How to Prepare a Traditional Roast Beef

Preparing roast beef may seem intimidating at first, but really there's little more to it than putting the roast in the oven and pulling it out when it's done. The roast in this recipe, depending on the exact size you choose, feeds 8-12. Roast beef makes a great centerpiece for a holiday or other special meal.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Groceries
• Meat Thermometers
• Roasting Pans
• cracked black pepper
• kosher salt
• olive (not virgin) oil
• 1 10-15 pound prime rib roast

1. Heat the oven to 450 degrees F.
2. Remove the roast from its packaging and place it in a sturdy roasting pan.
3. Rub the roast lightly with the oil. Try not to get any oil in the bottom of the roasting pan.
4. Rub the roast with enough salt and pepper to lightly season it.
5. Place the roasting pan in the oven.
6. After 15-20 minutes, turn the heat down to 325 degrees F.
7. Test for doneness using an instant-read thermometer (about $5 at most grocery stores). For rare meat, remove the roast when the internal temperature reads 130-135 degrees F. For medium rare, remove at 140-145 degrees F. And for medium, remove at 155 degrees F or above. A large rib roast takes 2-4 hours to cook.
8. Let the roast beef rest at room temperature, without carving or cutting into it, for 20-30 minutes.

Tips & Warnings

• The best cut to use is the rib roast, or prime rib, which can be purchased whole and uncut, trimmed and reassembled, or boneless. The whole cut will have the bones and fat cap on, which protect the meat as it cooks (good) but you'll still get charged by the pound for the fat and bones (bad).
• Trimmed and reassembled prime ribs have had their bones and fat cap removed, and then tied back on by the butcher. You pay for this service, too, but these roasts are easier to serve because you just cut the strings and remove the boneless roast inside after it's cooked.
• Boneless rib roasts are more expensive per pound because you pay for the butcher to trim it, but you yield more meat after cooking. These also cook faster but will have a higher percentage of meat cooked medium or above.
• Other good roasting cuts include a whole strip or shell roast, which New York steaks are cut from, and whole tenderloins, which the filet mignon comes from. For a tenderloin, brown it in a frying pan first, and then roast it.
• Whole strip roasts cook in 90 minutes or less; tenderloins cook in 30 minutes or less.
• Always let roasted meat rest for a few minutes before cutting it. Residual heat will continue cooking the meat for up to 20 minutes after it comes out of the oven. Also, meat will "reabsorb" the juices that are released within it during cooking. Cut it too soon and these juices leak out.
• Cooking times are not precise because individual ovens and roasts are different. Use a meat thermometer to know for sure.