By Melissa Wynn
When choosing a Prime Rib Roast for your holiday meal buy 1/2 lb. (boneless) for each expected guest or 1 rib (rib in) for every two guests. Remember that a fat cap less than one inch thick is a good thing and essential to the rich flavor that we all love in this cut of meat. Warming the roast to room temperature is essential for even cooking so set it out a few hours before you start cooking. A meat thermometer is the most important tool for cooking the perfect prime rib. Internal temperature is the key, not the cooking time, especially when rare is the desired doneness. Ingredients: 1. Prime Rib Roast warmed to room temperature 2. Tablespoons Butter 3. Herbs & Seasonings to taste Directions: Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Trim the excess fat, leaving at least a 1/4 inch cap for moisture and flavor. Bind the roast with cooking twine every few inches from top to bottom. Rub only the cut ends with butter. Rub your chosen herbs and spices over the fat cap. Salting the top prior to cooking can dry the top so save salting for the table. Place Rib Roast in roasting pan with ribs down or fat cap up. Cook for 15 to 20 minutes to sear the outside, then reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees. Baste every 30 minutes with pan drippings. A five pound roast usually takes about an hour to cook to rare at the center, but cooking times vary with each oven and at different altitudes. Again, the internal temperature is the method best for testing doneness. Start testing about 20 minutes before your estimated cook time is up. When the center is 120-125 degrees the roast is done at rare. Add 10 degrees for Medium-Rare. Then 10 more for Medium and so on up to 160 degrees for well done.
