Blackened Prime Rib Roast

Blackened Prime Rib Roast

7 lb. rib roast –  bone in (note: any cut will do according to Everett, but he likes  it cut from the small, or loin end.)

coarse salt and fresh cracked black pepper

Place the roast on a rack over a pan with paper towels in the bottom to catch drippings. Air should circulate around the roast. Age in the refrigerator for about 5 days. Trim off the dry parts before cooking. It is a good idea to weigh the roast after aging and trimming.

Mix up a bit of coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper. The amount depends on the size of the roast, but a couple tablespoons of each can’t be very far off. Sometimes, I put granulated garlic or garlic powder in this mix. Cracked coriander and a little dill seed would be good as well. I can’t see how you could go wrong with a teaspoon of each of these in the salt and pepper mix. 

Sear the meat by one of the following methods:

1.) Heat the oven to 500 degrees F. Place beef on a rack in a roasting pan and leave it in 30 minutes. Remove the roast and let rest for 30 minutes while you let the oven cool to 200 degrees F. You can cover the roast loosely with foil if you want.

2.) Sear all sides of the beef in a pan.

3.) Sear all sides of the beef on a really hot grill. Watch the fire if you do this one.

Place the roast on a rack in a roasting pan and roast in a 200 degree F. oven until the meat is done to your liking or about 30 minutes per pound. I always use a good digital thermometer. I like to cook the beef to about 138 degrees F. and let rest about 1/2 hour before slicing (this is really important, the rest makes a large difference on the even distribution of juices in the meat). Because the roast is large, roasting at higher temperatures causes over cooking of the outside and under cooking on the inside. Don’t think much of doing something with the juices, you’ll be able to soak up most of them with a potato chip. With this method, the juices stay in the meat. (Back to that resting business!! If you cut it too soon, you’ll see all your juice run out onto the cutting board.)

While the beef is roasting, prepare the spice mix to blacken the beef. You really have a lot of leeway here, but a good mix I’ve used follows:

2 t. salt

2 t. fresh ground pepper

2 t. ground white pepper

1 t. ground cayenne pepper

1 t. ground sage

1 t. thyme

1 t. garlic powder

Mix these spices in a small bowl and set aside.

Get the equipment ready to blacken the beef. You’ll need a big skillet that can take unlimited heat, such as a big cast iron skillet. You’ll also need a good propane cook stove that can deliver at least 15,000 Btu to a single burner (30,000 or more is best.) A turkey fryer, Cajun fish fryer, or standing propane camp stove all would work great. Just before you slice the beef, fire up the stove/burner with your skillet on it.

Slice the roast in about 3/4 to 1 inch slices. You can even leave the bone on (if the butcher didn’t slice it off and tie it back on) if you really want big, beefy portions. Arrange the slices on a platter and sprinkle the top surface with the spice mixture. When you think the skillet is far to hot, place a couple of the slices, spice side down in it with tongs or a long fork. Make sure you do this with the motion going away from you. Leave for about 30 to 45  seconds. Sprinkle spices on the top side in the meantime. Watch for flames. They’re okay, just don’t let them burn you while you do the spices. In fact, if the skillet is hot enough, it will likely flame. Flip over and let go for another 30 to 45 seconds.

This meal is wonderful with salad and baked potatoes.

Editors note: This is perhaps one of the best recipes I have seen for prime rib. This recipe has great technique and very good explanations for why you are doing something. Try this recipe and I am sure you will not be disappointed! 

This recipe submitted by:

Everett Short

Alpha Angus Farms

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