Monday, December 27, 2010

What, No Green Vegetable?

For a cut of meat we only cook once a year, I'm so happy with our latest method, from a 2007 issue of Saveur.
This was a three-bone standing rib roast, aka prime rib. The butcher had trimmed off everything but the eye and the ribs (and a little fat, good).
The technique is to roast the meat rib-side up. It seems to create a little roasting chamber, sui generis, and the meat cooks gently and evenly throughout. (The other technique is 30 minutes at 450F, then down to 325F until the internal temperature hits 120F.) This roast then rests for half an hour, perfect opportunity for making the Yorkshire Pudding. (It was the best, fluffiest, prettiest pud ever, but I couldn't tell you why.)
I know this beef doesn't look rare enough for some of you cannibals, but it's exactly the way I like it: pink and juicy. (Rare meat? Not juicy.)
Confession: There really were no green vegetables.

14 comments:

Nancy Ewart said...

Sometimes even the best tomato rancher has to take a break from the vegetables. That slice looks utterly delicious. I wonder if there's something about the cooler weather than makes some of us crave meat. I gt myself a small rib eye steak and will have it with potatoes and (sorry!) a green salad. I eat red meat only a few times a year so why not splurge and go for the best.

Kate said...

Damn! That's exactly what we had. 'cept I like it rare, and besides, it was grass-fed, so one sorta needs to under-do it. Our Yorkshire pudding was crispy (big skillet spread the batter out), then dunked in the - yes, there were - juices of the roast. Also: roasted carrots, parsnips, and shallots, plus horseradish-cream sauce for da meat. Mmmm...leftovers!

Ms Brown Mouse said...

Yorkshire Pud is such a wonderful pud. No green veg, I can understand, sort of, but where's the gravy?? You need lots and lots of gravy to sop up with the pud!

cookiecrumb said...

Nancy: It was just such good, greasy, filling food. We didn't want broccoli.
Ooh, your steak sounds good. And nobody would blame you for the salad.
Interestingly, Cranky, the real carnivore in the house, has been craving greens.

Kate: You are a better cook than I. Honestly, I wouldn't have minded if this roast was a leetle bit more rare!
Nice feast. Thumbs up on the parsnips. Shallots? Decadence.

Mouse: We were *thisclose* to making gravy. A lot of perfect drippings and fat. But no beef broth, so we just froze the goozle for next time.
I know. I am such a foreigner with other people's native foods. Like unwrapping the seaweed off the sushi and eating it first. I do it wrong.

Kailyn said...

Ooo. I'm going to have to remember Kate's idea of shallots. I usually roast yams, parsnips and red onion. But shallots.

And the meat looks wonderful. The upper end of done for me but still appealing. Perhaps because I can't remember the last time I had red meat.

Cranky can get his greens on Saturday.

cookiecrumb said...

Kailyn: Yeah, roasted shallots. Heaven!
Hey, I know why this roast is a little more cooked than I wanted: it's because the butcher trimmed all the wrappings away. OK, fine. The brown meat will go in the beef stroganoff. The pink is for sammies.

Zoomie said...

Chuckling because our meal tonight was rolled roast of lamb with cauliflower and fingerling potatoes roasted alongside the meat. We got to the table and My Beloved said, "What, no green veg?" I noticed, however, that he cleaned his plate.

cookiecrumb said...

Zooms: Cute! Sometimes, enough food is enough food.

Ms Brown Mouse said...

Cookie, at least you have the weather for it :) We eat the full catastrophy in the middle of summer!

Greg said...

That looks absolutely perfect.

kudzu said...

Drool. Love this. No gravy for me, thanks -- just jus. (Or, as the TV cooks and lame servers say, "the au jus".)

I recall having little green beans alongside my prime rib sometimes, but eventually just left them off. When meat is that special, all attention should be paid to the roast beast.

cookiecrumb said...

this comment is posted from crankys new kindle!

cookiecrumb said...

Mouse: As a sometimes food-averse person, it's fascinating that I want beef and grease in the winter. You should be eating Korean tacos or something.

cookiecrumb said...

Greg: It is a treat. Expensive, but it's a Christmas thing. Thanks.

Kudzu: Bingo! Total bingo. Thanks for the endorsement.