Cooking a rib of beef

[duckers26]

After getting tired of buying beef from the supermarket and coming out tough I bit the bullet and went to a proper butcher. He recommended rib of beef as being the best for a roast and said an hour and a half at gas mark five and then thirty mins at six. It is a piece that will feed six.

Not very experienced at cooking beef and wondered whether this sounded the right way to do it. I also bought a meat thermometer to see if that helps.

Any recommendations gratefully received!

[otolith]

I would preheat the oven to max and give it 30 mins, then turn down to gas mark 3/160C for ten mins per 500g (rare) to 15 mins per 500g (medium). Rib deserves to be rare, IMO. Cook it for that long then check the temperature in the middle with your new meat thermometer and put it back in for a bit and retest until it's done as you want. 50C rare, 60 medium, 70 well done. Do not cook a nice rib to well done!

Once done, take it out, cover it and leave in a warm room for at least 30 mins before carving. Do not omit this step, it is essential.

[SVX]

otolith said:

I would preheat the oven to max and give it 30 mins, then turn down to gas mark 3/160C for ten mins per 500g (rare) to 15 mins per 500g (medium). Rib deserves to be rare, IMO. Cook it for that long then check the temperature in the middle with your new meat thermometer and put it back in for a bit and retest until it's done as you want. 50C rare, 60 medium, 70 well done. Do not cook a nice rib to well done!

Once done, take it out, cover it and leave in a warm room for at least 30 mins before carving. Do not omit this step, it is essential.

^^^^ This, but prepared with an English mustard crust:

Paint the top side of the rib with a mixture of English mustard and oil, then dust equal quantities of English mustard powder and strong plain flour onto the 'paint', finally cracked black pepper and coarse sea salt.

Don't forget the Yorkshire pudding!

[RichB]

duckers26 said:

After getting tired of buying beef from the supermarket and coming out tough I bit the bullet and went to a proper butcher. He recommended rib of beef as being the best for a roast and said an hour and a half at gas mark five and then thirty mins at six. It is a piece that will feed six.

Out of interest, how many bones/ribs is it? I would guess at three.

[grumbledoak]

Make sure it's out of the fridge for a couple of hours before you cook it, too, or you'll need to increase the cooking time to get the middle up to temp, and end up cremating the outside! Medium rare at the most, and rest it well.

[Asterix]

Can't add to the above - apart from reiterate the 2 key points - cook from room temp and rest for 30 mins. I use a triple layer of foil as the air gaps help keep just a bit more heat in and remember that any juice that does come out when you carve goes straight into the gravy

[escargot]

grumbledoak said:

Make sure it's out of the fridge for a couple of hours before you cook it, too, or you'll need to increase the cooking time to get the middle up to temp, and end up cremating the outside! Medium rare at the most, and rest it well.

fantastic advice.

Rib has good fat so it can benefit from slow & low to get it to render nicely.

[duckers26]

Have got it out to warm up before cooking it. Will post pics on photo of your dinner if it comes out ok!

[duckers26]

One last question! Do I cover it with foil while it's cooking?

[jmorgan]

I use foil if my oven has decided to get a hot spot and burn when the rest still need cooking. Usually cos I shoved a cut in that extends up too far and I do not use a fan oven.

[Asterix]

I don't cover with foil as I like a crispy outer - I also baste probably a bit too much but I love to have it sizzling away.

I also have a huge roasting tray and stick the potatoes and later the parsnips in with some quartered onions and cloves of garlic.

Edited by Asterix on Sunday 10th October 11:15