I’ve got a 6-ish pound Bison Prime Rib roast that I need to cook today.
How should I go about cooking this bad boy? Most recipes I’ve seen on the web say after salting it, to put it in the oven at about 450 for 1 hour and then slow cook it (say, 200) for 20 mins a pound… or a version there of.
Should I cover it?
Give me your recipes!
I follow the recipe you have, except that the initial roasting period is shorter because I use smaller cuts of deadcow. I sprinkle salt and coarse pepper over the top, and also add dried rosemary, before cooking it. I also stab it repeatedly with a fork to get some of the seasoning into the meat. I don’t cover it. And, of course, I also make Yorkshire pudding to go with it.
Do use a meat thermometer so that you don’t overcook it. Remember that it will continue cooking for 15 minutes or so after you remove it from the oven.
If you want something good, head over to foodtv.com. Check out the show Good Eats, and do a search for Prime Rib.
Your base recipe sounds good: blast at high heat to begin, then follow at very low heat for most of the time. Don’t cover it, because then the meat just steams.
I like *Johnny’s idea of sprinkling salt, pepper and rosemary on top. The only way I stab a hunka critter is to insert garlic slivers though. Otherwise you’re just releasing juices.
Be sure to let the meat rest for at least 15 minutes before serving and slicing. That lets the juices redistribute in the meat so you don’t get a hunk of dry meat in a pool of juice.
And Yorkshire pudding is fabulous.
The only other thing that I would add to the recipe you posted is that you may wish to pan sear it first. The oven @ 450 will do this some what, but pan searing can be more effective.
Searing seals the meat so that further coking will not dry it out.
If you cover it, don’t do it until you get to the slow roasting stage. I’d use 250 instead of 200.
I can cook a great roast, but my gravy always tastes bland and slightly burnt.
Can someone please teach me how to make good gravy?
Just guessing, but it sounds like you have a roux that is both not developed and burnt.
The solution would be to either, (or both), use a slightly lower heat and/or stir the roux more often as it cooks so that the heat is more evenly dispersed.
How’re you doing it now?
Searing doesn’t create an impermeable layer so it doesn’t keep anything, moisture or otherwise, in - it just browns the meat which makes it tastier.
Just curious… have you had Bison before? How does the taste differ from bovine? It’s more lean, correct?
When in doubt, boost it with good quality beef stock, or beef base works even better. (Don’t use the the little bottled stuff; it’s mostly salt. The good stuff is sold in small plastic tubs and must be refrigerated. It’s socko essence of meat.)
Drain the pan drippings and sccop out most of the fat. Return it to the pan and add some flour. Stir it around at low heat for at least 4 or five minutes to get the rawness of the flour taste out. (Keep moving and scraping the roux constantly; burned flour is bitter and a burnt roux can’t be salvaged.) Keep it up until the roux is honey colored. Add salt and pepper, if needed.
Add back the pan drippings and some broth. Stir, stir, stir, scraping up all the tasty crusty bits from the bottom of the pan. Keep it up until the gravy is thickened and creamy.
Apparently, despite the prolific use of the word “seal”, it is, at best, inaccurate to describe the effect.
There’re numerous references to sealing, but apparently
Gotta love the SD. 
I always flash cook for about an hour at 450, then drop it to 200ish until it is done to your liking. Never cover it. Something I started doing a couple years ago is in addition to coarse salt and pepper, get a jar of horseradish (NOT the sauce, just plain, grated horseradish) and coat the entire roast with it before you toss it in the oven. About 1/8" or a bit more. If you can see meat, you haven’t used enough. It makes for an amazing crust and that one outside strip is incredible.
For gravy, if it is bland, that is simply a matter of seasoning. A lot of people put far too little salt in gravy. Add some salt, pepper, paprika, garlic powder, herbs, and keep adjusting it little by little, until it tastes good. Gravy is a sauce and takes some love to get it right, but a good gravy can make a meal. If it is bitter, you have something burned in it, whether it is the flour, the burnt leavings in the pan, onions, etc. If using pan drippings, make sure you don’t have any burnt areas. If you do, use a different pan and pour the fat into it. Burnt tasting gravy is horrible, and if there is a way to salvage it, I don’t know it. To get a little more kick if I don’t have pan leavings, I use some stuff called Better Than Bouillon bases. They have them for beef, chicken and vegetable.
Anybody can make a gravy. A good gravy though, takes a bit of patience, a lot of small pinches from the spice rack, and constant tasting.
Bison? Be careful. Like all wild meat, there’s less fat than in the coddled, fat, spoiled, reared bovine type. I’d pan-sear the meat and then let it roast at a low temperature for some time. A thermometer helps. Don’t expect bison to taste quite like prime rib, though. The amount of marbling is going to be much less, so it’ll be tougher. Normally, when I’m serving “wild” meat, I put more emphasis on the gravy/sauce simply because it’ll always be less moist.
Thanks for all your input.
FTR - I am a fairly experienced Bison cook (I eat it far, far more than beef) it’s just my first experience cooking a prime rib roast in ages… and the last time I was a kid and it didn’t turn out as well as I’d hope.
Yes. Substantially. However, the flavor is actually quite comparable. Not nearly as different as say, Moose to Beef. I’d be willing to bet that most people wouldn’t even know they were eating bison if it was given to them and they were expecting beef.
Anyhow, I had it in the oven at about 475 for 30 minutes and then cooked it at 250. I swear, I thought it was about a 6-7lb roast but I started it at 5 and we didn’t eat until 9:30! Even then, there was a nice pink in the middle. Good thing I had The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen and beer to tie me over!
It turned out very juicy and tender, just as much as most beef I’ve had and the gravy turned out OK, although the scorching at the high heat caused some burning in the pan from the drippings, so the gravy had a slightly more acrid flavor than I’d prefer… but all that means is more Shiraz at the same time!
Thanks all!
“all that means is more Shiraz at the same time”
You seem to have the right attitude. 
This was fortuitous!
My wife is planning on cooking a prime rib for Christmas dinner, but she can’t find prime rib anywhere. Any suggestions?
Thanks!