Simple and best way to cook prime rib

It’s said that it’s pretty darned hard to ruin a good steak. Now, while I do believe that you don’t have to do a lot to turn a great piece of meat into a great meal, I have had some pretty badly cooked steaks in my time. Which is a great shame when you’re working with a gorgeous (and usually expensive) hunk of beef.

Here in Singapore, there are only a few top butchers. Most recently, S and I have been buying a lot of our meat from Huber’s Butchery, a fantastic butcher shop opened by the family that had originally started Swiss Butchery. Huber’s, as you would expect, stocks beautiful meat, plus other items, such as the best spatzle I have found in Singapore, a nice tight collection of wine, and super-yummy terrines and rillettes prepared by the chef from Au Petit Salut.

This past weekend, S and I decided to cook up a fantastically marbled piece of Aussie Wagyu prime rib (bone in) that we had picked up from Huber’s. Cooking a nice prime rib is relatively easy, depending on your chosen method. I prefer a two-step approach: searing the meat first on a really hot pan and then finishing it off in a hot oven.

Preheat your oven to 200 Degrees Celsius. Ensure the meat is at room temperature. Then rub it with a dry spice mix (what you use is really up to you), or at the very least some salt and pepper. Heat up a cast-iron pan with a touch of olive oil. If you want to add some aromatics like thyme or garlic, please do so. When the pan gets really hot (smoking), sear the meat on all sides. You want it really nice and brown, and just a tad crusty.

If you have an oven probe or a meat thermometer, slide it carefully into the steak. Set the probe to stop the oven cooking when the core temperature of the meat is between 50-55 Degrees Celsius (I am assuming that you’ll want to eat your steak either rare or medium-rare; any more cooked and you’ll have ruined the steak anyway). If the pan is oven safe, transfer it with the meat to the oven. If not, transfer the rib to a roasting pan and then place it in the oven. Once done, take it out, cover it with foil and let it rest for 5-10 minutes. Carve and eat with your favourite sauce. I’m partial to Bearnaise but S also makes a mean herb butter.