There she is, in all her beefy glory, the queen mother of roasts, the rib eye roast. I wrote an article about The Steak previously, but the whole roast from which rib eye steaks come is in a class all its own.

Alright, let’s get the complaints out of the way. Of these, I have only two; they are generally too small in this country, and they have way too much trimmed away, in both fat and ‘extra’ muscle.

The muscle of the rib eye actually runs from the chuck all the way down through the rib section, the loin, and finally terminating in round. What makes this part of the muscle the rib eye is that it stretches from the 5th to the 13th rib. One thing I always found suspicious is that “kosher” meat from the front of the animal terminates at the 13th rib of the cow, which is exactly where a beef carcass is split so USDA inspectors can grade the animal. Interesting coincidence, no?

This roast is reserved for the most special of occasions, a wedding, a chag, or a sale price of ₪50 a kilo or less. At close to thee kilo per roast, this isn’t ever going to be the cheapest meat you can buy. But when it is within range, maybe discuss splitting it with a neighbor (I said “go halfsies” and I was laughed at). You can easily serve four to six people from a half a roast, which only comes out to a little under ten shekel per person (this is known as reductio ad absurdum).

A rib eye roast is naturally tender, having no function in a cow that would necessarily toughen the muscles. It has no connective tissue to trim away, and the intramuscular fat melts while cooking to constantly baste the roast from the inside. It needs little adornment other than seasoning and aromatics. Part of the purpose of a marinade is to tenderize the meat, which this cut certainly doesn’t require. It needs a tremendous amount of respect, which doesn’t mean you need to fuss over it the entire time it cooks, but at the same time you don’t want to be that person who serves a shoe leather roast. Just keep your eye on it. Turn it once in the oven if you like, but you risk injury to the crust forming on the top of the roast.

The Aged Roast

I let the roast sit for a couple of days in the fridge, open and uncovered, to allow the flavor to concentrate.

Seasoning The Roast

Salt, black pepper, garlic powder and paprika. It sounds almost pedestrian, but it's my go-to blend when I want the flavor of the meat to come through.

Preparing to Roast

The rib eye roast goes into the pan with a simple mix of carrots and onions, and just a little wine. I removed the netting before it went into the oven. The roast was just under three kilograms, and it was cooked at 245C (475F) for an hour and fifteen minutes uncovered.

The Finished Roast

Between the carryover cooking and the time spent on the platta, the hint of blue in the middle cooked out. Look at the crust

The Middle of the Roast

Again, the blue cooked out to rare in all but one slice of the roast. That slice was mine :-)

And that’s it. Don’t cut thin slices; the meat can’t handle being sliced too thin. This is a two-finger slab of meat per person.

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