Make your Christmas one to remember with this spectacular standing rib roast by BBQ master The Smokin’ Elk, cooked to medium rare perfection with the DOT Digital Oven Thermometer and Thermapen ONE. 

I love feasting over the festive season and never usually stick to just the one meat for the Christmas day meal. Turkey is always there but sometimes I’ll cook this extra special beef rib roast too because its Christmas and you deserve it! A special cut of meat always deserves a special gravy too, so I’m also going to show you how to make that!

Temperatures

For your beef, you want to achieve the following final done temperatures (this means the temperature after the meat has rested), depending on your preference:

Rare: 52°C

Medium: 60°C

Well done: 71°C

Ingredients

For the beef

• 1 beef rib roast (2-3 bones)
• 2 tbsp mustard
• 2 tbsp black peppercorns
• 2 tbsp pink peppercorns
• 2 tbsp coriander seeds
• 2 tbsp cumin seeds
• 1 tbsp jungle pepper (add extra black pepper and 1/2tsp chili powder if you don’t have this)
• 2 tbsp paprika
• 2 tsp salt

For the gravy

• 2 large carrots, thickly sliced
• 2 large onions, quartered
• 2 celery stalks, roughly chopped
• 10 sprigs thyme
• 1 bulb garlic
• Olive oil
• 300 ml red wine
• 700 ml beef stock
• 50 ml port
• 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
• 2 tbsp redcurrant jelly
• Salt and pepper

Directions

• Set your BBQ or oven to 160 – 170°C. Spread the mustard all over the beef, meat and fat. In a pestle and mortar or spice grinder, grind all remaining ingredients until you have a coarse rub then get this all over the rib roast.
• Add the carrots, onions, celery, thyme and garlic to a roasting pan and drizzle with olive oil, then mix to combine. Sit the beef on top of the veg and stick it in your BBQ or oven for 20 minutes.
• After 20 minutes, add 150ml red wine and 500ml beef stock to the pan, then continue to roast until the internal temperature of the beef hits 48°C.
• Remove the beef from the pan and allow it to rest for around 45 minutes to an hour. The temperature will continue to rise while it rests.

In the meantime

• Get your pan on the hob and add in the remainder of the red wine, 50ml port, 200ml beef stock and the redcurrant jelly. Simmer until you have your desired consistency.
• Mash the veg slightly with a potato masher and then strain the liquid in to a jug, discarding the veg.
• Grab yourself a well earned beer, carve the beef and serve. Don’t forget to add lashings of that gorgeous gravy you’ve made!

The Smokin' Elk

Fire Cooking Fanatic, BBQ School owner

@thesmokinelk

"I'm Elky, also known as The Smokin' Elk. I absolutely love cooking to fire and the Thermapen helps me up my game by cooking to the perfect temperature, every time. It's the one BBQ tool I wouldn't be without!"