Elliott in Reno is preparing a 4.8 pound rib roast in his roaster oven today. Elliot asked for great seasoning ideas, and we have our favorites.

If serving your roast au jus, we recommend rubbing the meat with a combination of equal parts of (about 2 Tablespoons each) salt, pepper, and sage.

We also of course recommend Chef Sara’s recipe and her rub. Here’s the link:
Link to Prime Rib Cabernet Au Jus recipe

If you are also serving a horseradish sauce, a rub of salt, pepper, and oregano would be fantastic.

Our friends at The Gilded Fork have a really unusual and tasy rub that is perfect for your meat and this time of year:
Aromatic Spiced Coffee Rub

Begin with a dried roast. Since you are using your electric roaster, rub the meat with olive oil. Take about 4 garlic cloves, slice thinly. Put small slices into the meat and insert garlic slivers. Rub your roast with your dried spices (see above).

Let your roast come to room temperature, about 1 hour.

Your electric roaster should be set to 325 degrees. Your cooking time will be between 26-30 minutes per pound, or between 2 hours and 2 hours 20 minutes.

Using a meat thermometer, your roast is ready to be removed from oven at 120-125 degrees for mostly rare, 130-135 degrees for a mostly medium rare roast.

Enjoy and do not hesitate to call us on the hotline for ideas for side dishes or help while cooking!

Horseradish Sauce
adapted: Food Network TV
INGREDIENTS
2 1/4 cup sour cream
3/4 cup mayonnaise
5-6 tablespoons prepared white horseradish, drained
5 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
3 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
3 teaspoon Worcestershire Sauce

METHOD
Mix all ingredients in bowl. Season with salt and pepper.

Kathy has a 4.89 lb rib roast and is looking for directions for roasting. Kathy, there are a number of different ways to prepare your roast but we definately recommend the following:

For your size roast, beginning with a high heat is a great idea and preferred. Roast at 450 degrees (you can even go up to 500 degrees for maximum browning) for 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees. Your roast will cook within 20-26 minutes per pound using this method, or approximately 2 hours. If using a leave-in meat thermometer, check your roast’s temperature at 1 1/2 hours. If using an instant read, check it then as well. Your roast is medium when the temperature reads 145 degrees.

Enjoy your Holiday!

Deirdre from Mill Valley wants to know if her ham is OK to eat as leftovers. Leftover ham can keep in a refrigerator for 3-4 days. Your refrigerator temperature should be 40 degrees or below. Reheat your ham leftovers at 325 degrees until the internal temperature (if a fully cooked fresh ham) reaches 165 degrees.

Food safety experts recommend not eating, or freezing your ham within 3-4 days as a rule of thumb. Before deciding on whether to keep or toss it, consider the following:

What kind of ham did you bake?
If it was a fully cooked whole ham, you have more time (Hormel sugests up to 7 days). If it was a fresh ham, you have less storage time (4 days). If was a “cook before eating” ham, then you have 5 days. Generally, Hormel and the USDA are very good sources of information on food safety as well as our chefs.

Regardless, proper storage of your ham is essential. Did you store your ham well?

Did you refrigerate your ham within 2 hours of preparing?
Was your ham very fresh when you purchased it?
Did you wrap your cooked ham tightly? Was it airtight?
Was your ham stored in the coldest (usually the lowest, back corner) of your refrigerator?

There are many factors to consider but the safest is always to toss meats if you are unsure.

Jenny from Winchester was given some homemade Irish Cream containing raw eggs for Christmas and she wants to know how long it will keep in the refrigerator.

It depends on how much alcohol is in the mixture. I found a number of recipes on the Web and they call for somewhere between 20 and 50 percent whiskey, depending on the recipe. If the whiskey used is 100 proof then it’s 50 percent alcohol.

Assuming a 100 proof whiskey, then a mixture with 20 percent whiskey is 10 percent alcohol and should probably be drunk within a week. At 50 percent whiskey the mixture is 25 percent alcohol and will probably keep for months if tightly sealed. The point is that even the yeast that produces alcohol can’t survive in an environment that’s more than 20 percent alcohol, and none of the common food pathogens can survive even 20 percent.

Sorry for getting technical, but I thought that was better than just saying, “It depends.”

Chef Kevin

 

 Do-Ahead Prime Rib Audio Class [1:53m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Marty from Aiken wants to know if he can prepare his (or her- sorry Marty!) prime rib a day or two ahead of the feast. Listen now to Chef Kevin’s advice and instructions on how to pull off this great and festive New Year’s Eve Dinner.

A 12 pound prime rib will take approximately 3 - 3 1/2 hours (17 minutes per pound) total to roast at a combination of high heat / low heat method. For a mostly medium rare roast, cook until the internal temperaure reaches 125 degrees, for a mostly medium roast, cook until the internal temperature reaches 135 degrees.

