Monday, December 1, 2008

Tips and Tricks Inaugural Post: Standing Rib Roast

Good Morning to all of you Foodie's!!

It has been a long night for me, I was up til 3 am tossing and turning, trying to figure out what I should blog about. Well duh it came to me!! Tips and tricks that you all can use in your own homes!!!

Being a foodie I love all things food, so I am always doing research (actually it's me time) on different tips, gadgets etc to use in the kitchen. While I have a knack for throwing together some scrumptious dishes, somethings still allude me or I have the "Angelica" way of doing things, which is not necessarily the right way (wait did I say that, my way is always the right way......hehehe).

So we are going to find the right way to do things together!! If you have a dish that you just can't get right and can't figure out why or you are thinking to yourself there has to be some kind of gadget to make a process easier, email me!! I will do the research and then your question and of course the answer will be featured on the blog!! Until I start getting those questions I will delve into the culinary arts on my own!!



So this brings us to today's Tip, the all intimidating Standing Rib Roast!!! For those of you that do not know what a standing rib roast is, it's that sheek hunk of meat that you see on all those Holiday food commercials, you know the hunk of meet that looks like a crown!!! Yes your family will ooooooooooh and ahhhh if you prepare one of these!!! Well did you know that you can actually stuff one of these puppy's to really impress your family?? Yes I said stuff it, like a turkey!!!

This technique comes to us from one of my fav magazines, Bon Appetit!! Ok here are the steps to stuff your own standing rib roast!

1. Position roast on work surface with bones up right. With a long, sharp knife, start at the top and work down, cutting a five - to- six inch crevice between the bones and meat. Be sure to keep the bones attached. Basically what you are doing is cutting behind the bones to create a pocket for the stuffing, when you are creating the pocket make sure that you don't cut it all the way down, I would say leave a good 2 inches at the bottom!

2. Gently pry the bones away from the meat, creating a space. Fill the crevice with the stuffing, making sure to pack firmly. Basically you are going to take the side with the bones in one hand and with your other hand you are going to pull the meat away from the bones, be careful not to pull to hard, you don't want to have a rip in your pocket!! If you are having trouble pulling the meat away, take your free hand and make a fist and fit it into the pocket to help stretch the meat.

3. Once you have inserted all the stuffing press the bones in to compact the stuffing. Tie the bones back in place with three to four loops of kitchen string. Bring the string completely around the roast to secure it and to keep the stuffing in place. You can buy butchers twine at Fry's or any of your large grocery stores. Basically you are just trussing this puppy together, cut 3 to 4 strands of the butchers twine that are long enough to go around the roast (vertically) and long enough to let you give it a good tight knot. This also depends on how big the roast is, if your roast is larger you may need more twine!!

Well there you go, now you can stuff your own Standing Rib Roast!! Now I know what your thinking I don't have a recipe to make one of these, well Angelica is here to please!! You need to visit one of my favorite web sites, Food Network!! There is a video that Tyler Florence has and also the recipe for the roast! His version is not stuffed, but you can apply the technique above and stuff it!!

Video Link

Recipe

Well I hope this helps to inspire you to do something different on Christmas!! It will most definitely become a Christmas tradition if you prepare this for your family, give that tired old ham and turkey a rest already!!! Check back on Wednesday when we tackle how to make clarified butter, yes something that a TON of recipes call for!!! See you then, be safe and kind!!


**Hugs,

Angelica