Dec 17

Dec 17 Christmas Garlic Prime Rib

A Festive Holiday Dinner Begins with a Classic Roast and Taken Up a Notch

Recipe by Chef Mike

A festive Christmas dinner starts with a classic roast surrounded by all-star sides and rounded off with a showstopping dessert. If you're having trouble deciding what to make, we've created three winning menus to choose from.

When we think of the traditional Christmas feast, mostly we think of three main dishes: Turkey, prime rib, and ham. As the star of the show, each main dish requires a supporting cast that complements their particular flavor profile. The primary flavor of each of these three mains is very different. Turkey is relatively bland, which allows the other recipes to take charge. Prime rib is big and robust, so its supporting players can be less bold. And depending on the preparation, ham can be by turns salty and sweet, which creates exciting opportunities for pairing side dishes.

With prime rib, you're working with a very flavorful main dish. So you might opt for a subtle, simple baked potato or Yorkshire pudding with au jus on the side instead of a big, flavorful beef gravy over mashed potatoes. And rather than a rich side-dish casserole, you might choose to simply roast a few root vegetables -- or quickly sauté green beans in butter, garlic, and lemon pepper.You might also match those big beef flavors with an assertive, palate-cleansing horseradish sauce with a pinch of cayenne pepper. With such a classic old-school meal, you just can't beat bread pudding or old-fashioned gingerbread cake with Christmas-y spices like cinnamon and ginger for dessert.

Prep: 10 min / Cook: 1 hr 30 min. / Ready In 1 hr 40 min.

Ingredients

· 1 (10 pound) prime rib roast

· 10 cloves garlic, minced

· 2 tablespoons olive oil

· 2 teaspoons salt

· 2 teaspoons ground black pepper

· 2 teaspoons dried thyme

Directions

1. Place the roast in a roasting pan with the fatty side up. In a small bowl, mix together the garlic, olive oil, salt, pepper and thyme. Spread the mixture over the fatty layer of the roast, and let the roast sit out until it is at room temperature, no longer than 1 hour.

2. Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F (260 degrees C).

3. Bake the roast for 20 minutes in the preheated oven, then reduce the temperature to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C), and continue roasting for an additional 60 to 75 minutes. The internal temperature of the roast should be at 135 degrees F (57 degrees C) for medium rare.

4. Allow the roast to rest for 10 or 15 minutes before carving so the meat can retain its juices.

Wine Pairing: A red-friendly meal like this wants Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah, and, particularly for people who like their prime rib on the rare side, Pinot Noir.

Recipe: Allrecipes.com