Today we have what both Teri and I plan to make for christmas dinner this year, a Standing Rib Roast with Au Jus and Creamy Horseradish Sauce! It’s a classics holiday dish that might seem a bit intimidating, but as long as you get the cooking temps and times down, it’s actually a breeze! There are definitely a few things though that I think are important for a successful roast:
– Instant Read Thermometer: You might think this is excessive, but seriously get one. They’re fairly inexpensive and will make your life so much easier. You’re already spending a lot of money on a big chunk of meat that’s supposed to be the star of the meal, so you really want to make sure it’s cooked exactly the way you and your guests prefer it and an instant read thermometer will allow you to know immediately what’s going on in your roast. I’m all about the touch test when it comes to my steaks, but for a large piece of meat like this, I really like to depend on my instant read!
-Try to get a roast with a fat cap: ….even if you go boneless. The fat cap is literally a 1/4-1/2 inch layer of fat that covers the roast, you won’t eat it, but it’ll help keep the roast nice and juicy throughout the cooking process and they’ll be no need to constantly open the oven (which will then immediately lower your oven temp) to baste your meat….it’s basically a way for the meat to self baste!
– Take advantage of your local butcher: Especially if your knife skills aren’t the greatest. I have yet to go to a butcher (even at my local Vons!) that won’t fabricate the meat just how I like it. They’ll even slice the fat cap almost entirely off for you, so you don’t have to do that part (refer to the recipe for further clarity). They’ll french the ends of the rib bones if you’d like and even tie everything tightly together in twine for you).
– Low and slow is the key: Yes, we’re starting the roasting at a very high temperature, but it’s to develop a nice crust around the meat. Once you have a nicely browned outside, you want to make sure to lower your cooking temp and make sure to NOT rush this process. Trying to cook this cut quickly will likely result in a overcooked and dry piece of meat…so just stick to the high sear to low and slow method and you’ll have success every time!
I hope everyone is enjoying this holiday season, as busy and hectic it may be! I’d also love to hear what some of your holiday meal plans are! Enjoy! xx, Jenny
Standing Rib Roast with Au Jus and Creamy Horseradish Sauce
INGREDIENTS
creamy horseradish sauce
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 ½ tablespoons grated horseradish (preferably freshly grated)
- 2 teaspoons dry mustard
- 1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- pinch cracked black pepper
rib roast & rub
- 1 (8 lb.) standing rib roast should have 2, usually 3 bones
- 1 ½ tablespoons kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon minced rosemary
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 ½ tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 large yellow onions cut into wedges
- 4 ribs celery, cut into 2 inch pieces
- 4 large carrots, peeled and cut into 2 inch pieces
au jus
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- ½ cup red wine
- 1 cup beef stock
INSTRUCTIONS
- For the creamy horseradish sauce: Place all ingredients into a mixing bowl and whisk together. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hrs. (sauce will hold in the refrigerator for up to 1 week). Remove from refrigerator about 20 minutes before serving, adjust seasoning if needed, stir, and serve.
- For standing rib roast: Carefully slice fat cap off the top of the roast, leaving the back edge intact (this way you can marinate the beef and then place the fat flap back over the meat before tying with twine). Allow roast to sit at room temperature for about 1 hr.
- Place all rub ingredients into a small mixing bowl and whisk together. Generously rub mixture over the entire roast. Replace fat cap back over the top and tightly tie the roast (parallel to the bones) together with cooking twine.
- Allow roast to sit for another 30 minutes. At this time, preheat your oven to 500˚F.
- Place cut onions, celery and carrots into the bottom of a roasting pan and toss together. Set roast, meat-side up, atop the vegetables and place in the oven.
- Roast the beef for about 20 minutes before reducing the heat to 325˚F and continuing to cook your beef for about 11-13 minutes per pound (so about 1 hr. and 30 minutes to 1 hr. and 50 minutes). About ¾ into the cooking time, check the internal temperature of the meat at the thickest part of the beef (make sure the thermometer isn’t hitting the bone. For medium rare, you want the internal temperature to be about 130-135˚F, knowing that when you pull the roast out the carryover cooking will add about another 5˚F) For medium, you want the internal temperature to reach between 140-145˚F.
- Loosely cover with foil and allow the roast to sit for about 30 minutes before removing the twine, fat cap and bones, slicing and serving with creamy horseradish sauce and au jus.
- For au jus: Once the roast has been removed from the pan, remove and discard the roasting vegetables (they’ll be pretty mushy and stilling in grease at this point, but if you’d like to drain and salvage them for your meal, you totally can! They just need a bit of salt and pepper) and all but 1 tablespoon of grease. Place roasting pan over your stovetop burners and set over medium-low. Add Worcestershire sauce and red wine and reduce by ½. Add the beef stock and reduce by about ⅓. Lightly season with salt and pepper and serve.
NOTES
- *Makes 1 (8lb) roast
Did you make this recipe? We want to see!
tag @SpoonForkBacon and #SpoonForkBacon on Instagram
I made this for Christmas dinner and everyone said it was the best prime rib they’ve ever had!! And that’s high praise from my family of carnivores. The recipe was incredibly easy and I made it even easier by cooking it in a roasting pan with a rack, eliminating the need for the chopped veggies in the bottom.
Those pictures are making my mouth water! We have this every year but my sister usually cooks it. Since we’re not together for Christmas this year, this will be my first time cooking this bad boy. We alway have Yorkshire Pudding with it and I’m wondering if I should still roast the meat over the veggies since I’ll be using the drippings to make the Yorkshire Pudding. Thanks!
Hi! I would maybe roast them separately, unless you don’t mind the flavors of the vegetables in your pudding
This is for the Standing Rib Roast and Horseradish sauce. It will be my third year serving it for X-mas. It has been a great hit, specially last year when I realized that it is better if I divided my huge rib in 2 -3 bones for a more even cooking. My friends thought I had ordered from some fancy steak house, it was so good!
So happy to hear you love this! It’s such a great Christmas dinner for sure!
IS THE RED WINE A COOKING RED WINE?
you can use whatever red wine you fancy. I’m not a huge fan of specifically made for cooking wines as they tend to had unnecessary additives in them. I like to use a drier, medium bodied red for something like this, such as a pinot noir or petite syrah :)
Your roast looks amazing. I love how you add the orange and bay leaves around it for color. We have a 7 rib standing roast that we are dry aging. Have you ever tried it? Oh, my heavens. The taste is out of this world. If you buy it aged at the market it’s almost double the price. This is our 5th year for dry aging the rib roast. Your meat is cooked perfectly. Nice and red without any juice running out. Means you let it rest before slicing. :-) Have a very Merry Christmas!
Jenny,
This looks wonderful. Think you just provided the answer to what we will serve for Christmas dinner. Will serve with roasted veg and Yorkshire Pudding. Will let you know how everything turned out after Christmas. Thanks again.
reverse sear is the way to go.start at 250 until desired temp .take roast out then crank up that oven to 500 till brown and crisp.
This looks delicious! How many servings do you think the 8 lb. roast would provide for dinner?
I think it would be good for about 6-8 people, depending on the diners, since you account for the shrinkage, rib bones weight, fat trimming, etc
I’m going to try to make this Christmas
Thanks for the recipe! The roast looks amazing! It is our go-to Christmas Eve dinner!