting in the roasting tin.After draining off the most of the fat use a potato masher to mash the veg etc in the roaster and (on the hob) add a few spoons of flour and fry gently.Then add your stock and cook out the flour to make some of the tastiest gravy you'll have ever had .

Hope this may have been some use to some of you......oh and a merry christmas :)

[lawmann]

I recently read an interesting approach from Serious Eats. They bring an article from the Food Lab advocating a really low temperature and a final sear at 500F. The link is:

http://www.seriouseats.com/2009/12/th...

[greygarious]

Prime rib may be different, but the CI slow roasted eye round produces virtually no drippings. It's a lean cut and the juices stay in the meat.

[stephle]

I used the Serious Eats method this year and it worked out GREAT. Usually I have a problem with timing so when my Dad called and said he was running an hour later than he planned, as usual I panicked. But, as the Serious Eats recipe suggested, I continued cooking to 120 degrees, took the thing out for a long rest (while Dad was on the freeway) and then reheated & caramelized at 500 degrees. Everyone thought it turned out great.

Now, that being said, the next day I helped my sister do the same to her roast and she said she didn't like the fact that it still smelled "meaty". (scratching head, I thought that was the whole purpose for eating beef).

And yes, there were no drippings or fat for Yorkshire pudding but I had already pre-empted that problem by making a big pot of beef stock the previous week and freezing the skimmed fat just for use on Christmas Day.

[fourunder]

s,

Two thoughts....

first, to get around the the no drippings problem....you can render the fat in a fry pan from the actual roast you are making.....or from saved fat scraps from steaks which were previously trimmed and frozen.

second, I also used the seriouseats.com recipe for my holiday Prime Rib Roast this year. I usually roast @ 225* till I hit the target temperature of 122*, and thenbrown at the end @ 500* for 10 minutes or so, then rest for 30 minutes before serving. Now, after being a season veteran of both methods......I will have to say there was not a noticeable enough difference to warrant an extra 1.5 hours in the oven @ 300* as opposed to roasting @ 225*

Generally, there is never any leftovers of Prime Rib, however, this year there was a three inch thick piece that was not eaten. I sliced a half inch piece off and on a low flame, pan heated a medium-rare portion for exactly one minute on each side, just to warm it enough to take the chill out.......the piece was even better as a leftover. I can only assume that a longer resting period than 30 minutes is better to allow the juices to redistribute. The seriouseats.com recipe allowing for the 30 minutes rest outside of the oven, then a 8 minute 500* blast seemed to have much more blood.juice loss than I am used to with the 225* temperature I normally use for low and slow roasting.

[fourunder]

.I will have to say there was not a noticeable enough difference to warrant an extra 1.5 hours in the oven @ 300* as opposed to roasting @ 225*
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

There's a typo mistake here.....it should be and extra 1.5 hours in the oven @ 200*

[joonjoon]

Ever since trying the cook's eye-round roast recipe, low-and-slow is the only way I go with my beef roasts now.

My oven goes all the way down to 175 so I just roast at that temp until the meat is done. The results have been remarkable.

For searing, there are two options - 1, on the stovetop, or 2, in the oven. Once your roast is up to temperature, take it out of the oven, crank it as high as it'll go, then stick it back in for about 10 minutes for that beautiful crust. YUM YUM YUM.

[ChowFun_derek]

The instructions usually say take the meat out before it reaches its' proper doneness temp. take it out ..crank up the heat and let it sear (450 to 500 deg....it may take 10 minutes or longer to taste but the final blast will raise the temp. of the meat somewhat, so take that into account....I share you're YUM YUM!

[pedro32]

Quick question - would you also salt a prime rib roast ahead of time like they do with the eye of round in this recipe? I am very interested in trying this CI recipe but I'm cooking a boneless delmonico roast, not an eye of round.

