[bc-chris]

so i made roast beef again this weekend. the first time i did this recipe it was amazing!! i used a beef tenderloin roast... you could cut the sliced roast with your fork!! on saturday i did it with an outside round roast to see if the recipe still held up with a much less expensive cut a meat - and it did. was the meat as tender as the tenderloin roast... nope, but the outside round roast was also about 1/3 the cost!


so here it is (soooooooo good!!!!)

Herbed Rib Roast

Yield - Makes 8 servings

Ingredients

1. For roast
   • 1 (7- to 8-lb) prime rib roast (sometimes called standing rib roast; 3 or 4 ribs)
   • 1 tablespoon whole black peppercorns
   • 2 bay leaves (not California)
   • 1 tablespoon kosher salt
   • 3 garlic cloves
   • 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
   • 1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
   • 1 tablespoon olive oil
2. For jus
   • 2 cups beef broth
   • 1 small fresh rosemary sprig
   • 1 small fresh thyme sprig
   • 1 garlic clove, smashed

Preparation

1. Prepare roast:
   1. Trim all but a thin layer of fat from roast. Grind peppercorns and bay leaves with salt to a powder in an electric coffee/spice grinder, then transfer to a mortar. Add garlic, thyme, and rosemary, then pound to a smooth paste with pestle. Stir in oil. Rub paste all over roast. Transfer roast to a rack set in a small flameproof roasting pan. Marinate, covered and chilled, at least 8 hours – but no more than 24 hrs.
2. Cook roast:
   1. Let roast stand at room temperature 1 hour.
   2. Preheat oven to 450°F.
   3. Roast beef in middle of oven 20 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350°F and roast beef until a thermometer inserted into center of meat registers 110°F, 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 hours more. Transfer beef to a large platter and let stand, uncovered, 25 minutes. (Meat will continue to cook, reaching about 130°F for medium-rare.)
3. Make jus:
   1. Skim fat from pan juices. Add broth, rosemary, thyme, and garlic and deglaze pan by simmering on top of stove over moderate heat, stirring and scraping up brown bits. Transfer to a small saucepan and add any juices that have collected on platter. Gently simmer 10 minutes. Skim fat and season jus with salt and pepper.

i prefer gravy over the 'jus'... so i still make the jus, but then thicken it with a simple roux.
i also put some beef stock in the roasting pan when the roast goes in the oven so all the drippings don't burn to the pan - this also makes it easy to just pour out the drippings into the jus mixture.



this really is a simple recipe and is absolutely delicious! i think it's the fresh rosemary and thyme that just take it to another level!