Christmas meals are about having your loved ones around a table. If you are planning to have quite a few of your favourite people with you this year, why not try our Beef Prime Rib on the Bone. It will be an impressive centrepiece and you do not have to add anything more than the roasted potatoes, a herb butter and perhaps a bowl of greens. Do make sure you have a classic 2018 La Motte Cabernet Sauvignon (or two!) to open though. The complex tannin structure and juicy dark fruit flavours make this wine the ideal match to the robust beef.

Grass Fed Beef Prime Rib on the Bone with Herb Butter, Potato and Sweet Potato roasted in Bone Marrow

SERVES: 12
DIFFICULTY: EASY
PREPARATION TIME: 30-40 MINUTES
COOKING TIME: 60-90 MINUTES

Beef Prime Rib
A 6-bone grass fed beef prime rib (1 bone serves 2 portions)
Maldon salt and coarsely ground black pepper
12 x 12 cm marrow bones (ask your butcher to cut them in half lengthwise, yielding 24 halves)

Herb Butter
250 g unsalted butter, room temperature
5 sprigs rosemary, washed and finely chopped
5 sprigs thyme, washed and finely chopped
1 handful Italian parsley, washed and finely chopped
2 Tbsp (30 ml) capers, chopped
2 Tbsp (30 ml) red onion, diced
zest and juice of 1 lemon
pinch of salt and black pepper

Potatoes
1 kg baby potatoes, washed
1 kg sweet potatoes, washed
salt
olive oil
Maldon salt

Beef Prime Rib
Remove the prime rib from the fridge at least 3 hours before cooking to ensure an even cooking time.

Preheat the oven to 220 °C.

Trim any excess fat from the bones and make sure they are clean. Wrap each bone in heavy duty foil, to prevent them from burning during the cooking process.
Pat the roast dry, season with salt and coarse black pepper. Place on a rack on a roasting tray and place in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes to brown.

Once the roast has browned nicely, reduce the oven temp to 180 °C and roast the meat for about 1 hour and 15 minutes for medium rare. I recommend using a meat thermometer to ensure that your roast is cooked properly – 50-55 °C would be a medium roast. Once the correct temperature is reached, remove the roast from the oven and place on a tray to rest for 15 to 30 minutes before carving.

Herb Butter
While the beef rib is roasting prepare the herb butter. Place all of the ingredients for the butter in a mixing bowl and mix well with a spatula. Spoon into a serving dish and cover with cling film. Leave at room temperature so that the butter remains spreadable.

Potatoes
Place the baby potatoes in a heavy based saucepan, cover with cold water, add salt and bring to the boil. Once the potatoes are cooked, remove from the saucepan and set aside to cool. Drizzle with olive oil and season with Maldon salt.

Grill the baby potatoes whole in a hot griddle pan to obtain a lovely smoky grilled flavour.

Slice the sweet potatoes into 2-3 cm rings and place into the baking tray from which your roast was removed, with all the roast drippings. Add the grilled baby potatoes to the tray.

Scoop the marrow out of 12 of the marrow bone halves, chop up and sprinkle over the potato and sweet potato. Season with salt and pepper and roast at 180 °C until the sweet potatoes are cooked and golden brown. Halfway through the cooking process, add the other 12 marrow bones halves to roast with the sweet potato and potatoes.

To serve
Once the meat has properly rested, place the prime rib together with the marrow bones, potatoes and sweet potatoes on a serving platter. Serve the herb butter on the side.

Recommended wine: 2018 La Motte Cabernet Sauvignon

Click here for the recipe as it appeared in Crush! magazine.