Standing Rib Roast Dinner
Traditionally on Christmas Day I cook a standing rib roast. Tomorrow I have a solid lineup of activities, so Chase The Dog and I decided to cook our annual Standing Rib Roast on Christmas Eve.
Since it was just the two of us, I opted for a 6 lb two rib cut from Wegman’s. This will keep us in beef for the next couple months. I dry-brined the cut with kosher salt the night before, this insures a wonderful crispy crust as the salt draws out the water. Three hours before cook time I pulled the ribs from the fridge to let them come to room temperature.
My rub was simple, fresh crushed black pepper, coriander, thyme, dry basil and dry oregano, as well as a dash of Cajun seasoning.
Normally I would do a hot sear and then turn the temp down for a slow and low cook, but I had heard of a new technique, the Reverse Sear. With this you do the slow and low, rest…then you do the sear at the end. This gives you the same effect, but you end up serving HOT prime rib. Since it’s just the pup and I, I thought I’d give it a shot.
I cooked the roast for about 2 hours at 250° and then brought it up to 550° for about 15 minutes. When my thermometer said we were about 120° in the center, I pulled it to let it rest. About 10 minutes later it was at 130°, perfect.
While all this was happening at the end, I made four air-fried twice baked potatoes and worked up some blistered green beans.
The potatoes were simple, I coated two potatoes (it felt silly just doing one) with olive oil, poked holes in them with a fork and air fried them for 20 minutes. You want an internal temp of 180°, and let it rest for 10 minutes to finish cooking. The outside was crisp and the inside was light and fluffy. I cut them in half and scooped out the potato. I mixed this with some cream cheese and grated cheddar and some crushed black pepper. Most people would put bacon in at this point…but you know…there’s a prime rib in the wings. I spooned the mash back into the shells and air fried it for 8 more minutes to form a crust. I cut some cubes of cheddar and put it back in for a few minutes to melt the cheese. Done. Top with chives or green onions.
The green beans were blistered in olive oil with a dusting of garlic powder, onion powder and crushed black pepper on the stove top, and then covered to finish.
Our Christmas Eve meal was perfect. I’ll freeze most of the prime rib for future omelettes and sandwiches. I packaged the three twice-baked potato shells for future reference.
