Rib Roast Advice

Hi all,

This year I have been tasked with cooking the prime rib roast for my in-laws. They argue about it every year and my husband volunteered me take it on this year (gulp!).

I plan on following this recipe: https://www.chefsteps.com/activities/win-the-holidays-with-herb-crusted-sous-vide-prime-rib-rib-roast

My two problems I face are:

1) They always fight about what temperature it should be, half of them like it medium well, i.e. no "blood" and the other half like it more towards medium rare.

2) I have to prepare most of this the day before as on xmas eve (when we eat) I have to drive 6 hours to get to the in-laws.

To deal with issue 1 I'm planning on getting a 3 rib roast splitting it almost down the middle, sous vide at the two different temps for 4 hours and then just sit them next to each other when I do the herb crust and finish in the oven. This should be fine, right?

For issue 2 I was planning on sous vide'ing the roasts the day before and then reheating in a water bath for an hour before finishing them off in the over. Unfortunately I won't be about to vacuum pack the roasts so I worry about the flavor with reheating it like this. Any ideas on dealing with this? Has anyone SV'd in their car before? haha

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Brandon_Byrd_40557

An hour isn't going to be long enough to retherm a 3-bone roast (even if it's been cut down). It'll still be cold on the inside. I'd shoot for 2.5 hours at least. Heat transfer increases exponentially with thickness; a 1-inch steak may take an hour to come up to temp, but a four-inch thick roast will take much, much longer. Cutting the bones off will speed things up a bit. Bones don't bring anything to the part apart from looks, so you can leave them off if you so desire. You'll still want a couple hours (plus) for the re-therm.

As far as not having a vacuum sealer goes, consider asking your butcher to cut your roast for you and vac-pack it there. Cooked beef will oxidize if exposed to air which leads to "warmed over flavor" -- the reason your leftover burgers and steak taste like crap the next day. That's less of a problem with a roast, but it's still a problem. Having herbs in the bag will help a bit. Rosemary brings some strong anti-oxidant properties to the party. Thyme helps as well. But if you're going to spring out big bucks for a roast, see if you can swing a cheap-o Food Saver if your butcher won't/can't vac it for you. They're not necessary for a lot of SV cooking, but if you're going to do cook->chill->transport->retherm on a rib roast, using a proper vacuum sealer (or even "not-so-proper, but-will-do-the-job-well-enough" vacuum sealer) is the best practice.

hairyotter_273859

Hi Tim, my huzbear and I have the same problem, pink vs no pink. Your ideas sound great and I don't think you'll have flavor issues. Brandon's point about retherming is something I agree with. I'd retherm for sever hours and err on the side of over retherming (time wise) on a low temp.

The way I deal with 2 different doneness and one roast kinda favors the "pink" lovers crowd. I cook it to medium rare, the whole roast. I count how many are gonna want "no" pink. Cut those portions and put them in a warming drawer on high, or an oven on low, or whatever is available. Let the pink slowly and gently cook out while I plate all the other portions. Then serve as usual.

Now as far as vacuum sealing... you don't need no stinkin' vacuum. Get those big ass zip lock bags and use the water displacement technique in your water bath.

Hope this gives you food for thought.

Enjoy the in-laws

fisher23

+1 with Brandon. Vacuum sealing will be important to pull this off. You can re-therm them together at or just below the same temperature you cook the lower temp roast. Good luck, please let us know how it goes. Edited: My first read I missed the 6 hour drive. I would cook as Todd described. The re-therm will take 2.5 -3 hours.

tshewman

Buy 4 rib roast, or 2x2 rib roasts. Cook one at medium for 4 hours and drop he temp ad put in the second for 4-6 hours. The you're good to go.

Tim_McLoone_80828

Thanks for the advice Brandon! You confirmed what I was thinking. I hate the idea of reheating the beef, starting to wonder if I should just get up way way early in the morning and get it all cooked there

Tim_McLoone_80828

Good way to deal with the pinkness! Maybe I'll do that instead of messing around with cutting it all up. I'm starting to wonder if I should just get up way way early and cook it all there instead of trying to transport it pre-cooked. Arggg the perils of having high standards of cooking!