Slow-roasted rib of beef

Rockpool Bar & Grill's Neil Perry shares his secrets for nailing a melt-in-the-mouth slow-roasted rib-eye.

Slow-roasted rib of beef Credit: Poh's Kitchen

• serves

  4

• prep

  15 minutes

• cook

  3:40 hours

• difficulty

  Easy

If you roast this rib of beef at high heat, around 200°C, remember to take it out of the oven a little early, as the meat's core temperature will continue to rise a fair bit due to residual cooking. The meat will also benefit from a longer resting period, about 1 hour. Make this red wine reduction with good quality, full-bodied red wine. Don't use wine that is not pleasant to drink or you will end up with something that is not rich enough. 

Ingredients

• 2–3 bone rib of beef, preferably dry-aged for at least 3 weeks
• extra virgin olive oil
• freshly ground pepper

 

Red wine sauce

• olive oil
• 1 small carrot, peeled, finely diced
• ½ red onion, finely diced
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 2 field mushrooms, chopped
• 150 g meat trimmings, chopped
• 100 ml balsamic vinegar
• 1½ tbsp red wine vinegar
• 150 ml port
• 500 ml full-bodied red wine
• 2 thyme sprigs
• veal stock, and butter, to finish

Standing time: 2 hours

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 75°C, or as low as it will go. Take rib out of refrigerator 2 hours before you intend to cook it, and season it well with sea salt. Let it come to room temperature. (Alternatively, you can season it the night before.)
2. Rub rib with extra virgin olive oil and put in a large roasting tin. Roast in oven, turning it every 30 minutes or so. About 1 ½ hours into cooking time, slide meat thermometer into centre of the beef to check the core temperature. Remove thermometer and continue to cook until reading is 53°C. This will take up to 3 hours or more; it may even take up to 4 hours. Remember, if the oven is a little hotter, you will need to take meat out a degree or two earlier.
3. When meat is done, remove it and transfer to a chopping board. Carefully remove bones from beef and turn oven down as low as it will go (you may need to pin the door slightly ajar), as you want to create a warm environment of around 60°C in which to rest the meat.
4. Put a frying pan large enough to hold beef on the stovetop. Add a healthy splash of extra virgin olive oil and heat to just below smoking. Add beef and sear, turning 3 cm at a time, until entire rib has a lovely crust. Return to roasting tin and put in the oven for about 30 minutes to rest while you get the other parts of the meal together, or at least get your guests a drink. Alternatively, you can sear the beef as it is and serve on the bone.
5. Red wine sauce: Put a little olive oil in a small saucepan and add carrot, onion, garlic, mushroom and meat trimmings. Cook until they are lightly coloured and the meat is sealed well. Add vinegars and reduce to barely 2 ½ tbsp. Add port and again reduce to barely 2 ½ tbsp. Add red wine and thyme and reduce to 150ml, then strain.
6. On a chopping board, cut rib into four beautiful rose-red round slices and place one each in the centre of four plates. Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and season liberally with freshly ground pepper. Serve immediately with red wine sauce.

 

Poh's Kitchen, season 1 to season 3, premieres on Tuesday 20 November at 8.30pm. The series airs Tuesdays at 8.30pm on SBS Food (Channel 33). After they air, episodes will stream at SBS On Demand. 

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.

If you roast this rib of beef at high heat, around 200°C, remember to take it out of the oven a little early, as the meat's core temperature will continue to rise a fair bit due to residual cooking. The meat will also benefit from a longer resting period, about 1 hour. Make this red wine reduction with good quality, full-bodied red wine. Don't use wine that is not pleasant to drink or you will end up with something that is not rich enough.