Christmas is only days away and soon there will be roasted turkeys, hens, geese, ducks, hams, beef roast you name it, plopped down in the center of the proverbial holiday table. Many folks have their traditions and repeat the same meal annually while others are a bit more adventurous. Well this recipe favors the latter.

While standing rib roast are common for Christmas dinner, (I prepared one for last years feast) this version is turbo charged with Cajun blackened seasoning and a wonderful horseradish au jus for dipping. Another great thing about cooking a beef roast this way is that you finish it off on the grill (or in an iron skillet) and each guest can have their portion cooked to their desired level of doneness. I don’t think doneness is a word, but it is now!

Oh and did I mention that this recipe is fairly hands free? At least the roasting phase is. Which means you can keep your hands free for guzzling the spiked eggnog! Take it easy Kemo Sabe. Don’t get too sloppy and burn the house down when during the blackening step! Happy Holidays!

 

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 (8) lb standing rib roast (have your butcher cut it almost completely away from the bone and then tie it back together for easy roasting and carving)
• fresh ground black pepper
• kosher salt
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup dry red wine
• blackening seasoning (recipe below)
• 2 cups beef stock (homemade recipe found here)
• 1 tablespoon prepared horseradish
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

 

Blackened seasoning mix

• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon dried sweet basil
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 4 teaspoons paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne
• 1/2 teaspoon white pepper

 

PREPARATION:

For the prime rib

1. Allow rib roast to sit covered at room temperature for 30 minutes. Next rub all sides with salt, pepper and garlic. Preheat oven to 230°F. Place rib roast in a roasting pan with a rack an insert the wand of a digital thermometer into the thickest part of the roast and set the alarm for 110°F. When the alarm sounds, transfer the rack and roast to a tray or plate. Save the pan drippings for the Au Jus! Allow roast to rest for 20 minutes then cut into equal portions about 1 1/2 inch thick. You can pretty much cut between the bones. Once cut into steaks, you can carve away the bone.

2. Brush the grill grate with vegetable oil and preheat grill to high heat or heat a cast iron skillet to hot. If you are doing this inside in the skillet, be warned. It may get a little smoky. Season each steak liberally with the blackening seasoning on each side and cook for about 1 minute per side for rare to medium rare, 2 minutes per side for medium rare to medium. Or if you are going the skillet route, add a tablespoon of butter to the hot skillet and then quickly drop in the steak and cook using the times as above.

For the au jus

Deglaze the roasting pan with the wine, scrapping up all of the fond stuck to the bottom and pour the mixture into a saucepan. Add the beef stock and bring to a boil then lower heat and simmer for about 20 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper and strain through a fine mesh strainer to remove the solids. Allow the mixture to sit for a few minutes until the fat separates to the top and skim off or use a gravy separator if you have one. Finally whisk in the horseradish and Worcestershire sauce and serve along side the blackened prime rib.

Serves 8 – 10

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