Sun Prairie Grass Fed Beef Standing Rib Roast
May 9, 2012 • Food for Thought, Local Sources, Meat & Poultry
A couple of weeks ago I was asked by my friends at Sun Prairie Beef, the grass fed beef sponsor of my blog, if I would cook one of their standing rib roasts to be served at the capital here in Denver. Dr. Tom Parks, DVM, of Sun Prairie was being named to an agricultural committee of the Human Society to advise on policies around agriculture and to connect producers of humanely raised animals with consumers who would like to purchase humanely raised animals. Of course, I’m 100% behind this mission so was delighted to help with the lunch.Dr. Parks, blue jacket in the center, kicked off the presentation to the Colorado legislature with a passionate speech: despite the debates about our food system, the entire locavore and sustainability movements, updated nutrition guidelines, lots of books and movies on the subject, and changes to our school lunch program, in general most consumers still don’t know where their food comes from, and there is a huge gap when it comes to connecting local producers and consumers.Members of the legislature listened intently while Holly Tarry, Colorado Director, State Affairs for the Humane Society and members of newly appointed agricultural committee talked about wanting to connect these two groups and to provide consumers more choices in finding animals that had been raised in humane ways. The reality today is that too few people control the processing and how products get to market, and we need to remove these barriers. Colorado is a leader in humane practices – things like outlawing gestation crates – and this committee should be a great help to take us even further.Because I was serving 40 people promptly at noon at the capital, and had been told knives are not allowed inside the building, I chose to use my porcini mushroom dry rub and roast the meat the day before. There is only one thing you need to know about cooking a fabulous standing rib roast of grass fed beef – DO NOT OVERCOOK IT! I cooked this one barely to 120 degrees, then wrapped it in foil and refrigerated it. The next day, it was perfect to slice at home before heading to the event with a nice creamy horseradish sauce. I was too busy serving the food to take any pictures there, but there wasn’t a scrap of beef left after the event, so I’m pretty sure everyone loved it!
- 1 6-8 pound standing rib roast of beef
- dry rub of your choice
- 4 tablespoons creamy horseradish
- 4 tablespoons creme fraiche
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Rub roast with dry rub and place on a rack over a baking sheet. Cook for 30 minutes, then reduce temperature to 350 degrees and continue cooking until internal temperature just barely reaches 120 degrees, about 2 hours. Check roast every 15 minutes or more to be sure not to overcook it. Wrap roast in foil and let rest for at least 30 minutes before slicing. Roast can be refrigerated and sliced the next day, then served at room temperature if desired. Combine horseradish and creme fraiche and serve with roast.
Sun Prairie Beef is a sponsor of this blog and provided me the beef to cook for this event. But hey, I have been a huge fan of their meat and have been buying it from them for years, long before I started blogging about it! I hope you’ll like it too – 100% grass fed, no antibiotics, no hormones. Check out their link on the sidebar.