Follow these links for great step-by-step directions on preparing your prime rib.

Prime Rib Au Jus Recipe

Prime Rib 101 Audio Class with step-by-step directions

Beans induce gas in the body by way of benevolent bacteria in the large intestine. The best way to minimize gas, therefore, is to help digestion begin before the beans get to that late stage, mainly by fermentation and digestive enzymes.

Asian cooks have been fermenting beans for a long, long time, namely black beans for black bean sauce. At home, I opt to soak my raw beans for a few days before cooking them. I put a little vinegar in the water to minimize the risk of food-borne pathogens, and then just let them soak until they begin to smell a little rank. It might not be the most pleasant aroma to have in the kitchen, but it is certainly preferable to the alternative [wink and nod]. Add some ginger to the mix for its beneficial digestive properties, and be sure to rinse off all of the water the beans have soaked in when you turn to boiling them.
Another and easier option to reducing bean gas is to consume some helpful digestive enzymes before eating them. Yogurt is a good source of lactobaccillus acidopholus, which aids digestion.

Digestive supplements such as Probiotic Eleven [registered trademark] can aid in reducing gas and easing digestive symptoms of all sorts; when opting for an approach to reducing gas as proactive as purchasing special supplements like this, look for the ones that contain lactobacillus plantarum and lactobacillus casei, the two biologically-active compounds most associated with gas reduction.

Here is a list of foods to serve with your beans to combat their gassiness:
Ginger is a time-honored cure for indigestion.
Fennel and Anise are natural gas-reducers, and can be cooked right in with the beans for great flavor.
Garlic aids in digestion and destroys unwanted bacteria in the bowel.
B Vitamins are essential for proper digestion.
Papaya and Pineapple contain digestive enzymes.

There are many more eating and cooking practices that can minimize the gas-effect of beans and other foods on one’s health and life. Please schedule a conference with myself or one of the other ChefsLine chefs if you wish to learn more.

Have fun cooking! -Chef Adam.

One. Selecting your Meat
Always use a boneless cut. Probably the most “popular” cut of beef for your Pot Roast is the chuck roast. Know that many cuts, even chuck, have variations among their pieces. For example, there’s shoulder, arm, blade, and chuck roll. Other choices include brisket, rump roast, and top and bottom round. You do not need a well marbled or expensive cut of meat for a pot roast. Pot roast is a braised meat, and the braising process is a slow and low (heat) cooking method with some moisture. Each step in your cooking will enhance flavors and tenderize the meat so you get a fork tender dish with a rich, full bodied sauce.

Two. Choosing Your Pot
If you have a large pot that can fit your roast and 1-2 layers of cut up vegetables - great. It should be a heavy pan that has a tight fitting lid. If your pan (dutch oven preferred) cannot accommodate your roast and vegetables, then you can roast your veggies in the oven.

Some recipes call for braising your pot roast in the oven. This is a totally viable option, especially if you have a gas stove or are concerned about having your stove on for the extended cooking time. On the other hand, stove top cooking is more fun and gives you the added benefit of being able to readily peek, be happy with your liquid levels, and taste your roast as it’s cooking. We have recommended an oven-method (some might say it’s easier since you can walk away…..) recipe as well.

Three. Brown Your Roast
Browning your meat is the most important part of preparing your pot roast regardless of whether you’ll be cooking your roast on the stovetop or in the oven. Browning will make the meat taste great, and the browned bits on the bottom of your pan will become the key part of the flavor of your overall dish.

To brown your meat, follow a few of these tried and true techniques:

1. Start with a 3-5 pound chuck round roast.
2. Make sure your meat is room temperature and dry before browning.
3. Massage your meat a little (rub and knead it a bit) to help tenderize it.
4. Season your meat generously with salt, pepper, and any other seasonings that you love.
5. Use a dutch oven (deep, large pot) for browning your roast. Your pan must be large enough to hold your roast and give you room to maneuver AND hold your vegetables. If your pot is not large enough, that’s OK. You will prepare your vegetables separately.
6. Add about 3-4 tablespoons of vegetable, canola, or grapeseed oil (not olive oil) to your pot. Heat at a moderately high (hot, but not smoking) for about 4-5 minutes.
7. Your goal is to brown your roast so it has an even, brown crust with no burnt pieces. So, you will want to regulate the heat of your pan so your meat is sizzling but not so hot that you see or smell “smoke.” Be patient, your roast will take about 5 minutes per side to brown. Use a long handled fork and/or large tongs to turn your roast to brown all sides.
8. Remove roast from pot and set aside in order to cook your vegetables.
9. ChefsLine is the culinary hotline and one of the best ways to experience our service is to speak live with a chef while trying a new cooking technique. We are experts at talking you through the sights, sounds, and smells of cooking. Give us a call while cooking - 1-800-977-1224. This post is already so long….it’s always quicker and easier to talk with one of our chefs live.