I remember reading an article in Food & Wine about salting and the taste testers determined it made a difference in roasted chicken and a braised lamb shank, but not in steak or lean pork chops. Don't want to salt ahead of time if it's not needed.

[greygarious]

This is a link to a thorough and well-illustrated piece on slow-roasting prime rib:
http://www.seriouseats.com/2009/12/th...
He does salt ahead of time.

[joonjoon]

I salt and pepper my roast ahead of time, but not as aggressively as done in the eye round recipe. The overnight salting really makes a difference in flavor.

[Robert Lauriston]

I much prefer the flavor of beef that has been salted in advance. I'm sure that some people prefer unsalted meat, but it's hard to imagine that anyone with a good palate couldn't tell the difference.

[JudiAU]

We've found that it greatly improves flavor in both the eye of round and the prime rib.

[sssteeve]

I'm a believer! I tried the low temperature method on a 4 lb cross rib roast that I had marinaded for 36 hours and the results were great. I used the marinade I came up with for tri-tip roast (gleaned from all sorts of internet and other sources). But before putting it in the baggie with the marinade I proceeded to commit aggravated mayhem on the roast, piercing it repeatedly with a meat fork on the sides, the top, the bottom. (I only do that with the tougher cuts of meat.) Of course if I had a nice prime rib, salt, pepper and maybe a little bit of garlic would be all it needed. Yes, I try to see what I can do with the less expensive cuts- especially when they are on sale. I eat like a bird- cheap! cheap! cheap! <g>

4 oz red wine vinegar
2 oz white vinegar
2 oz red wine
2 oz soy sauce
2 oz orange juice
2 oz frozen pineapple juice
1 oz Worcestershire sauce
1 oz basalmic vinegar
1 oz olive oil
1 oz molasses (estimated)
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tsp crushed garlic
2 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp salt (or salt substitute)
1 tsp cracked peppercorns- black and mixed
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp spices (rosemary, basil, parsley, sage, thyme)
1 tsp onion powder

After marinading the roast I set it out for 3 hours to warm up to room temperature
I preheated the oven to 500 degrees and put the roast in for 20 minutes, turning once.
I then turned the oven down to 250 degrees and figured that it would take 20 or 30 minutes per pound (like 80 minutes to 2 hours).

It took 3 hours and 45 minutes before the oven thermostat finally reached 130 degrees (and I did turn it up to 275 for about 15 minutes and then to 300 for 15 minutes at the very end). I think I need to check the calibration of my oven thermostat at the low settings! <g>

I let it stand for a full 30 minutes (I'm sure that 20 minutes would be fine) and then proceeded to slice it with my food slicer.

Wow! This came out extremely tender with a great taste enhanced by the marinade. For some reason I had this idea that cooking it for a long time at a low temperature would dry it out (maybe because that is how they dry lumber? I dunno.)

As some people have mentioned here there was hardly any juice coming out of the roast. However I personally think it is best to let it stand for 20+ minutes- I think that having it cool off a bit allows everything to mellow out a bit. (I base that on my observation that if I slice the roast after standing for 20 minutes it does not taste quite as good as it does when I slice some more maybe 10 minutes later.)

Thanks for starting a great thread here! I learned a lot by reading all of the replies.

Steve A.

[Firedogut]

All right guys double check me here. i have a 14lb top sirloin roast. The roast is primal cut USDA PRIME DRY AGED. beautiful fat cap.

i normally use the 250F cooking method but i don't know how long. Would 10-14min a pound seem right for medium. pull out at 130-135F

thanks

[fourunder]

If it's not too late....

I generally roast @ 225* with a guideline 0f 25 minutes per pound for medium-rare temperature on premium beef roasts, i.e. prime rib or strip loin.....on a 3 lb. chuck roast, I also use the same guidelines with positive results. Roasting a larger and thicker roast, I would be more inclined to go with a lower temperature for a longer period. If you want to roast at the 250* temperature, my feelings are you should probably calculate based on 18-20 minutes per pound and then check with a thermometer towards the end.

