Rib of beef is one of the best meat joints for Sunday roasts and Christmas dinner – an no wonder. This beef joint has got good fat content, which produces a succulent and tender roast, provided you follow the correct cooking instructions. A pleasure to carve and serve, rib of beef is the true weekend roast classic.
Resting the meat is very important to ensure it's succulent and moist; serve it too soon after cooking and you're likely to experience issues with the texture of the meat and with bleeding.
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How to cook rib of beef
Ingredients
To cook your rib of beef, you will need:
- Rib beef joint
- Salt
- Seasoning of your choice, e.g. a beef rub
- A deep rectangular oven roasting dish
- An onion, roughly chopped
- A large carrot, roughly chopped
- Two large potatoes, roughly chopped
Method:
1. Start by lining the baking tray with greaseproof paper or foil; then scatter the chopped veggies evenly at the bottom of the tray.
2. Preheat your oven to 220ºC/gas mark 7.
3. Rub the joint with salt and seasoning, working it in.
4. Place the joint on top of the veggies. You may wish to drizzle with a little oil, if only to prevent the vegetables from burning. The meat itself doesn't require oil thanks to the fat content in the rib joint.
5. Place the joint on the bottom shelf of the hot oven and cook for around 20 minutes. You should start to see some browning on the outside.
6. After 20 minutes, reduce the heat to gas mark 3/170ºC. Now roast for 20 minutes per every 500 grams of your joint. So, a kilo of rib will need 40 minutes, and so on. This is the standard timing for medium roast, which will have well done meat on the outside, and some pink meat on the inside. If you prefer your roast rare, reduce timing to 10 to 15 minutes per 500 grams; if you want the whole joint very well done, increase cooking time to 25 to 30 minutes per 500 grams.
7. When the roast is done, leave to stand for 20 to 30 minutes. Serve with the roast vegetables, horseradish, and/or gravy.
Slow cooker rib of beef
If you have a large slow cooker, you can cook your rib of beef in it. You'll just need to sear the outside in a skillet with a little oil first. Then, season and transfer into your slow cooker, sitting the joint on top of a roughly chopped onion and carrot. Add a cup of hot beef stock. Cook for between three to five hours on low; 3.3 hours will give you a medium rare rib, while 4-5.5 hours will get you medium; five hours will get you closer to well done.
