Garlic Butter Prime Rib with Loads of Gravy

'Tis the season...for loads and loads of food.  What I absolutely love about the holidays are all the holiday parties because it's a never-ending food adventure.  Mostly I love hosting parties because I get to create my own menu and have an array of guinea pigs for any new recipes. My new main dish for dinner parties has been prime rib coated in butter, lots of garlic butter.

What is it about tender red meat that just makes me melt?  Also what makes prime rib so romantic and classy? I just think that a medium-rare cut of red meat is so elegant and refine. I don't think I've ever casually had prime rib; it's also been a special occasion.  And that's what drove me to make this dish for the holidays.  I wanted to cook something that would transport people from the humble family party setting to an extravaganza fit for Gatsby, on the dinner table that is.

Definitely plan ahead of time if you're going to make this recipe though. The first time I cooked this, my boyfriend and I were frantically racing through Northern Virginia from grocery store to grocery store looking for prime rib with T-2 hours to dinner.  Fair to say, dinner was late that night, but well worth the wait.  The second time, I went to my favorite butcher, Pape's, and got a 10 lbs. juicy, thick prime rib.  Yes, I do believe that decadence of food is based on the origin of the meat.  However, I made this recipe with a grocery story roast and a butcher's roast, and both were delicious.  Also the gravy from the drippings...just keep on pouring until I say when.; like the cheese guys at Italian restaurants, it'll be a while.  Alright, I'm just going to post the recipe now because the more I talk about this, the hungrier I get.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 c. butter, softened to room-temperature

• 5 cloves garlic, minced

• 2 Tbsp fresh rosemary, finely chopped

• 2 Tbsp fresh thyme, finely chopped

• 2 Tbsp salt

• 1 Tbsp pepper

• 5 lb boneless ribeye roast

Gravy INGREDIENTS:

• Drippings from prime rib

• 2 tablespoons flour

• 2 cups beef stock

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 500 degrees F. 

2. Whisk together butter, garlic, herbs, salt, and pepper in a bowl until evenly combined.  I know this is doing too much, but I like to use a hand-mixer to whip the butter.  It makes it easier to work with when combining with dry ingredients and spreading on the roast.

3. Rub butter mix on all sides of the roast. Place buttered roast on a roasting tray with a rack.  I've placed a cooling rack on top of a baking tray and used a the roasting tray I use for turkeys, both work equally well.

4. Bake the roast for 5 minutes per pound. I baked my 10 lbs. roast for 50 minutes.

5. WITHOUT OPENING THE DOOR, turn off the heat when the timer's up. Let the roast sit in the oven for 2 hours.  Opening the oven door will let the heat out, which you don't want. 

6. After the 2 hours, remove roast from the pan. Pour the roast drippings into a saucepan over medium heat.

7. Whisk in the flour until there are no lumps.  Add beef stock, stirring and bringing to a boil.

8. Remove from heat and strain from sauce into a gravy boat.

9. Carve the prime rib into however thick you want the slices. 

#primerib #dinner #romanticdinner #entree