A Perfect Pecan Prime Rib Holiday Dish

Pecan-Crusted Prime Rib with Horseradish Cream Sauce

From Bobby Parrish, FlavCity

Total: 1 hour 40 mins.

Ingredients

1 8 to 10 pound boneless prime rib roast

1 Tbsp. + 1/4 tsp. Kosher salt, or to taste

2 tsp fresh black pepper, or to taste

1 cup raw pecan pieces

3 Tbsp. fresh rosemary, chopped

3 Tbsp. fresh thyme, chopped

1/2 cup Panko breadcrumbs

2 Tbsp. unsalted butter

8 garlic cloves

2 Tbsp. stone ground or Dijon mustard

Horseradish Cream Sauce (optional):

1 cup sour cream

1/4 cup fresh or prepared horseradish, grated

1 Tbsp. stone ground or Dijon mustard

Juice & zest from 1/2 lemon

2 Tbsp. fresh chives, finely sliced

Kosher salt and fresh black pepper, to taste

Instructions

Season the prime rib all over with a generous amount of salt and pepper and allow to sit at room temperature for 1 hour. It’s important not to put a cold prime rib into a hot oven, otherwise it will cook unevenly.

Meanwhile, make the horseradish cream sauce (optional): Combine all of the ingredients in a small bowl along with 1/4 teaspoon salt and few cracks of pepper. Check for seasoning and adjust. Sauce can be made one day ahead of time and stored in the fridge.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F, and prepare the pecan topping: Add pecans to a food processor along with the rosemary, thyme, Panko breadcrumbs, butter, 2 cloves of garlic, 1 tablespoon mustard, 1/4 teaspoon salt, a few cracks of pepper, and process until combined. Set aside.

Cut small slits in the fatty top side of the prime rib, just big enough to stuff the remaining 6 cloves of garlic all around. Rub the remaining two tablespoons of mustard all over the top of the prime rib, and apply the pecan topping, making sure to press it firm so it does not fall off.

Transfer the prime rib roast to a roasting pan and make sure the oven rack is set in the low third portion of the oven, place the rib roast in the oven, insert a digital probe thermometer in the middle, and loosely cover the top of the prime rib with tin foil so the pecans don’t burn. Cook for 11/2 hours, remove the tin foil, and continue cooking until the internal temperature reaches 120 degrees F for medium-rare, about 1 hour more. If you are not using a digital thermometer, check the internal temperature after 2 hours, but using a digital one is best, as you can leave it in the roast while it is cooking.

Allow the prime rib roast to rest covered with tin foil for 30 minutes, so the juices can re-distribute. Slice and serve with some horseradish cream sauce if desired; enjoy!

Find more recipes in past issues of Pecan South.