ROAST RIB EYE OF BEEF AND BRAISED BEEF RIBS
Cooking a whole rib of beef is a labour of love. By breaking the joint down, you can pay each piece the attention it deserves. Slow-cooked ribs can also be prepared the day before and reheated.
Preparation 45 minutes (if buying prepared ribs) Cooking 4-5 hours Serves 4-6
FOR THE RIB EYE
3 TBSP SUNFLOWER OIL OR BEEF DRIPPING 1 RIB EYE, FROM A FORE RIB OF BEEF, AROUND 5-7KG
75G UNSALTED BUTTER
4 GARLIC CLOVES, PEELED AND CRUSHED A HANDFUL OF FRESH THYME, LEAVES ONLY SEA SALT AND BLACK PEPPER
FOR THE BRAISED RIBS
JOINTED RIBS (FROM THE FORE RIB OF BEEF) 2 CINNAMON STICKS AND 20 CLOVES A HANDFUL OF BAY LEAVES AND THYME A FEW SPRIGS OF ROSEMARY
1 LARGE OR 2 SMALL UNWAXED ORANGES 350G SHALLOTS, PEELED AND WHOLE 2 LARGE CARROTS, SLICED LENGTHWAYS FOR THE SAUCE
BRAISING LIQUID FROM THE BEEF RIBS 1 BOTTLE ORGANIC RED WINE
1 Preheat the oven to 225°C (205°C fan) gas mark 7. Place the ribs in two roasting trays and put in oven for 30 minutes, or until the beef starts to brown. Remove and reduce temperature to 170°C (150°C fan) gas mark 3.
2 Divide the herbs and spices evenly between each tray. Create long curls of zest from the orange using a veg peeler.
3 Peel the shallots, leaving them whole, and add to the trays with the carrots. Pour over 500ml of good-quality, low-salt beef stock and return the trays to the oven.
4 Slow-cook for 4-5 hours, until the meat falls off the bone. After 2 hours, check and cover with foil if beginning to darken too quickly. If the sauce is too thick, add a little water.
5 Once cooked, the meat will be tender and falling off the bone. Transfer the meat and veg into clean trays, reserving the juices, and keep in fridge. To reheat, preheat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan) gas mark 4. Heat for 35-45 minutes or until piping hot in the middle.
6 For the sauce, using a sieve, strain the juices from the trays into a saucepan and skim off the fat with a ladle. Taste to assess. If it’s not as strong as you wish, you can boil to reduce it and concentrate the flavour.
7 Place another saucepan over a high heat and pour in the bottle of red wine. Boil until reduced to a syrup-like consistency.
8 Stir the wine into the pan containing the braising liquid. This can be done the day before and reheated in a pan when needed.
9 On the day, take the rib eye out of the fridge and let it sit at room temperature, ideally for around 6 hours.
10 Cooking the rib eye should be one of your last jobs, so make sure the sauce is finished and the braised ribs are hot at this point. Preheat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan) gas mark 6.
11 Sprinkle sea salt all over the beef. Using a cast-iron skillet that can be used on the hob and in the oven, get it smoking hot. Pour the oil or dripping into the pan and add the beef. When a rich golden brown, flip to achieve an even salty crust all over.
12 Drain off the fat in the pan and add a generous helping of butter, whole cloves of garlic and a sprinkle of thyme. Once some of the butter has melted, spoon over the beef and add a good crack of black pepper.
13 Place onto the top shelf of the preheated oven. After 10 minutes, check the temperature using a meat thermometer. It needs to reach 45°C. If it needs a little longer, spoon over the butter and juices from the base of the tray and continue cooking. Check again in 5 minutes and so on. If you don’t have a thermometer, tease open the meat in the centre. It should look a little undercooked as it will finish cooking as it rests.
14 Once cooked, transfer to a serving dish and pour pan juices over the top. Allow to rest for 10 minutes. Carve and serve with some of the slow-cooked ribs, shallots and carrots and a generous helping of the sauce.
TIP This requires the ribs to be removed from the ‘eye’ of the joint. Ask your butcher to do this, or learn how to do it yourself at rivercottage.net/christmas-roasted-rib-eye.