Holiday Recipe: Herbed Prime Rib Roast

Hmmm, what to make for Christmas dinner? There’s turkey (but you just roasted one for Thanksgiving). There’s Tender Belly holiday ham (but not everyone eats pork). How about a traditional, celebration-worthy rib roast using Colorado-raised, grass-fed beef from Lasater Grasslands Ranch? (For background on the ranch—and some gorgeous photos—read this.)

The Lasater folks will be on hand today, December 19, at Littleton’s brand-new Whole Foods Market to talk more about their prized beef. Make sure to ask about their recently awarded Local Producer Loan, which enables them to purchase 100 new head of cattle.

In the meantime, a rib-roast recipe from Nick Davis, Whole Foods’ executive chef:

Herbed Prime Rib Roast

(Serves 6 to 8)

4 cloves garlic

3 tablespoons fresh rosemary, chopped

3 tablespoons fresh thyme, chopped

2 tablespoons expeller-pressed canola oil

2 tablespoons kosher salt, divided

1 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 (3-rib) bone-in standing rib roast (about 5 pounds), trimmed of excess, but not all, fat

1 1/2 cup low-sodium beef broth

Preheat oven to 475°. Remove roast from the refrigerator. Season all over with half of the salt and let sit for 15 to 20 minutes at room temperature. (This will allow for a better crust and flavor.)

Meanwhile, in a food processor, pulse garlic until chopped. Add rosemary, thyme, oil, remaining salt, and pepper and pulse until you have a chunky paste. Rub the roast all over with the paste and place bone-side down in a roasting pan.

Place in the middle of the oven for 20 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 375° and continue cooking about 1 hour longer. Use a meat thermometer inserted into the center of the roast (not touching bone) in several spots, checking temperature every 5 or 10 minutes, until 10 to 15 degrees shy of your preferred level of doneness. The meat will continue cooking while it rests. (Target temperatures are 130 to 135° for medium rare and 135 to 145° for medium.) Transfer roast to a cutting board, bone-side down, and let stand 25 minutes before carving.

Meanwhile, carefully spoon off and discard fat from dark juices in roasting pan. Use oven mitts to place pan over medium-high heat and add broth. Simmer, scraping up browned bits from the bottom of pan, until reduced to 1 cup, about 10 minutes.

Carve the roast by running a long, sharp knife between the rib bones and meat to separate them. Slice meat into portions, arrange on a platter with the bones (there’s plenty of meat left on the bones) and spoon hot pan juices over the top.

—Photo courtesy of Whole Foods Market

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