It was decided, with reasonable foresight that we would serve a traditional Standing Rib Roast (also known as the Prime Rib Roast) this Christmas. We started with an Alton Brown Recipe.
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/dry-aged-standing-rib-roast-with-sage-jus-recipe/index.htmlThe key to this recipe is the dry aging of the beef. This is something that quality steak houses do to all of their cuts for around four weeks. Some steakhouses will go as long as eight weeks. This process involves evaporating out the water in the roast, and breaking down the connective tissue in meat, resulting in more concentrated flavor and a more tender cut. Alton recommends a 3 day age. We did nine days with good results. You just need the fridge room and fresh towels.
In this recipe Alton uses a ceramic pot in the oven to maintain a stable oven temperature. We could not find a pot that fit both the oven and the roast and were not particularly keen to use one, anyway. The oven did just fine.
The sawsall? Well, the best kitchen tool to carve the roast is the double bladed electric knife. Given a lack of this tool and no lack of beer, Uncle Eric and I decided that the sawsall was the perfect tool. We set up shop in the driveway to spare the kitchen any debris related consequences and went to town. In retrospect, I highly approve of the sawsall. This is simply the best tool for the job. Every kitchen needs one.