Four. Prepare Your Vegetables
Traditional Pot Roast includes onions, carrots, potatoes, parsnips, and celery as part of the braised roast. Following is our suggested combination:

1 medium white onion in large dice
3 stalks of celery, large dice
5 cloves of garlic, chopped

After browning meat, pour excess (or add oil to) from your dutch oven so you have about 1 Tablespoon for cooking your vegetables. If removing oil, set aside. Heat and add vegetables. Cook over medium heat until tender, about 10 minutes.

Five. After Browning Meat and Cooking Vegetables, Deglaze Pot and Making Your “Stock,” or Braising Liquid.

1/2 cup red wine
2 cups beef broth
1 large can tomatoes with liquid
more wine of broth as needed

Now, it’s time to scrape up this pretty brown bits and create your braising liquid. Begin by adding your red wine or if you prefer, beef broth to your pot. (Keep the vegetables in there - just push aside) Cook on medium high heat while scraping the bottom of the pan until your sauce is thickened but covers the bottom of your pan (you can always add more wine or broth). Add salt, pepper, and herbs such as thyme, parsley, and a bay leaf to your sauce while cooking. Bring to a boil. Return your meat to the pot and layer your vegetables along its sides. Add enough tomatoes and juice and beef broth to just cover up to around 1/4 of the way up the side of the roast. Heat while covered until you get a slow boil, about 15 minutes. Reduce heat and keep covered. The key to braising your meat is not only keeping a low and slow simmer (minimal bubbles) but to also keep the liquid to the minimum needed to cook the meat and create your sauce.

Check the roast after 1 1/2 hours with an instant-read thermometer. You should be at about 120-130 degrees by now. Add more liquid if needed.

Six. Prepare More Vegetables
8 new potatoes cut into wedges or large dice of 2 Russet potatoes. Set aside and add to pot later.
2 parsnips peeled and sliced. Set aside and add to pot later.
3 carrots in 2 inch dices/chunks

Add your vegetables about 1/2 way through cooking process or after 1 1/2 hours.

Tips: Be sure to check occasionally and make sure you have enough liquid. Your roast is finished when a large tong fork goes into the center of the roast easily. Your total cooking time will be between 2 1/2-3 /12 hours. It will really depend on your meat and your cooking temperature.

Seven. Meal Time!
Remove your roast and the vegetables. Separate and set aside. Pour the liquid remaining in the pan through a strainer, into a bowl, pressing down on the strainer to extract as much of the juices from the chopped vegetables as possible. Skim the fat from the surface of the juices and return about 4 Tablespoons of fat, or, add a 1/4 stick of butter to the pot. Using a wooden spoon, add a Tablespoon of flour or cornstarch to the butter. Cook, stirring constantly, until the flour/fat mixture has turned a nice brown color (about the color of peanut butter.) Slowly whisk the reserved cooking juices back into the flour/fat mixture, adding additional liquid as needed to make a smooth, not too thick gravy. Season the gravy to taste with salt and black pepper.

Slice your roast or serve it on a platter with the vegetables.

Recipes we have reviewed and can recommend:

Home-Style Pot Roast With Vegetables and Gravy - stovetop
Pot Roast with Roasted Vegetables - stovetop
Zinfandel Pot Roast with Glazed Carrots and Fresh Sage - oven method

Joan in Alpena wants to know how to heat a 14 pound spiral cut glazed ham without drying it out.

Heat your oven to 325 degrees F. Put the ham in a deep roasting pan and add about 1/2 inch of water (or some sort of juice) and cover with foil. Bake for about 4 hours until an instant read thermometer registers 140 degrees F. Check the liquid about every 30 minutes to make sure it hasn’t evaporated and add more as needed. About 30 minutes before the ham is done, remove the foil.

Check out our Holiday Tips at ChefsLine.com for more information.

Karen from Webb City thawed out a smoked turkey in an ice box and wants to know if it will keep until Friday.

It will keep, but be sure to keep it plenty cold. If you can’t move it into your refrigerator, buy some dry ice (available at some grocery stores) for your ice box. If you’re using dry ice, be sure to arrange some way, possibly a couple of folded bath towels, to hold the turkey up off the ice so the bottom doesn’t freeze.

Tammy in Bradleyville wants to know how to smoke cheese on an electric smoker.

The key to smoking cheese is not melting it. Ideally you want to maintain a temperature of about 70 degrees F and smoke it for around 4 hours. If the temperature is higher, don’t smoke it as long — and check it regularly to make sure it isn’t melting. You need to use a hard cheese such as cheddar, Monterey Jack, or swiss cut into 1 - 2 pound blocks.