Prime Rib help? - Low and slow

In several threads over the last few years we've touched on the low and slow method for roasting prime rib. John T posted a link to a special oven that cooks and holds the roast... apparently this is what creates that "meltingly tender" prime rib that many of us can find in good restaurants.

Does anyone know how I can duplicate this at home? I've done a google search, but not much comes up...
My oven goes as low as 170 degrees, and has convection capabilities. As well, I want to be sure the outside gets really crusty and brown. I'm thinking I'll need to start it out at 450 and then turn it down and cook it several hours. Anyone have a tried and true method that I can use on Thursday? Hope so! Thanks.

The Cook's Illustrated way:

Tie with string parallel to bones.
1. An hour before cooking, set out prime rib to bring to room temperature.
2. Oven rack to lowest position. Set oven to 250F. Heat large, heavy-bottomed roasting pan over two burners set to med-high. Place roast in pan and sear all sides until nicely browned and abt 1/2 cup fat has been rendered, 6-8 min.
3. Remove roast from pan. Set wire rack in the pan; set roast on rack. Generously s&p to taste.
4. Place roast in oven. Roast until meat registers 130 (for med-rare), 3-3.5 hours. Remove roast from oven. Tent w/aluminum foil. Let stand 20-30 min for juices to redistribute.
5. Remove string, carve slices.

Carving

1. W/carving fork to hold meat, cut along the bones to sever the meat.
2. Set roast cut-side down; carve meat across the grain into thick slices.

Thanks for that Larry. Sounds like a good method, however, I love having a very well-seasoned exterior on the roast (I'm thinking roasted garlic paste and Montreal seasoning. If I seared it like that, I think it would burn the exterior, and if I put the mixture on after searing, I don't think it would adhere. Do you think I'd get good results if I roasted at 400 or so for about the first 20 minutes to half hour?

[Jenise]

I know I'm stating the obvious, so forgive me, but since the recipe didn't include the instruction to first sever the roast from the bone, I have to note that same is what they intended. Otherwise, no reason to tie it.

[Jenise]

Thanks for that Larry. Sounds like a good method, however, I love having a very well-seasoned exterior on the roast (I'm thinking roasted garlic paste and Montreal seasoning. If I seared it like that, I think it would burn the exterior, and if I put the mixture on after searing, I don't think it would adhere. Do you think I'd get good results if I roasted at 400 or so for about the first 20 minutes to half hour?

You can sear it for color, allow it to cool, blot the roast dry, then rub the top with a bit of flour--that will hold your garlic paste on. THEN roast. I'm doing something similar tomorrow, and I'm going to further attempt to get that texture you're after too by adding a bain marie to the oven. I'm convinced that it's the steam in those special restaurant roasters that gets that super-moist texture we're so enamored of.

You can sear it for color, allow it to cool, blot the roast dry, then rub the top with a bit of flour--that will hold your garlic paste on. THEN roast. I'm doing something similar tomorrow, and I'm going to further attempt to get that texture you're after too by adding a bain marie to the oven. I'm convinced that it's the steam in those special restaurant roasters that gets that super-moist texture we're so enamored of.

Hmmm. The only problem with that is one of our guests cannot eat flour. Ironically, I expect him to eat the most roast.
I will definitely use a bain marie though. What a great idea!!

[Jenise]

You can sear it for color, allow it to cool, blot the roast dry, then rub the top with a bit of flour--that will hold your garlic paste on. THEN roast. I'm doing something similar tomorrow, and I'm going to further attempt to get that texture you're after too by adding a bain marie to the oven. I'm convinced that it's the steam in those special restaurant roasters that gets that super-moist texture we're so enamored of.

Hmmm. The only problem with that is one of our guests cannot eat flour. Ironically, I expect him to eat the most roast.
I will definitely use a bain marie though. What a great idea!!

Try cornstarch or ground rice, then. Either should do the job.

Okay, I probably got ahead of myself, but last night I went ahead and seared the roast, let cool then spread the paste on (roasted garlic and dijon mustard) then sprinkled all over with Montreal seasoning. I thought that would help permeate the roast with a little flavor (but then I remembered an old conversation you and I had, Jenise, about having seasoned some steaks to cook immediately then went to dinner with some friends so we had them the next night and they were a little mealy.) Maybe because the roast is so large (9.5 lbs), that won't happen. Also, I started out dusting with cornstarch, but found that the paste adhered just fine. No issues there.

My next question is...doesn't cooking it to 130 sound like it's too much for medium rare? Or maybe because we are cooking at such a low temperature, it actually will NOT continue cooking when it is taken out of the oven. I'll bet that's it...

