Classic Prime Rib For A Small Crowd

Step 1

Bring the meat to room temperature by removing it from the refrigerator at least an hour before cooking, preferably two. (For a larger roast, make it three.) Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

Step 2

Place the meat, bone side down, in a large roasting pan. Season it with salt and pepper. If you like garlic, peel the cloves and cut them into tiny slivers; use a boning or paring knife to poke small holes in the meat and insert the garlic into them.

Step 3

Place the roast in the oven and cook for 15 minutes, undisturbed. Turn the heat down to 350 degrees and continue to roast about 1 hour; check in several places with a meat thermometer. When no spot registers under 125 degrees (120 degrees if you like your meat really rare and your guests are of the same preference), the meat is rare; cook another 5 or 10 minutes if you like it more well done, then check again, but in no case should you let the temperature of the meat go above 155 degrees.

Step 4

Remove the meat from the oven. Pour off all but a few tablespoons of the fat, and place the roasting pan over a burner set to high. Add the liquid and cook, stirring and scraping up any brown bits, until it is reduced by half. Slice and serve the roast, splashing a little of the sauce on the meat platter and passing the rest at the table.