Christmas Day this year meant shoveling a path out the side door and putting this fine rib roast on the Big Green Egg. This is an adaptation of Dr. BBQ’s simple and tasty Christmas Prime Rib recipe. This is also my first attempt at Yorkshire pudding. I told my dear wife that I just didn’t understand a savory pudding, she said, “You will after the first bite.”
Prime Rib
One 6 pound Hereford Beef boneless ribeye roast
3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon steak seasoning (I used Penzeys English Prime Rib Rub)
Kosher salt and fresh-ground black pepper
Set your grill up for a 3 hour indirect cook over medium heat (350°F). On the Big Green Egg this means using about half a fire box full of lump charcoal, an inverted plate setter to diffuse the heat, and a trivet to set the pan on.
Wet the roast with the Worcestershire sauce, rubbing it all over. This adds nice flavor and color and gives your spices something to stick to. Season liberally with the steak seasoning, then coat it lightly with salt and pepper.
Put the roast fat side up side up on a rack set in a shallow roasting pan. Add about a cup of water to the pan to keep the juices from burning. Set the pan on the trivet, close the lid, and cook until the internal temp reaches 125°F deep in the center of the roast, about 2 hours.
Remove the roast to a carving board and tent loosely with foil. Let rest 20-30 minutes while you make the pudding.
Leave 1/4 cup of drippings in the roasting pan and place in the oven.
Put the flour, salt, eggs, and milk in a bowl and whisk together. Pour the batter into the hot roasting pan and bake for 20 to 30 minutes or until puffed and golden brown. While the pudding is cooking, carve the roast.
Serve the pudding with the roast and a bit of grated horseradish.
This was so good – salty and rich with just a little smoke – and so easy that I’m going to be hard pressed to ever order prime rib in a restaurant again.
We’re in the middle of a blizzard so no cooking on the Big Green Egg ’til the snow stops. Tonight it’s roasted chestnuts for a snack and oyster stew for dinner.
Roasted Chestnuts
Preheat oven to 425°F.
Set chestnuts on a cutting board, flat side down. With a small, sharp knife cut an X in each chestnut. This lets the steam to escape while they are cooking and makes them a lot easier to peel.
Put chestnuts cut side up in a low rimmed pan and bake 20-30 minutes until the shells burst open and the chestnut are golden brown. Pour into a dish towel-lined bowl, cover, and let cool for 10 minutes.
As they are cool enough to handle, peel and enjoy!
Oyster Stew
2 cups heavy cream
2 cups whole milk
1 pint oysters and liquor, separated
4 tablespoon unsalted butter
1/2 cup finely chopped celery
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon celery seed
1 1/2 teaspoons hot pepper sauce (Frank’s or Tabasco works well)
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon dried parsley
Salt and pepper
Melt the butter in a 4-quart saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, and celery and sweat until translucent, about 4 to 5 minutes. Add celery seed and hot pepper sauce. Add the reserved oyster liquor, cream, and milk and bring to a simmer. Do not let boil. Add the oysters, lemon juice, and parsley and simmer until the oysters start to curl, about 3 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste.
The storm has left us stranded at home for Christmas.
We really wanted to get home to see my family, but we are well-stocked and happy not to be stuck in a ditch somewhere.
I’m coping by cooking – for Christmas eve it was roasted chestnuts and oyster stew. Tomorrow I’ll shovel a path to the Big Green Egg and make a prime rib roast.
It’s been sub-zero around here, so you can’t believe how happy I was to crawl home after a long commute and find that my dear wife had this waiting for me.
Marinade
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup soy sauce or Bragg’s Aminos
4 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons dry mustard
2 teaspoons dried thyme
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon orange zest
1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 boneless pork loin roast, about 4 1/2 pounds
Sauce
6 ounces apricot preserves
2 tablespoons sweet vermouth or chicken stock
1 tablespoon soy sauce or Bragg’s Aminos
Put the salt and garlic in a food processor and pulse until the garlic is minced. Add the broth, soy sauce, mustard, thyme, orange zest, rosemary, and ginger and give them a whirl until they are well-combined.
Put the roast in a Ziploc bag and coat with the marinade. Squeeze the air out of the bag and seal. Marinate in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours, overnight is best. Remove pork roast and discard marinade.
Put the pork roast on rack in roasting pan fat side up. Roast at 350°F for 2 to 2 1/2 hours, or until meat thermometer reaches 150°F. Remove from oven and let rest 15 minutes.
While roast is resting, combine apricot preserves, vermouth, and soy sauce in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook until thoroughly heated. Serve with sliced roast pork loin.
This time of year I get a lot of folks asking me what tools and toys I recommend as gifts for their grillmeister. Here’s a list of some of the gear that I’ve found to be useful for my cooks on the Big Green Egg:
Apron - after trashing a couple of shirts, this cool apron helps keep me clean and keep my tools organized. It’s got plenty of pockets and comes with the all-important bottle opener .
Chef’s Choice 610 Electric Food Slicer – I’ve run a ton of cottage bacon through this and it does a great job. Also great for pepperoni, cheeses and other goodies for holiday trays.
Grilling Gloves – this is essential protection for working around the grill.
Lodge Cast-Iron Melting Pot – I’m big on basting and this little pot does a great job of keeping my sauces warm.
MAPP Torch – fastest way to light lump charcoal (fun too).
Maverick ET-73 Wireless Thermometer – great for low-n-slow cooks, particularly overnighters. Two sensors let you monitor the temperature of both the meat and the smoking chamber and transmit them up to 100 feet to a portable receiver.
Panasonic GF1 Digital Camera with 20mm f/1.7 Lens – this was my early Christmas present (thanks honey). I love this little camera and lens combination, particularly for food photos. It lets me work without a flash and has excellent image quality.
Rubs – I’m a huge fan of both Dizzy Pig and John Henry. The Dizzy sample pack makes a great gift, but you might as well go ahead and buy them all.
Thermapen – pricey, but it’s the thermometer to go to for speed and accuracy. Three second reading times are great when the cooking is hot and fast. New version is splashproof.
Tongs -16 inch tongs are almost the only tool I use for moving food around the grill. Oxo makes a great pair.
Weber Grill Pan – keeps little stuff from falling through the grate. I use it a lot for veggies and shrimp. You need to bend the ends in just a little to fit a large Big Green Egg.
Happy Holidays to all and to all…..Great Grilling!
Jerk is probably the original barbecue of the Americas - the smokey meeting of West Indian spices and Spanish livestock. The marinade ensures that meat is not only wonderfully spiced, but moist and tender as well.
The Marinade
6 green onions
4 to 6 Habanero or Scotch Bonnet peppers (4 were plenty for this northerner)
4 gloves garlic
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon dark rum
1 teaspoon ground thyme
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Wearing gloves, seed and devein the peppers. Put the salt and garlic in a food processor and pulse until the garlic is minced. Add the remaining ingredients and give them a whirl until they are well-combined. Store in the fridge for up to a month. Makes about 3/4 cup.
The Cook
8 chicken thighs (1-1/2 to 2 pounds)
1/2 cup jerk marinade
Put the chicken in a Ziploc bag and coat with the jerk marinade. Squeeze the air out of the bag and seal. Marinate in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours, overnight is best.
Set your grill up for an indirect cook over medium (300°F) heat. Put the thighs on the grill skin side up. Close the lid and cook for 15 minutes. Flip and cook skin side down for another 15 minutes. Flip again and cook until the internal temperature has reached 180°F in the thickest part of the thighs, about another 30 minutes.
When the chicken is done, remove it to a warm plate and let it rest for 10 minutes.
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