Prime rib again

The only other time I’ve done prime rib was at Christmas last year.  It turned really great, so I was

almost leery of trying it again… What if it doesn’t turn out as well this time?  We were having friends over for dinner, and prime rib has a lot of ‘wow’ factor for a meal, I think.

There seem to be two factions of prime rib cookers: one faction likes to sear the outside of the roast, the other likes to do a salt crust.  The first faction is probably a bigger group of cooks, but the latter uses an old English way of doing prime rib.  When I was growing up, we used to go to a local restaurant that did the salt crust, and it’s still my favorite way to have prime rib.

To do the salt crust treatment, the steps are simple and easy.  I get a prime rib that’s bone and tied, which means the bones have been removed, but then tied back on.  This is to get the benefit of
having the bone for flavor while easily removing it to cut the roast for serving.  I put the roast on a cookie sheet and spread kosher salt all around it in a decent pile, maybe half a box for a 5 lbs. roast.  I tried spraying the salt with water, but quickly switched to just pouring small amounts of water onto the salt to make kind of a paste of salt.  Then I take an offset spatula (this idea thanks to Phillyjazz on the Barbecue Bible Board)and spread the salt on the roast.  I like to get up to a half inch of salt around the whole roast.  If there’s too much water, adding more salt helps.  I let the roast sit until I feel the salt is sticking decently, at least half an hour.  I’ve thought about taking a hair dryer to it, but figured that would blow too much salt around. 

When cooking prime rib, you have a couple of choices… cooking at high heat or low heat.  I choose high
heat for steaks, so that makes sense for prime rib, right?  For me, no… I cook at low heat.  The reason is that cooking at
low heat gives the opportunity to have the meat evenly cooked throughout instead of being more down around the outside.  For the cost of a prime grade prime rib, I want the same doneness throughout.  If I got a slice or prime rib at a good restaurant that wasn’t evenly done, I’d consider sending it back, so why shouldn’t I strive to cook as well at home?

I get the smoker going at 225 or so, with a pecan log loaded to provide some smoke, though I don’t
want too much smoke on a prime rib.  Inevitably, once the roast goes on the smoker, some salt will fall off.  If it’s dried a bit, there will still be a decent crust everywhere.  I like to add potatoes to the smoker here, too, covered in either brisket or bacon grease and grey salt.  They may not get done by the time the roast is done, but they can be finished in the oven, and they’ll keep a smokey flavor that’s hard to beat.

I cooked the prime rib to 120 degrees and removed it to foil in a cooler for about an hour.  This allows the juices to redistribute and the carry over will bring the roast to a nice rare to just under medium rare.  The crust will come off easily in pieces, and I wipe off as much salt as I can, but the salt gives a great thin salt crust to the roast, too… one of my favorite parts!

When the roast is boned and tied, it’s easy to slice, just pick your thickness and slice away!

The dinner looks great when it’s served!  The one thing I like to do along with the prime rib is horseradish sauce.  This can be bought, but it’s so easy to make better at home.  Here is the recipe I use:

2 cups sour cream
1 Tbsp champagne vinegar
a palmful of chopped chives
as much freshly ground horseradish as you can take… the more the better to me!

Just mix together and serve alongside the prime rib and enjoy!