[joonjoon]

Use a thermometer - that way there's no guesswork.

[Funwithfood]

I always cook my meat this way, control and perfection!

[ski_gpsy]

Okay, let me start by saying I am fully aware that I am totally O.C. about prime rib. When we moved several states away from THE prime rib restaurant icon Lawry’s Prime Rib in Beverly Hills, I knew I had to do anything and everything possible to replicate that “special occasion” dining experience. To that end I have studied, experimented, tested and tasted my way to as-close-as-I-can-get prime rib nirvana.

After years of oven roasting mountains of beef flesh I realized that to really achieve the restaurant quality crisp self-basted crust on a prime rib, you must rotisserie. Over the years I have purchased numerous rotisseries. Ultimately my go-to rotisserie became my vintage 1968 Farberware, bought on eBay. (It’s medium sized, stainless steel, and the one you most likely see at prime rib carving stations at a buffet).

Having tried umpteen celebrity chef’s wonderful rubs, concoctions, and potions for flavoring a rib roast, I ended up back at the master’s; olive oil and Lawry’s Seasoned Salt. The seasoned salt has just the right small amount of sugar to caramelize and incrust the seasonings and juices.

Since prime rib is my signature dish (I even listed it as such on my Chow.com profile) I take it very seriously. I buy a complete Cryovac’d rib side at Costco (my Costco has meat that is so fresh it makes me suspect that they’re actually slaughtering cattle out in the back parking lot). I carve my own roasts, making ribeye steaks of the excess. I prefer the small end of the ribs for my roasts, in order to accommodate those guests who love that “big lip, little eye” piece.

So when friends and family come for My Big Grand Prime Rib Dinner, I’m ready. And I deliver. So much so that when I travel to visit them, guess what they want me to make while I’m there? Yep, my “signature dish”. But what about my beloved Farberware rotisserie left back at home? What about the Cryovac, carve-my-own-roast side o’ beef? I can’t travel with all that. And what about cooking in an unfamiliar kitchen with an unknown oven? That’s when I go to my tried and true fallback recipe; i.e. Paula Deen’s “Foolproof Prime Rib Roast” recipe. That mysterious alchemical magic where you put a huge expensive roast into a hot oven.... and then turn the oven OFF for 3 hours! Those few ChowHounds who have mentioned it know that amazingly, this technique works. But those who’ve never tried it will be hesitant, reluctant, and downright scared to put an $80 slab of beef into a hot oven and then turn the oven off for hours. But I’m here to tell you, it works. I don’t begin to understand the chemistry and mouthwatering magic of it, but low and slow is definitely the way to go when roasting a big chunk of meat to tender juicy bliss in an oven. And there is NOTHING lower and slower than turning the whole oven off for 3 hours!

The only difference I see between the results of the “foolproof” method and regular roasting is that with regular roasting you get a well done outer ring, a medium inner ring, and a bloody pink center. With the foolproof method you get a well done outer ring, while the whole interior is a perfect baby pink.

So if you’re daring, or as in my case, traveling and using an unfamiliar kitchen and oven, give this recipe a try. It really does work! Plus it gives you hours of free time;
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/pa...

Just remember that you won’t be able to open your oven door for 4-6 hours, so make ahead any side dishes that won’t fit in your toaster oven or microwave. You MUST have a digital meat thermometer with a cable, and ABSOLUTELY follow recommended internal temps for your desired doneness, NOT minutes per pound timed cooking/reheating.

Lastly I’ve found that you can’t always count on sufficient drippings from every roast, so I keep Johnnie’s French Dip Au Jus on hand (plus in a pinch you can mix it with with bacon fat for the Yorkshire Pudding). I have also been known to travel with Ingelhoffer’s Cream Style Horseradish and my Sur La Table Digital Oven & Meat Thermometer...just have to remember to check that thru in baggage!