I've never made a rib roast but I do make eye-round roasts all the time. When I cook a roast which is a tender piece of meat, I like it rare. What I do is season it with salt/pepper/garlic/and onion powder and put it in a roasting pan (fat side up). I then cook it at 350 degrees (I don't count the first 15 minutes it's in there because basically that's the amount of time it takes for the heat to get to the center of the piece of meat) for 15 - 20 minutes per lb. In other words, I'll cook a 4 lb. roast for an hour and 35 minutes.

I forgot, once it comes out of the oven, it's important you let it sit for a good 10 - 15 minutes before slicing so the juices can redistribute themselves. You can also throw some veggies around it while it's cooking to make a whole meal.

One more thing, the cut of the meat is just as important as the cooking is. I wouldn't cook a bottom-round roast the same way I cook and eye-round or a tender piece of beef. It would come out too tough that way. I usually use bottom round or a chuck roast for a pot-roast. They're tougher pieces of beef so the slow simmering helps to break it down and make them tender. Although they won't be rare.

Sorry, couldn't resist that header when I saw what you were about to do to an otherwise good roast beef!


Okay, here we go: Roasting 101

First, Pennick and Zuleikaa were correct: 'bags' and 'foil' and 'slow and pressure cookers' are used for cheaper cuts of meat that will be like rubber if DRY roasted. Those bags, the foil and the cookers all serve one purpose: to braise the meat in liquid. Cheaper cuts of meat have a lot of collegen. Not much fun to eat, but fabulous if dissolved and bathing the meat. That's what happens when you use foil or bags, etc.

Good cuts - like a rib eye - have very little collegen. Braise those, and you will reduce an otherwise tender and moist meat to grey and tasteless mush. Good cuts must be DRY COOKED!

You haven't said the weight, but given the cut and the price you paid, I'm guessing 4 pounds or less - which is a small roast and needs to be handled differently than a 10-pound crown, for instance. High initial oven temp won't work to create a good crust and rare interior - the piece is so small it will be overcooked by the time you have a crust.

So - here's an easy way to do it that will make that roast shine.

First, unwrap the roast at least the night before you want to make it. A few nights before will be even better. Put it, unwrapped, on a rack in the fridge, and put the rack on a cookie sheet to catch drips. You want drips. The more moisture that comes out, the more delicious and intense the beef flavor will be. This is how they 'age' beef in fancy steakhouses, which is expensive because the overall weight decreases. But even better - the outside of the roast will dry, which will contribute to caramelization of the crust. Yum!

Next, take the roast out of the fridge an hour before cooking. Rub it with whatever spices you like and salt and pepper. Turn the oven on to 325 thirty minutes later.

Then, take your roasting pan and put it ON the stove, at medium high heat. Add olive or coconut oil. Take the roast and SEAR it well on ALL sides - and I mean SEARED and BROWNED. Use tongs to turn it, rather than piercing it with a fork.

When that's done, put the pan with the roast in the oven and roast another 30-45 minutes - no more. If you want it rare, do the 30. Medium - do 37. Etc.

Take the pan out of the oven, and immediately move the roast to a rack to sit for about 15 minutes. If it were a big turkey, it would need to sit for about 30-45 minutes.

While the roast is sitting, put the pan back on the stove, medium high heat. Pour in a glass (or two!) of good red wine and scrape up all the roasted bits. Add some water if you only use 1 glass of wine - and bring to a simmer, still scraping. Reduce the liquid by a third or half.

Remove from the heat and swirl in 2-4 tablespoons of unsalted butter - keep moving it around with a whisk until it emulsifies in the liquid, makes it shiny and thickens it a little. Taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper if it needs it. This is an au jus sauce and is delish.

Then, slice it thin, dribble on the sauce and - knowing it's all zero carb - eat, eat, eat.

Bon Appetite!

Lisa

I love cooking roasts on a rotisserie.

Sounds like lots of different ideas to try...

You guys are a riot don't worry, I won't do the 'foil slow cook' thing.

But wow ... thanks for all the recipes, suggestions and instructions! I feel like I'm in cooking school.

I think I've got it down now, how I'll do this ... going to make it either tomorrow or Sunday. Will let you all know how it comes out.

That Au Jus sauce sounds out of this world!

MMMMMMM now I'm hungry and want the roast NOW!

OH ... and I've lost 5 pounds in 5 days! Didn't weigh myself for those 5 days, so I wouldn't be dissapointed. YAY!!

Thanks again!
Hugs!

Congrats on the weight loss Good luck with the roast Enjoy...Bru

Awriter, I learned a lot from your post.

Lots of fridges these days don't have wire racks. I'd suggest a cooling rack placed over a baking sheet might work.

Thanks, Nancy. I've been cooking for a long time.


Oh, sorry I wasn't clearer - that's actually what I meant. Thank you for sorting that out!

Lisa

Yes, this is what I was going to post!

Crockpot and high moisture long cooking times are designed for tough cuts of meat. A rib roast should be cooked at higher dry heat for less time. I use James Beard's method .

OK so, I went out and bought a Meat Thermometer, A nice set of Tongs, that's TONGS, not Thongs! And, I bought a really nice rubber spatula, needed one for a long time.

WOW! Only those 3 items at 'Bed, Bath and Beyond' totaled: $23.00

Course, I'm really careful spending money, so I guess that sounds like allot, but they're really good quality, so should last.

Oh yeah, for fun I bought birthday candles where the flame burns the same color as the candle. Tried one all ready, and it's really cool ... green fire.

Stopped at KFC to eat and had their barbecued chicken without the bun and coleslaw, but I think it contained sugar .. uh oh!

Well, at least I'm all set to make this roast on Sunday.

Hey - you're on your way to being a chef! One important note about the thermometer: If you want the roast to still be rare when you eat it (and I hope you do), make sure you take it out when the middle of the roast reads 118 - 119 degrees on the thermometer. As it sits out and rests, the temp will rise another 5-6 degrees, bringing it up to a perfect 125 degrees.

That rise in resting temperature is called 'after-cooking' and the larger the roast, the higher the after-cooking temps will go. As much as 15 degrees higher after removal from the oven for a large turkey, for instance. And that can make the difference between delicious and dry.

If you want medium rare, the temp upon removal from the oven should be no more than 125.

Enjoy the roast, and don't forget to let us all know how it tastes!

Lisa

Lisa: Hope you're here! Oh sorry ... anybody can respond.

I left the roast unwrapped, in the fridge since Friday, and there are NO drips. Is that bad?

Anyway .. I have it out now, I'll be cooking it at 11:00.

I have 2 pans that I can use to roast it in, and I'm not sure which one would be best.

One is oval and deep, the other is square and shallow.

The oval one is: 4'
The square one is: 1 1/4"

If you're here, could you let me know which pan you think I should use, and if I should be worried if there were no 'drips' from the meat?

Thanks so much!

Already responded to your private note, and you should now be happily roasting away, but for other readers who may have the same questions . . .


Not at all. It just means the roast didn't have a lot of stored water. That's fine, because by leaving it open you allowed what moisture there was to concentrate, and the outside to dry well, which will lead to a more caramelized crust, which means more flavor.


Shallow is always best for roasting, since it allows the heat to reach more of the roast's surfaces. The more important criteria is whether either roasting pan can go ON the burner for browning and later, for making the sauce. If the shallow pan cannot - use a frying pan. I do that all the time. Just make sure to use a pot holder when making the sauce, because that handle will be hot!!

Looking forward to the 'after eating' report . . .

Lisa