Baking Banquet: PRIME RIB (CROSS RIB ROAST) UPDATED*

Ingredients:

1 Cross Rib Roast, Cradled with Bones*

¼ cup butter, melted

1 tablespoon Cracked peppercorns – season to taste

1 tablespoon Cajun Jerk Seasoning – season to taste

1 tablespoon Garlic Pepper Seasoning – season to taste

1 tablespoon Garlic Salt – season to taste

1 tablespoon prime rib/roast seasoning – seasoning to taste

1 whole garlic (peel and mince each clove)

1 Sprig of fresh Rosemary

Preparation:

Order your cross rib roast from the butcher in the meat department about 1 week in advance. Plan one and a half servings per rib (so for 6 people, plan for 4 ribs. That will give you leftovers, too. This year my roast was 10.77 pounds)

Schedule to pick it up the day before or early in the morning on the day that you plan to cook your roast. Once you have your meat, make the seasoning rub with a mortar and pestle. Combine all the seasonings and mix them together with the pestle (awakening the cracked peppercorns). Melt the butter. With a pastry brush, brush the melted butter onto a small surface of the roast. Quickly rub the seasoning onto the roast. Continue with the butter and the seasoning until the entire roast is covered. Turn it over to get all of the surfaces of the roast seasoned (especially the end pieces). Rub the minced garlic over the seasoning. Wrap tightly in plastic and return to the refrigerator until about a half hour before baking it (to let it get to a little warmer before baking)

Cooking Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. For a well done roast, plan 17 -20 minutes per pound. For a medium rare roast, plan 10 – 13 minutes per pound. To check the doneness, insert a meat thermometer that is oven safe. Well done is 160 – 170 degrees Fahrenheit. Medium is 140 – 145 degrees Fahrenheit. Remove your roast from the refrigerator and remove the plastic wrap. Place your roast fat side up in a roasting pan (the cradled ribs act as your rack). I use a disposable aluminum foil roasting pan for easy clean up. To brown nicely, Place in the 400 degree F oven for 30 minutes. Next, without opening the oven, turn the temperature to 325 degrees F and bake until the internal temperature of the meat is cooked to your desired degree of doneness. The roast will continue to cook after it is removed from the oven. So, you may remove it about (about 20 minutes) 10 degrees early if you would like to let the juices settle back into the center of the roast (if you do this, cover completely with aluminum foil) , or you can begin carving immediately . If you carve immediately it will not continue to cook. You can choose your preference.

*Note, a cross rib roast is what is known as prime rib when ordered at a restaurant. Prime indicates the grade of the beef. Most grocery stores only sell the choice grade of beef for cross rib roasts. Some sell “prime”, but it is over twice as expensive as Choice. The difference is that Prime has more marbling. Choice is a great option. I’ve never had any disappointed guests.