My First Standing Rib Roast on the Egg.

jfm0830 · December 2012

My first rib roast was a great success despite some temperature issues. I've posted some questions in a separate link: Cold Weather Low & Slow Temp Questions. Despite my cooking temps not coming out as planned, the roast was excellent. Moist, tender, and tasty. I used a recipe from the Weber Bullet Web Site for a Herb Crusted Rib Roast. The roast is cooked low and slow and then receives a quick sear in a 500 degree oven. I was a bit scared about ruining a fine piece of meat, so while everything but the 5-cheese garlic bread was home made, everything else was made indoors in the Kitchen. This allowed me to precook the garlic mashed potatoes and squash and hold them briefly in my new 3 pan food warmer. I'll let the pictures tell the rest of the story.

The herb paste used chopped fresh Italian parsley, oregano, rosemary & basil, plus minced garlic, Lawrey's seasoned salt, fresh ground black pepper & olive oil.

The ingredients for the herb paste are in a bowl ready to be mixed.

The blended herb paste.

The roast is taken out of the fridge 2 hours early & is about to have the herb past applied.

The herb paste has been applied to the roast, which will go on the egg in 2 hours.

We have liftoff. The Egg is being fired up using 3 paraffin starter & 3 chunks of hickory have been distributed in the lump.

The platesetter is installed legs up & the stainless steel grate is installed.

The roast is on the grill on a v-grid set in a cast iron roast pan. It was an extremely tight fit. The lid just barely cleared the corners of the cast iron pan.

The roast is almost done. Time for some homemade French onion soup.

The roast is up to 125. Time for it to come inside and go into a 500 degree oven for 6 minutes.

The roast after a 6 minute sear in a 500 degree oven. You have to be careful not to keep it in the oven too long or the crust will crack wide open. The roast gets loosely covered in foil & rests for 30 minutes.

The roast rested 30 minutes before I carved it.

The roast is carved time to eat.

In addition to the roast there was some 5 cheese garlic bread, doctored squash, garlic mashed potatoes & au jus gravy.

Everyone loved the meal & are still talking about it 24 hours later. This is the best part of this hobby: being able to share the results with family & friends.

My second Large is supposed to be available for pick up on Friday. Actually it is the base cabinet the Egg sits on I'm waiting for. Next year I'll take more of the cooking outdoors with the second Egg.

Jim

Duganboy · December 2012

Great looking cook and I love the sides. One question, why not just sear it on the BGE?

jfm0830 · December 2012

I wanted to do a reverse sear, I've used this method for both a pork rib roast and this type of beef rib roast and it is rather foolproof. The oven is preheated to 500 and I can put the roast in for X minutes and it is done and I get a predictable internal temperature rise. The Egg on the other hand introduced several variables. First how long would it take to get up to 500? Second what is my internal temperature rise during this period? I know I could take it off the Egg while I was waiting to get to 500, but this was more trouble than it was worth. It was in the 20's/low 30's. I didn't feel like bringing it inside and then outside again.

Also in the oven I can look through the glass and see what is happening. Not true on the Egg. So this was a case where the Egg brought no advantages to the table, whereas the oven brought predictability, ease of use and you lose nothing when compared to searing it at the end on the Egg,

Jim

BigGreenBamaGriller · December 2012

Duganboy said:

Great looking cook and I love the sides. One question, why not just sear it on the BGE?

I have a feeling this problem will be solved once his second egg arrives. I did the same cook, but got to break in my new small egg which was sitting at 475 when the meat hit temp in the XL.

BTW, I am digging the idea of french onion soup with this meal. Will definitely do in the future.

Duganboy · December 2012

Good answers, both.

jfm0830 · December 2012

Thanks guys.

About 30 years ago when my mom switched from doing Turkey on Christmas to standing rib roast, she also started having French onion soup with it. I must admit to me they are like ham and eggs or pork and beans.

It was funny, I was thinking about what I'd do if I'd had the 2nd Egg in time for this meal. I toyed with the idea of using number two to sear the meat. But I am convinced, for me at least, the oven is the best tool for the job in so many ways. The second Egg will most likely be busy doing some baking of rolls or something for dessert, or possibly grilling veggies. Something it can do better than the oven. But isn't it wonderful when you have the flexibility to pick several tools to do the job.

