Curtis Stone’s Prime Rib and Peas

With so many holiday celebrations stacked at the end of the year, many of us want something other than turkey come December. For an impressive and elegant Christmas feast, my answer is slow-roasted prime rib. A standing rib roast can be a showstopper. But that doesn’t mean it is complicated or difficult to prepare.

Patience is one of the best ingredients of a holiday prime rib. When making Slow-Roasted Prime Beef Rib with Beef Jus, start with a great cut of meat, ad simple seasoning, and cook it low and slow. By slow roasting at a lower temperature, the meat cooks more evenly throughout — no overcooked gray edges and raw centers. Use a meat thermometer to measure the internal temperature of the roast.

Resting the meat is critical, allowing the juices to redistribute across the roast. You can lightly cover with foil and let rest for up to 20 minutes. If you cut into that roast too early, all those juices, which equal flavor, will run onto your cutting board along with your hard work.

Whisking is a great way to loosen the browned bits (called fond) at the bottom of the roasting pan that will lend a rich deep flavor to your jus.

For an elegant roast, I’d opt for a side dish of freshly picked peas that are crisp and tender. The mint adds brightness and complements the delicateness of the shelled peas.

Slow-Roasted Prime Beef Rib and Beef Jus

(Makes 10-12 servings)

• 1 (3-rib) standing rib roast of beef (6 to 8 pounds)
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1 1/2 cups reduced-sodium beef stock
• 2 sprigs of fresh thyme
• Accompaniment: Horseradish sauce

Preheat oven to 255°F. Place beef on sheet pan. Coat beef with oil and season generously with salt and pepper. Roast beef until instant-read thermometer inserted into center of meat (do not touch bone) registers 120°F for rare doneness, 3 to 3 1/2 hours depending on size of roast. Set beef aside on plate and pour off accumulated fat in pan. Reserve fat and use for popovers or discard.

Increase oven temperature to 450°F. Return beef to pan and place in oven. Roast 10 minutes, or until deeply browned. Transfer beef to carving board to rest 15 minutes before carving and serving.

Meanwhile, in small saucepan, bring beef stock and thyme to boil. Add hot stock to hot sheet pan and, using wooden spatula, scrape up browned bits on bottom of pan. Strain into serving bowl and season beef jus with salt and pepper. Cut ribs from roast, cut meat into 1/2-inch-thck slices, and serve with beef jus and horseradish sauce.

Make-Ahead: The beef can be slow-cooked to 120°F and held in a warm place for up to 1 hour before searing in a hot oven.

Nutrition

(Per serving)

• Calories: 351
• Total Fat: 23 g
• Saturated Fat: 9g
• Sodium: 287 mg
• Carbohydrate: 0g
• Fiber: 0g
• Protein: 34g
• Diabetic Exchanges: 5 protein, 2 fat

Peas with Mint

(Makes 6 servings)

• 2 1/2 cups shelled fresh peas (from 2 lbs. peas in the pod)
• 1 tablespoon butter or olive oil
• 1/2 cup coarsely chopped shallots
• 2 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh mint

Bring large sauce pan of salted water to boil over high heat. Add peas and cook 2 minutes, or until they are bright green and tender. Drain and transfer peas to bowl of ice water to cool. Drain well.

Heat large fry pan over medium-high heat. Add butter or oil and shallots and cook, stirring often, for 2 minutes, or until softened. Add peas and cook, stirring often, for 3 minutes, or until heated through. Stir in mine. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Make-Ahead: The peas can be blanched up to 4 hours ahead, cooled, covered, and refrigerated.

Nutrition

(Per serving)

• Calories: 75
• Total Fat: 2 g
• Saturated Fat: 1 g
• Sodium: 20 mg
• Carbohydrate: 11 g
• Fiber: 4 g
• Protein: 4 g
• Diabetic Exchanges: 2 starchy vegetable

Finish out this entrée with Crisp and Custardy Popovers, at saturdayeveningpost.com/popover.

Recipes courtesy Curtis Stone

This article is featured in the November/December 2021 issue of The Saturday Evening Post. Subscribe to the magazine for more art, inspiring stories, fiction, humor, and features from our archives.

Featured image: Ray Kachatorian