Fit for Company, Fit for a Crowd, Great Leftovers, Grass-Fed

Buy the best slab of beef you can afford and roast it to your liking. The sauce made from the pan juices was inspired by the French dish steak au poivre, with Irish whiskey, which stands up to the deep beefy flavors of rib roast, replacing the brandy. You can also use a blended scotch if you like a slightly smoky flavor. This is an excellent recipe for grass-fed beef, because the stuffing adds rich flavor to the lean meat. You can also serve this roast with Scallion and Parmesan Yorkshire Puddings

Serves 8, with plenty of leftovers

INGREDIENTS

• 1 4-bone standing rib-eye roast (about 8 pounds), chine bone removed and fat trimmed to ¼ inch
• Porcini-Spinach Stuffing (recipe follows)
• 2 tablespoons minced garlic
• 1½ tablespoons salt
• 1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
• 3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh rosemary
• 1 tablespoon crushed fennel seeds
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• Toasted Peppercorn and Whiskey Sauce
• Horseradish Cream

INSTRUCTIONS

ROAST

1. Allow the roast to stand at room temperature for 4 hours.
2. Preheat the oven to 450°F, with a rack in the lower third of the oven.
3. Using a long sharp knife, cut the roast between the bones and the meat so that the rack of ribs is almost severed from the meat, leaving about ¾ inch of the meat attached to the bones. Place the roast on a flat surface so that you are looking down into the crevices between the bones and meat. Spread the stuffing into each crevice, using a rubber spatula to pack it in. Tie the bones back in place with a couple of loops of butcher’s twine to keep the stuffing inside.
4. Combine the garlic, salt, pepper, rosemary, fennel seeds, and oil in a small bowl. Generously rub the mixture over the top and sides of the roast and bones. Place a large V-shape roasting rack in a roasting pan and nestle the roast on the rack so that the bones are sticking straight up. Wrap the bone tips in aluminum foil to prevent burning.
5. If you have a cable-type digital continuous-read thermometer, insert it into the center of the roast and set it for 110°F to 115°F for rare or 120°F to 125°F for medium-rare. Roast for 20 minutes, then turn down the oven to 350°F. If you are not using a continuous-read thermometer, begin monitoring the internal temperature with an instant-read thermometer after 45 minutes, checking the temperature every 15 minutes. When the roast is done (usually 1¼ to 2 hours), set aside, covered loosely with aluminum foil, to rest for at least 20 minutes and up to 45 minutes before carving and serving. The final temperature will rise 10 to 15 degrees.
6. While the roast is resting, finish the Toasted Peppercorn and Whiskey Sauce.
7. To carve and serve, remove the twine from the roast. Place the roast on a cutting board so that the bones are vertical. Sever the strip of meat attached to the bones and spoon the stuffing into a serving bowl. Set the bones aside and turn the roast so the bone side lies flat. Cut the roast into ¼- to ½-inch-thick slices and arrange in an overlapping row on a serving platter. Slice between the bones to separate them and add to the platter. Pour any carving juices into the sauce. Serve with the sauce and the Horseradish Cream on the side.

ALTERNATIVE CUTS

• Ask your butcher for a New York strip with the bones attached. A rack of pork or veal would also work. Adjust roasting times and temperatures appropriately: Pork roasts take 45 minutes to 1 hour to reach an internal temperature of 135°F to 140°F. Veal roasts take about 45 minutes to reach an internal temperature of 125°F to 135°F (medium-rare to medium).

COOKS’S NOTES

• If you want to make this meal really special, purchase a well-marbled Wagyu standing rib roast, which is best cooked to medium-rare or even medium.
• At the opposite end of the marbling spectrum is a grass-fed beef or bison rib roast. After 20 minutes, turn the oven down to 275°F and allow extra time for cooking. Serve rare to medium-rare, so that it does not dry out.