Jim

jfarley · December 2012

I did mine (also my 1st) almost the same as yours Jim, with similar results. A few exceptions - The roast sat directly on the grate with the drip pan on the plate setter underneath. I was running at 220 degrees dome when I realized I had woefully miscalculated the time it would take. I had to run the risk of going at 300 dome for the last 1.5 hrs. Pulled it at 120 internal, let sit 20 minutes before a 6 minute sear in the oven at 550. I'm now a true believer in the low/slow/reverse sear method. I put my techniques together from several diverse websites. I had no qualms about using the oven for the same reasons you did. On a local blog that has some serious BBQrs (not Eggers) I once mentioned finishing something in the oven. There were screams of blasphemy. To me there is no shame in using the oven for a part of the process where you are simply applying heat to the cook. It in no way diminishes from all of the awesome Egg benefits.

nolaegghead · December 2012

I second the "use the right tool for the job" attitude. Eggs are the right tool for most of the baking, smoking, roasting and grilling we do, but stuff like searing on cast iron, heating a wok, griddle cooking breakfast, etc - seriously - there are better tools.

jfm0830 · December 2012

I agree about the oven, and for this use of it I apologize to no one. About the only thing a grill, smoker, or the Egg can give you that the oven can't is smoke. And that last 6 minutes doesn't require any more smoke.

I got this using the oven for the reverse sear from the Weber Bullet Website, which is a great resource run by some serious quers. It is one of my go to sites when I am looking for info not specific to the Egg.

BTW how did your roast turn out? I assume great cause you used the word true believer.

Jim

jfarley · December 2012

The pic I attached is pretty small, but the roast came out great. The compliments at the dinner table about the best prime rib ever are like laughter to a comedian. Personally I was surprised how much the carry over heat and sear took it up to. It came out what I would call medium. Would have preferred more medium rare, but I'm nit-picking now.

I've been looking at the BGE for years but putting it off due to the expense. When my lovely wife Patty told me last summer to just get it I didn't ask again. She now thinks it's one of the best purchases we've ever made. I love my BGE!

Another Jim

jfm0830 · December 2012

@jfarley

Jim:
Glad to here the roast turned out so well. I am quite amazed at the number of "This is the best ____ I've ever had" type compliments I've received since I got the Egg. They started the first night and are a regular event around here. My Egg got delivered and set-up about a week early. So my wife didn't know my Spatchcoked chicken had been done on the Egg and I didn't tell her. After her first bite she said "OMG" three times and declared it to be the best chicken she had ever tasted. She had been skeptical about any particular grill being that much better, but now she regularly asks if she can invite freinds or family over for a meal cooked on the Egg. When I mentioned a second Egg it was smooth sailing. It would seem I have her right where she wants me!

As for the reverse sear in the oven I've found between that and the 30 minute rest, I get about a 10-12 degree temperature rise on a rib roast, so pulling it at 120 like you did I would have expected a 130-132 degree finish temp which is what it sounds like you got. I was shooting for a 135 MR done temp, which is why i used 125 as my done temp. With the low and slow cooking it stays nice and juicy. BTW don't keep it in the oven too long. The 10 minutes some recipes call for seems too long and will often crack the skin/crust exposing large areas of meat. I was pushing things with my 6 minute sear. I did get some cracks/tears starting to form. Did your crust crack at all searing it for 5 minutes?

jfarley · December 2012

I should have taken a final temp read but did not. From the color I think your estimate is correct. I've got a Thermapen on the way. That should make it easier o monitor temps in the future. The sear did not crack the crust.

Dyal_SC · December 2012

For some reason, the pix aren't showing up for me right now. But I did see the pix last night. Outstanding as usual!

Village Idiot · December 2012

I just noticed that French Onion Soup. WOWZERS !!! That looks fantastic. Please tell me you used homemade beef broth in making that.

Have you got a recipe for that you'd care to share?

jfm0830 · December 2012

Dyal_SC said:

For some reason, the pix aren't showing up for me right now. But I did see the pix last night. Outstanding as usual!

They are hosted on the same website as my main website. Every so often there will be an outage where I can't see anything on my regular site for 30 seconds to a minute. Perhaps this is what you were experiencing too. Thanks for your kind remarks.

