Tis the season to not be thrifty, fa-la-laa-la-laaa-la-laa-la-la.

Before you know it, Christmas will be here. There are only 63 more days before that magic day. If you are still able, despite these hard economic times, a special Christmas dinner may be in the offering. I know that my household is in the down side of some economic strife, so our gift list is very limited. We still plan on preparing a special Christmas dinner. It is a new tradition we started last year and one that we loved. I enjoyed preparing the meal and it keeps me out of the kitchen when the kids and grandkids come over. This meal beats the time and fuss of the former traditional turkey and all the fixins’ that we used to do. So what is this special Christmas dinner?

Prime Rib

Potatoes Asiago Alfredo

Roasted Asparagus

Garden Salad

Feta Cheese Stuffed Olives

This is the day my wife and I look forward to all year long. Our three kids are over. Our two grandchildren are there and this year is our grandson’s very first Christmas as he will be about seven months old. We are all relaxed and casual. There are gifts under the tree, but we are very unstructured. Everyone comes when they can, but no early morning deadlines! Our 2 ½ year old granddaughter will be chomping at the bit to open gifts, so we will do that first, but that is why this dinner is not only super special from a culinary aspect, it allows me have had the chance to prep and then let the oven do all the work.

Here are my secrets to a perfect prime rib dinner. If you are so inclined to share my view of wanting a special Christmas dinner and prime rib is within your holiday budget, you will absolutely love this meal plan.

PRIME RIB for 8 People

For a generous serving of roast, figure on two people per rib.

It will cost more, but please buy a Four Rib, First Cut roast. It is a rib roast from the small end toward the back of the rib section, which is leaner and gives you more meat for your dollar. It is definitely less fatty.

Look at the color of the prime rib; it should have a bright red color and no dry or brown edges. This is secret number one.

Secret number two is buying this roast one week ahead of Christmas Day. Why you ask? So you can dry age the rib roast for a few days to bring out additional flavor and produce a more buttery texture in the meat.

Your rib roast my be aged up to a week (7 days) in the refrigerator. Place the roast, uncovered, on a wire rack over a large pan to catch any drippings for at least three days and no more than seven days. You need good air circulation around the roast.

When you are ready to cook the roast, trim off any dried pieces after the aging. It will be a small amount and insure that you have the most moist, succulent and mouth watering prime rib that you will ever have. Patience will be it’s own reward.

Prime rib preparation is as easy as it gets. It is important to tie the prime rib before roasting. If left untied, the outer layer of meat will pull away from the rib-eye muscle and overcook. To prevent this problem, tie the roast a both ends, running the twine parallel to the bone. Most butchers will tie your rib roast for you. Take the roast out of your fridge and let it come to room temperature. Pat the roast dry with paper towels. Preheat the oven to 450 Degrees F. Spread one tablespoon of softened butter on each of the two cut ends…one tablespoon per cut side. That’s it.

Cooking the roast is easy. Using a metal roasting pan (the inexpensive aluminum ones work fine), place the roast... rib side down (fat side up) into the roasting pan. Sear the roast at 450 degrees for 15 minutes only. Then turn the temperature down to 325 degrees and let it cook for approximately 1 ¾ to 2 hours. This will produce a medium rare roast. The target internal temperature is 125-130 degrees. Every 1/2 hour, baste the cut ends of the roast with the fat accumulated in the roasting pan. Please ask Santa for a good meat thermometer. This is the only way that you will know when to stop the cooking process. About 1/2 hour before the estimated end of the roasting time, begin checking the internal temperature. Cook until rib roast reaches an internal temperature of 120 degrees F. Remove from oven, cover with aluminum foil, and let sit approximately 15 to 20 minutes. The resting time will raise the temperature to the desired 125-130 degrees.

I have deliberately been very precise with these instructions, so it may seem like a difficult process. Uh-uh! It’s easy and delicious. When you are ready to slice, carefully cut the roast away from the rack of bones. The butcher will have removed the chine bone already, so take your time and use a good sharp knife. Then I measure the length of the roast and divide those inches by the number of people eating (in our case eight) and then slice the roast into evenly thick slices.

That is the perfect prime rib. Christmas only comes once a year and it is our day to enjoy our children and grandchildren. I want them to enjoy a meal that will help capture the spirit of the day. But, this roast will cost a few bucks, so I found this method to really produce the best prime rib I have ever had. Remember, try and get a first cut roast, usually ribs #9-#12, let it age in the fridge at least three days, bring it to room temperature before cooking, use a meat thermometer to test the doneness and start at the 450 degrees cooking temperature for the first 15 minutes and then at 325 degrees for the remaining time. I truly believe the aging in the fridge makes a huge difference.

As for the potato recipe, stay tuned! That will be forth coming in my next article.

Happy Holidays!