Herb Crusted, Garlic-Stuffed Prime Rib Roast with Creamy Dijon-Horseradish Sauce and Au Jus
(Serves about 8-10)
Ingredients:
1 (3-bone) Beef Prime Rib Roast*, about 5-6 lbs.
4 cloves of garlic, peeled, divided use
2 tablespoons fresh rosemary leaves, finely chopped
2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves, finely chopped
2 tablespoons fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
2 tablespoons Italian seasoning
1 tablespoon sea salt
1 tablespoon freshly cracked black pepper
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
½ cup olive oil
• Creamy Dijon-Horseradish Sauce (recipe below)
• Au jus (recipe below)
*I had the butcher cut the bones off of my rib roast, and reserve them for me; I seasoned my roast and placed it back on top of the detached ribs, and roasted them together. This makes for easier slicing of the meat once it’s roasted, and the ribs act as a natural and flavorful “rack” for the roast itself to sit on.
(For extra bold flavor, I allowed my rib roast to sit, seasoned and stuffed with garlic, in the fridge for 48 hours before I planned to roast it; I simply placed the seasoned roast with it’s bones onto a platter and into a jumbo-sized ziplock bag, and removed it from the fridge an hour before roasting.)
Preparation:
-Preheat the oven to 425 degrees; line a baking sheet with foil.
-Make 8 small slits into the rib roast (4 on top and 4 on the bottom) about ½” – 1” deep; take two of the cloves of garlic, and quarter them creating 8 smaller pieces; stuff the pieces of garlic into the slits.
-Next, take the remaining 2 cloves of garlic, press them through a garlic press and add them into a small bowl; to the pressed garlic, add the chopped, fresh rosemary leaves and the remainder of the ingredients through the olive oil; with a fork, mix the ingredients until well combined, and rub this entire fragrant mixture all over the rib roast, covering it completely (at this point, if you had the butcher remove and reserve the ribs for you, you can now place the seasoned roast on top of the ribs); place the roast with it’s fat-side up and ribs down onto the baking sheet, and place the roast into the oven; cook for 45 minutes at 425, then reduce the heat to 375, and continue to cook for another 30 minutes at which point you will cover the roast lightly with foil, and allow it to continue to cook for an additional 30 minutes or so, or until a thermometer inserted into the center of the roast registers 135 for medium rare, or 145 medium; remove the roast from the oven, lightly tent with foil, and allow it to rest for about 20 minutes before carving the roast into roughly ½” thick pieces. Serve with the Creamy Dijon-Horseradish Sauce and Au jus on the side.
(**If you are looking for the results featured in the photos, here are my exact specifications for your frame of reference: my roast was a 5.28 lb roast, and cooked for exactly 1 hour 45 minutes, total, using the method described above; I placed an oven-safe thermometer into the thickest part of the meat, into the center, before placing it into the oven; this way, I could observe the temperature as the meat roasted, and pulled it out at exactly 135 degrees.)
Creamy Dijon-Horseradish Sauce ingredients:
4 ounces prepared horseradish
¼ cup sour cream
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• Pinch sea salt/ black pepper
Preparation:
-In a small bowl, combine all of the ingredients, and whisk together until smooth and well-combined; cover with plastic wrap and store in fridge if making ahead of time, or serve immediately.
Au Jus ingredients:
(makes about 1 cup of Au Jus)
• Pan drippings from roast, most of the fat skimmed off (you may or may not have that much)
2 cups beef stock or broth
½ cup red wine
• Pinch salt/black pepper, if necessary
Preparation:
-Add the pan drippings into a small heavy-bottom sauce pan, and add the beef stock/broth into the drippings along with the red wine, and turn the heat to medium; bring this to a simmer, and allow it to reduce by roughly half, for about 20 minutes; finish with a pinch of salt and pepper, if necessary. Serve the Au Jus, hot, on the side with the meat. (This will be a thin, natural-style sauce for the meat.)