Village Idiot said:

I just noticed that French Onion Soup. WOWZERS !!! That looks fantastic. Please tell me you used homemade beef broth in making that.

Have you got a recipe for that you'd care to share?

I'm embarrassed to say no to the homemade beef broth. Homemade broths and stocks have always intimidated me. I don't know why, but I've only done them once or twice. <BR><BR>

As far as a recipe goes for the onion soup, I'll check with my mother. It is her recipe I'm using, and I've been doing it so long I just do it without thinking... it's a pinch of this and a dash of that. But I know she has it written down somewhere. I will find it and post it for you.<BR><BR>

Jim

Village Idiot · December 2012

Thanks, Jim. Don't be intimidated about the stock. Once you use homemade stock, you'll never use store bought again. They're easy to do, and if you want the recipes, let me know.

jfm0830 · December 2012

Village Idiot said:

Thanks, Jim. Don't be intimidated about the stock. Once you use homemade stock, you'll never use store bought again. They're easy to do, and if you want the recipes, let me know.

I'll certainly take you up for some recipes. I have made some turkey stock once from my Thanksgiving turkey and I also made some chicken stock. I seem to recall they weren't that much work, but for some reason they just scare me.

Village Idiot · December 2012

Jim,

For chicken stock, I use Alton Brown's recipe (but I don't use a leek.) Click here.

For beef stock, I use Emeril's recipe. Click here.

The veggies you use in the preparation have a French name. Mirepoix. You can impress your friends by using that word. I used to say it until I used it on a fluent French speaker. It was totally butchered with my Texas accent. Now, I only write it.

b-(

A couple of recommendations:

Do not add more water than called for. That is a temptation to get more stock.

I don't use chicken bones that I've cooked on the egg. The batch I did ended up with a slight smokey taste, and I want my chicken stock to be neutral.

In re-reading Alton Brown's recipe, I don't do it quite like him. I just dump everything in the pot without any steamer basket. Also, I don't submerge it in ice water after simmering. I just let it cool enough in the bowls to put it in the refrigerator overnight (you'll be surprised at the fat cap in the morning. I use a spatula to skim it off). I also put a lid on it for most of the cooking time.

jfm0830 · December 2012

VI:

Thank you for the recipes. Here is my mother's onion soup recipe. Turns out I had the recipe in my recipe software here at the house.

____________________________

INGREDIENTS:

FOR THE SOUP:

5 Yellow Onions, thinly sliced

3 Tbsp Salted Butter

2 Quarts Beef Stock

1 tsp Worcestershire Sauce

Table Salt to taste

1/2 Tbsp Black Pepper

1 Tbsp Olive Oil

FOR THE TOPPINGS:

1 Package Shredded Parmesan or Mozzarella Cheese

1 Loaf French Bread, Thinly sliced & Toasted.

DIRECTIONS:

MAKE THE SOUP:

- Add 1 tbsp EVOO to a large pan and and set heat to low.

- Add the butter & allow to melt.

- Sautée onions in butter until soft and turning brownish. Stir frequently to get all of the onion to cook. Time approx. 30 minutes - 45 minutes. If the time extends beyond 30 minutes you may want to add more butter so the onions continue to brown and don't burn.

- Stir in beef stock, Worcestershire sauce, salt & pepper.

- Simmer for at least 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Onions will continue to soften.

- At this point the soup can be used or refrigerated & reheated later.

FOR THE TOPPING

● Slice the French bread and toast.

● Add the soup to a microwave safe bowl and then add the slice(s) of bread.

● Wait a minute for bread to absorb some of the liquid and add more soup stock as required.

● Sprinkle on the cheese and microwave at 70% power for about 3 minutes or until the cheese has melted. Every microwave is different so adjust time to suit power of your microwave.

● Be careful handling or eating the soup after it comes out of the microwave oven as the liquid and the bowl will be VERY hot.

I should note that this is the recipe that our family uses. I have often been tempted to try other recipes to compare, but this is my mother's recipe and it makes her happy I still use it. Is it very good? Yes. Is it the best? I don't know.

Jim

Village Idiot · December 2012

Thanks, Jim. Got it printed out and if it's as good as the picture looks, it'll make the permanent recipe file. I always keep the source on the file, so I may be asking for your mom's name .... or I might use yours.

My First Standing Rib Roast on the Egg.

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