Is there anyone out there who doesn’t love a medium rare prime rib? If so, I feel sorry for you. We are carnivores, plain and simple. Playing games about which type of animal or fowl or aquatic life we will kill and eat for religious or health reasons is simply that … playing games. In no culture are humans vegetarians by choice, only by supply limitations and resulting cultural practices. We are genetically programmed to love the taste of beef. Beef provides us excellent protein, albeit with a huge investment in grain to make it happen in a tasty and tender manner. That’s it. There ain’t no more to say.

Having said it all about killing Elmer for meat I can now move on to how to make this luscious treat. It is so simple a fool could do it, and I do. It is so good if done right that your guests will ask you to adopt them. Let’s proceed.

Ingredients: (serves 4 to 6 hungry adults)

1, 4 to 6 bone standing rib roast (the weight is determined by trimming, etc.)

¼ cup of crushed black peppercorns

¼ cup of kosher salt

Directions:

Set the oven at 500ºF.

Trim any excess fat from the rib roast. Put it in a large skillet with a rack inside so that fat rendered during roasting will not touch the roast.

Coat the surface with the pepper and the salt and rub/pat it in.

Put the skillet and beef in the pre-heated oven. Roast for 15 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 450ºF.

Roast based on the weight of the standing rib roast. Allow no more than 15 minutes per pound.

Remove the roast and let it stand on a wood cutting board for ten minutes before carving.

Carve the roast so that each cut contains a rib bone. Serve.

I hope you realize that the other parts of your meal need to be ready when you carve the beef. I like to bake large russet potatoes in the same oven where the beef is roasting. I simply time the placement of the potatoes in the oven so that they are well roasted when the beef is done. That means roughly 50 to 60 minutes before the beef is done, based on the size of the potatoes and the oven temperature. Also, potatoes baked at temperatures above 400ºF develop a wonderful crisp skin and a fluffy interior, which is superb. Simply keep an eye on them based on the size of the potatoes so they don’t bake beyond the development of the crisp skin.

I also like a tossed salad with this meal, with my bleu cheese dressing, and a glass or two of a good Merlot or Pinot Noir wine. A loaf of warmed crusty French bread served with butter is a nice addition. Ice cream, homemade of course, is a fine dessert.

So yes, you will feel good about the world after this meal. So should it be.