A Solid B+

Just fixed my first prime rib. I smeared it with crushed garlic, covered it in salt, and roasted it. I gave it 15 minutes at 450 and then lowered the heat to 350 and cooked it until it hit 130.

I would very much have preferred 120 or 115, but my father never learned to eat beef cooked to a cautious medium, so I had to jack it up. It was surprisingly pink for 130, but definitely overcooked by my standards.

I thought it was too tough. I’m not saying it was tough, per se. It was tender. But compared to what it should have been, it was a little disappointing. I also thought the salt crust was a bad idea. I now suspect that the beef should be salted generously but not crusted, and it should be done at least one day in advance.

I think Bobby Flay is just plain wrong when he says to cook prime rib at 350. If I had cooked it at 250, it would have been a thousand times better. And a week is not enough aging. It works fine for steaks, but prime rib isn’t worth a damn if it doesn’t stink a little.

Next time I’m going to roast it in a bag at 250. When I hit 100 degrees, off comes the bag. Then I’ll jack the heat to 450 to brown it. I’ll bet it will be perfect. I’m also going to age it for two weeks.

It seems like the quality of the beef is more critical for a roast than for steaks. My aged choice steaks are very, very good. Nearly as good as prime. But this was noticeably inferior to the real thing.

I guess it sounds like I’m hammering it, but it was a great meal. It just wasn’t what it could have been.

Serves me right for letting the Food Network fool me again. Are they ever right about ANYTHING?