I've never roasted one this size and considering the tariff charged by Golden Gate Meat Company I don't want to screw up this roast.

Man Jones, I've never roasted a whole rib. You'll have to tell us. Where's DJ Hombre?

I have never done a roast of that size, but I think the rule of thumb is 12-13 minutes per pound, or until the temp. is 120. I would also baste often so the ends don't dry out. Good luck!

Good luck. We tried cooking one that big once and it was undercooked. Served it along side a dead bottle of 05 Cinq Cepages. Great evening.

Get a big a*& oven? Seriously though, good luck.

I cook these on a fairly frequent basis (a couple times a year), in fact I'm cooking a 15 pounder on Christmas Day.

My basic plan is to bring the roast to room temperature. I oil, salt and pepper the roast an hour before cooking. I cook mine on a charcol barbecue using an indirect heat, trying to keep the temperature as low as possible (I'm usually in the mid to low 300s). Because the roast will be the same diameter as a smaller rib roast, just longer, you can pull the roast off the grill (or out of the oven) at the same temperature that you would pull a smaller roast. Cover and let the roast rest for 15 to 30 minutes. I really wouldn't treat the roast much differently than a smaller one. The difference between an 8 and 18 pounder is not that great.

If you want something special, cut the twine holding the bones to the roast and put herbs (I use Garlic, rosemary and thyme), oil, salt and pepper between the bones and the roast proper, and retie the roast.

Good luck!

I've cooked roasts as large as 30 lbs. The trick with this large a portion is slow roasting.

Put the roast on an open rack with a sheet-pan us far down under the rack as possible. Roast the thing at 300 degrees for about an hour and a half or two (you want to brown/sear the outside of the meat to try and keep most of the juice in although you will find that this method produces one of the juciest pieces of meat you will ever have). Turn the oven down to 180 or 200 and let roast for 12 hours. One final very importnt part of the recipe is "pray".

I wouldn't season the roast at all while roasting. People should season it on their plate if they want.

How my nana roasts a prime rib (which means how I roast a prime rib), is to start it off at high heat for 1 hour (500 or so), then drop it down to 150-180 and go to bed.

We just ate our 5 lb rib roast. I cooked it 2 1/2 hrs and it was at medium when served ( for the kids) . Wish it had been medium rare.

With slow roasting you will have a very delicious piece of meat however it is not easy to different temps (medium on the ends and rare in the middle).

Jones, how did it turn out? I'm not sure we could fit a whole rib in out oven, those things are huge. We have 2 -24" wall ovens, no longer have the 30" wide oven/range set up.

I cooked a 4 bone rib (small end), pulled it at 125 degrees and it turned out with a nice mix of MW ends and MR center (not all of our guests were rare/medium rare eaters). I might go with 123 degrees next time.

I should add I started at 500 degrees for 1 hour, then dropped to 350 for about 30 minutes. About a 6 lb (bone-in) rib. I cooked it in a cast iron skillet, put about 2/3 cup of red wine and 2 cups of veal stock in the skillet. Afterwards I de-fatted the drippings, saved the fat for yorkshire pudding. For the jus, I reduced 1/2 c of red wine, added the pan jus and about a cup of beef stock to expand the volume. Turned out good.

My neighbor swears by the following method....she did a 7 pounder for 2 1/2 hrs at 375, then turned off the oven and let it sit in the oven as it cooled down, waiting until it was cold. Then, clicked it back to 375 for an hour prior to serving (killed any bacteria and completed the cooking). Everything supposedly just fell off the bone and was cooked to a medium/med-rare. We'll try on our own in the coming weeks and update. Hope yours was good. And What wine did you serve to that many guests?!?

It fit in the oven surprisingly easy. Lots of ways to do Prime Rib - thank very much for everyone's advice, I ended up following Jeremiah Tower's method. Rubbed in a half cup of Grey Goose, placed bay leafs in the fat, and heavily coated with grey salt and tellicherry pepper. Roasted at high heat for 30 minutes and then cooked at 325 for 13 minutes per pound. The outside of the rib was spectacular but overall the beef was overcooked. 10 minutes per pound in my oven would have been about perfect. I'm going to have the temp checked on the oven (new house and both the Thanksgiving turkey and prime rib cooked faster than expected).

What does the vodka do?

Helps the seasonings penetrate deeper into the meat.

Talking about retained heat... I sold hundreds of these Chamber's ranges. Wouldn't you like to have one ofthese new today.

Interesting. Thanks.

Randy, I suppose a slow roasting might alter the finished product by allowing a longer time for a molecular change to occur in the roast but frankly, I think roasted prime rib is overrated. I'd much rather slice the thing up and throw it on the grill. Also, with a slow roast, I'd be more concerned about overcooking the rib.

Corkage, with a slow roast you have less chance of overcooking. When you start with a high temperature, the outside will cook far more than the inside.

In terms of what you prefer... I agree, in general I prefer steaks to prime rib, but a few times a year I need my prime-rib desire sated. Especially a smoked prime rib, as the smokey flavors permeate the outer layers, but not the center. A personal favorite.