Merry Christmas everyone!!

Nothing to add to your dilemma, but wanted to comment that on the few times I've been to a function with prime rib, I've asked for a piece from the end that's more done, because medium rare is not nearly cooked enough for me. Everybody doesn't like it that bloody.

Carrie, re temp, you'll get lots of different answers, so ultimately you'll have to decide which to follow.
What's always worked for me is to pull the prime rib at 120F and tent it for 15 or so minutes where the temp continues to rise, usually to around 135F.
Pulling it at 130F would get it too done for our taste.

[Jenise]

Carrie, re temp, you'll get lots of different answers, so ultimately you'll have to decide which to follow.
What's always worked for me is to pull the prime rib at 120F and tent it for 15 or so minutes where the temp continues to rise, usually to around 135F.
Pulling it at 130F would get it too done for our taste.

Same here. I think Cook's Illustrated is cooking for the masses--med rare vs. rare.

Carrie, the cornstarch? Wasn't about making the paste stick initially, but it helps keep a wet topping from sloughing off later. I'm sure your prime rib will come out wonderfully, but it's a little extra insurance--I started doing it when I got tired of these beautiful crusts I'd cook onto racks of lamb and the like crumbling off when I carved the meat.

i believe james beard's original cookbook recommended 225 for slow cooking. yesterday my friend did one at 200 at it was really wonderful.

I just wanted to report back on the results.
I used the Cook's Illustrated method (thanks Larry!), however, we never cut the bone off first. I hate that the strings pull the seasoning off, and we find it just as easy for Len to cut the whole thing off the bone right before cutting the roast into thick slices and serving. Also, as I noted previously, I made a paste of roasted garlic, olive oil, and Dijon mustard. Seered the meat then spread it on then coated the whole thing with Montreal seasonings. Did this the day before and was a little concerned it would alter the texture, but it did not. It was wonderful and I would do it again.
As the recipe called for, I took the meat out of the fridge an hour before putting it into a 250 degree oven. I put it in at 2:30, thinking it would be done around 5:30 and I would just keep it warm until we ate around 6:30-6:45. Well, it had hit 130 degrees by 4:30. (I need to check my oven to see if it's properly calibrated.) So I quickly turned the oven off and opened it so some heat could escape. Then left it in there with the oven ajar. The highest it got was 137, so I'm thinking that when you cook a roast at a temperature that low, it doesn't "continue cooking" as much as it would at a higher temperature.
Jenise's idea for the bain marie was probably the best idea. I could see the steam clouding the oven the whole time and I just know it helped make the roast more tender.
So, it was delicious--the best ever. This is definitely the preferred method. Next time, I believe I will even turn the oven down to 225 as David just mentioned, and see what happens then! Of course, I will check my oven thermostat first.

Oh, for the full menu:
Jumbo shrimp cocktail
Mixed greens with oranges and hazelnuts (Champagne vinaigrette)
Croissants (see Friends and Fun post for the full fiasco on this one)
Roasted carrots and fennel
Twice baked potatoes
Prime Rib Roast (Costco Choice, bone-in)
Dark chocolate bread pudding (was going to serve with Peppermint ice cream, but everyone opted for vanilla)

How was everyone else's?? Jenise? Full report please!

I just wanted to report back on the results.
I used the Cook's Illustrated method (thanks Larry!), however, we never cut the bone off first. I hate that the strings pull the seasoning off, and we find it just as easy for Len to cut the whole thing off the bone right before cutting the roast into thick slices and serving. Also, as I noted previously, I made a paste of roasted garlic, olive oil, and Dijon mustard. Seered the meat then spread it on then coated the whole thing with Montreal seasonings. Did this the day before and was a little concerned it would alter the texture, but it did not. It was wonderful and I would do it again.
As the recipe called for, I took the meat out of the fridge an hour before putting it into a 250 degree oven. I put it in at 2:30, thinking it would be done around 5:30 and I would just keep it warm until we ate around 6:30-6:45. Well, it had hit 130 degrees by 4:30. (I need to check my oven to see if it's properly calibrated.) So I quickly turned the oven off and opened it so some heat could escape. Then left it in there with the oven ajar. The highest it got was 137, so I'm thinking that when you cook a roast at a temperature that low, it doesn't "continue cooking" as much as it would at a higher temperature.
Jenise's idea for the bain marie was probably the best idea. I could see the steam clouding the oven the whole time and I just know it helped make the roast more tender.
So, it was delicious--the best ever. This is definitely the preferred method. Next time, I believe I will even turn the oven down to 225 as David just mentioned, and see what happens then! Of course, I will check my oven thermostat first.

