Standing Rib Roast Recipe

Photo: Brian Woodcock

Standing Rib Roast of Beef
Serves 4, with leftovers

My paternal grandmother always served a rib roast for Christmas. What I remember most was the decadent, savory Yorkshire Pudding she made with the pan drippings. even now, I serve standing rib roast as a special, Christmas-only dish. We source delicious beef and dry-age it for 28 days in our cold storage at Star Provisions. The result is a full-flavored, firm-textured roast. Find one that weighs at least 12 pounds, which will make for an impressive presence at the holiday table. (You and your family will be happy to have plenty of leftovers!) ask your butcher to french the bones—he or she will cut the meat away from the end of each rib for an attractive, festive presentation. You can also do this at home, using a sharp knife to carefully scrape the meat and fat from the tip of each bone. We like to pull the roast out of the oven early (see the temperature guide below), as it will continue to cook as it rests.

?1 pound baby carrots, peeled
1 pound fingerling potatoes, scrubbed
1 large onion, peeled and cut into 8 wedges
1 pound baby turnips
4 sprigs fresh flat-leaf parsley, plus more for garnish 4 sprigs fresh thyme, plus more for garnish
4 sprigs fresh rosemary, plus more for garnish
1 bay leaf
2 tablespoons olive oil
Kosher salt
Freshly ground pepper
1 (12-pound) rib roast of beef (7 bones), frenched

Preheat the oven to 450° F.

Toss all the root vegetables with the herbs, oil, and salt and pepper to taste. Spread the vegetables out in an even layer in the bottom of a roasting pan.

Pat the rib roast dry and liberally season with 1 tablespoon of salt and 1 tablespoon pepper. Place the roast fat side up on top of the bed of vegetables in the roasting pan. Roast for 30 minutes.

Reduce the oven temperature to 350° F and continue roasting for approximately 2 hours. Insert an instant-read thermometer into the thickest part of the roast; the thermometer should register 120° F for rare. (The internal temperature will continue to rise 10° F after removing the roast from the oven, resulting in a final temperature of 130° F.) For medium rare, continue cooking until the thermometer registers 130° F (yielding a temperature after resting of 140° F). For medium, continue cooking until the thermometer registers 140° F (yielding a temperature after resting of 150° F).

Remove the roast to a platter and loosely cover with aluminum foil; let rest for at least 30 minutes before carving.

To carve, I like to run the knife between the bone and the meat to separate the ribs from the roast for serving. Then you can serve a rib and a slice or two of the roast on each plate. Serve with the roasted vegetables and garnish with more of the herbs.

Excerpted from Summerland: Recipes for Celebrating with Southern Hospitality by Anne Stiles Quatrano (Rizzoli, 2013).

More meaty meals for a crowd:
Stupid-Simple Roast Beef with Horseradish Cream
Ultimate Slow-Cooker Pot Roast
A Kingly Roast for Your Holiday Table