My wife prefers pork, chicken, or fish - but she has an exception - prime rib. I loved the lesson and learned a lot from it - now to see if my budget will allow me to purchase and cook one for her.

I use a remote meat thermometer - one that connects via a probe and cable to an external readout. It will be OK to cook the roast with the probe in place won't it?

If convection roasting is the turning necessary?

I have cooked prime ribs for years - but after seeing this lesson - they will taste a lot better from now on. That really made me hungry! Now...one question...should the prime rib also be turned once or twice at the beginning while it is searing at 450*F.??
Jane

Good question, it is not necessary to turn the prime rib while it is searing, as you are looking to develop a good crust (or sear) on the surface of the meat. The other side is usually just the bones. If you are doing a boneless prime rib you could certainly turn it if you like.

To answer your questions Paul...the remote probe would work for sure. The trick is just not to stick it in and pull it out too many times, otherwise you will loose those precious juices.

As for whether or not you should turn the meat during roasting if you are using a convection oven, I would say yes. I say this because convection is more about evenly surrounding the meat with heat but it will not however change the flow of the juices within the meat, which is what the turning will do. Does this make sense?

Keep up the good work, enjoy that Prime Rib!!!

Thanks, Dawn. I thought the juices might be the case after I posted so, since I couldn't retrieve the posting I thought I would wait for the answer. ;-)

I have a feeling we will wait until Lent is over before we have the prime rib - unless I see it on sale somewhere. If I get it, I don't want to freeze it. Meat just seems to lose a little something after being frozen. (Maybe that's my imagination)

You need to give time per pound as a guide line!!!!!!!
All great recipe books do.
You have already said - it is not absolute...but one does need the range of ti mess per pound

This is actually covered in Topic 4 of the lesson. See the Drill-down to the left called "Estimated Roasting Times for Meats" Cheers!

Is there a problem with leaving a thermometer in during the entire roasting?

You can do that if you like and of course as long as the meat thermometer is oven proof and meant for that purpose. The trick is just not to stick it in and pull it out too many times, otherwise you will loose those precious juices. Cheers!

One tip for using a remote probe thermometer, Don't put the probe in until AFTER the searing time in the oven. Most of the probe casings are only rated up to 400f and putting them in temps above that can ruin the probe. Maverick and Accurite both offer models with high heat probes rated to 700f.

One GREAT way to learn using a remote probe thermometer is to keep a cooking log to record the cooking temp and internal temperatures every 20-30 minutes. You really get a good idea of what is going on inside your oven or cooker without opening it.

I've cooked many rib roasts in the past few years but I still learned a lot from this lesson. Great job Team Rouxbe!

Thanks, Chris,

I will definitely do that when I am roasting.

I am going to use this method for my Roast sirlion ,it is boneless and alot smaller should i sear it on top of the stove instead of oven ?

Yes, it is often better to sear a smaller cut of meat on the stove top. By searing it in the oven at a high temperature, you can potentially overcook the meat by the time it browns. Sear it first on the stove top and then transfer to the oven until it is cooked to your liking. Cheers!

Thank you for such a quick responce as i am about to start my meal now .and i will post my out come later this evening :)

I finished my dinner and the beef came out to well done (but that happens to me on occassion)the meat still held a great flavor from me taking my time on letting it set out for abit. i made a dark roux and my gravy came out fabulious ,I say i wont be using the flour and water method anymore this brought more color and flavor for sure ..So i am very pleased with my out come .:D

Good job Lynn. You sure to be picking things up fast. As for the meat being a bit too well done - just curious are you using a meat thermometer to check for doneness? Here is a chart that also may help you out with cooking times and roasts. Cheers!

Yes i used my thermometer but it is digital and i couldnt seem to get it to read 0 degrees to start i think maybe it is broken :(..thank you for the chart though that will help till i buy a new thermometer .

Your digital thermometer may just be reading the room temperature which is why it may not be registering zero to start with. To test your thermometer, you can boil some water and then insert the thermometer into the water. If your thermometer is properly calibrated it should register about 212°F or 100°C.

Like some of the others above I was kind of shocked you went to all the lengths to turn the roast and baste the roast but then "poke it" with a thermometer when you "guess" you are about done. If you school has taught me anything is to let the meat rest! You let it rest so the juices have a chance to settle. Poking it 2,3,4... times with a thermometer seems counter intuitive to keeping the juices IN the meat. You simply could just leave a probe type thermometer in there so the roast does not "spout juices like a whale" during the final stages of cooking.

Sticking a probe in there after the sear and just leaving it there till you are ready to carve seems a lot easier. I will have to admit I have never flipped my roasts but I am willing to give it a try.

Good point, but honestly, I wouldn't worry about it so much. It is not like we are poking it so many times that all of the juices come running out. A few pokes from time to time will really not make any difference in juiciness. More important is to not over cook the meat. The turning also helps to redistribute the juices.

As for a using a probe thermometer that you can leave in the roast while it cooks, if you have one then by all means you can use it.

I have to say that your comment tells me that you are paying attention in class - nice work :-) Keep up the good work!

I find myself often cooking w/a probe and have achieved excellent results. I often set the temperature lower than recommended to keep in mind the resting period. I learned a few tips here though and can't wait to try what I learned. We try to have this once or twice a year, and always watch for sales. It sometimes gets as low as $5.99 a pound so that is a true bargain.

Thanks for this lesson!

I roasted 2 eight pound rib roasts for Christmas using a method very like the one described here. Being scared to leave such large, expensive roasts sit on the counter, I tempered my roasts only for an hour or so. They turned out pretty well, but were slightly overcooked on the outer edges before the interior reached our desired medium rare doneness. Next time I'll leave them out for 4 hours. I bet that will fix the problem. Thanks for the great lesson for cooking a great cut of meat.

I made prime rib for Christmas dinner as per these instructions. It was fantastic! However I did learn something about my oven. When I seared for 20 minutes at 450 the roast seared only on one side! Must be the way the heat travels through my oven or perhaps I didn't have the roasting pan centered on the oven rack.

At any rate I couldn't leave it like that so i turned it and seared for another 15 minutes. Didn't seem to have and ill effect on the final outcome but next time I will turn the roast halfway through the searing process.

As for tempering I let my 8lb prime rib temper for about 5 hours

Is there a reason that the prime rib example is plated differently, not the 1,2 3 method described in the lesson on plating?