Oh, for the full menu:
Jumbo shrimp cocktail
Mixed greens with oranges and hazelnuts (Champagne vinaigrette)
Croissants (see Friends and Fun post for the full fiasco on this one)
Roasted carrots and fennel
Twice baked potatoes
Prime Rib Roast (Costco Choice, bone-in)
Dark chocolate bread pudding (was going to serve with Peppermint ice cream, but everyone opted for vanilla)

How was everyone else's?? Jenise? Full report please!

Carrie,
I do low and slow pork shoulder on my ceramic grill several times per year. I haven't paid much attention to when the meat gets to 130 since I am taking the meat to 195 degrees. I want the meat to get hot enough to melt the collagen and that happens around 175-180 degrees. I set the grill up to cook at 215F and let it go for about 20 hours. After that I can pull the pork with two forks and the bone can be easily pulled away from the meat by hand. I might have to try your method the next time I do a ribeye or strip loin roast.

BTW, how deep into the meat did the flavor of the garlic/olive oil/dijon paste penetrate? I have used the Montreal steak seasoning and it does have a nice flavor.

We did a prime standing rib roast at 275F and pulled it at 120F, tented it for 15 minutes and it got near 135F, then put it back in the oven for 5 minutes at 425F. Result was medium rare with a little crust, and very tasty. Now looking forward to the sandwich part of the program.

Glad it worked with a little experimentation.

[Jenise]

I hate that the strings pull the seasoning off, and we find it just as easy for Len to cut the whole thing off the bone right before cutting the roast into thick slices and serving.

Well, plus you give the juices a leak point--it's really not hard to cut a rib roast, why would one want them to separate the bones for you? I guess a lot of doofuses out there don't realize you should cut the bones away first, so the presence of the bone implies larger portions to them than they're looking for.

As the recipe called for, I took the meat out of the fridge an hour before putting it into a 250 degree oven.

I seared mine off then tried roasting it at 175, but after 45 minutes or so it started smelling like rotting rather than roasting meat so I decided I needed a higher temperature and moved it up to 250. I went to check it about an hour and a half later only to discover that I'd totally blown it and set the oven to Broil, not Bake, all along, so now the top half of my roast was already at 125. I just turned it over and left it in a warm oven, hoping for the best. It actually turned out okay--med rare I'd say, and all the way through so there was no visible evidence of my stupidity, but texture wise the meat was just okay. Certainly a lot tougher in the northern half than the southern. Oh, and mine was a boneless roast--the day I shopped at Costco, they didn't have any standing ribs.

Well, plus you give the juices a leak point--it's really not hard to cut a rib roast, why would one want them to separate the bones for you? I guess a lot of doofuses out there don't realize you should cut the bones away first, so the presence of the bone implies larger portions to them than they're looking for.

Jenise, whenever I buy a bone on rib roast I always ask the butcher to remove the chine bone. After he does this he then ties the rib bones back onto the meat and I get the advantage, and meat of those bones. THEY, go onto my plate. this also makes it easy to cut the roast into "made to order" size for different diners. If the chine bone is not removed it becomes quite a job (to me) to remove them after cooking.

[Jenise]

Jenise, whenever I buy a bone on rib roast I always ask the butcher to remove the chine bone. After he does this he then ties the rib bones back onto the meat and I get the advantage, and meat of those bones. THEY, go onto my plate. This also makes it easy to carve the roast into "made to order" size for different diners. If the chine bone is not removed it becomes quite a job (to me) to remove them after cooking.

I know it's a popular thing to do--up here, they come that way unless you ask them NOT to.

I went to check it about an hour and a half later only to discover that I'd totally blown it and set the oven to Broil, not Bake, all along, so now the top half of my roast was already at 125. I just turned it over and left it in a warm oven, hoping for the best. It actually turned out okay--med rare I'd say, and all the way through so there was no visible evidence of my stupidity, but texture wise the meat was just okay. Certainly a lot tougher in the northern half than the southern.

Oh darn. That sounds much more like something I would do than you! Good thinking on flipping it over to finish.

I got my prime rib from Costco this year! (First time I skipped the butcher shop and am I ever glad I did.) the meat was cut from the bone, stuffed with about 30 cloves of garlic, reassembled, tied and well seasoned. The instructions were simple and just perfect for a hot pink center: 30 minutes at 500 degrees, then 30 munites per pound at 200 degrees.