Over time, I’ve learned to offload some stuff to the days before the holidays. You can make the jus a couple days or so ahead. You probably shouldn’t do it a week ahead, but a couple days is okay. The jus isn’t the star of the show, but it will make you smile, big time.
First, everyone should read Meathead’s prime rib page! This is very close to the same, and also very close to the recipe from Serious Eats that Dr ROK posted a while back. The procedure is the same, the proportions of the ingredients are different. Use what you got. I’m putting this up to show that it’s really damn simple.
2-3 lbs of meaty beef bones (I used 4 big rib bones with lots of meat on them, 2 lbs)
2 big carrots,
3 celery stalks,
6 cloves of garlic,
a few mushrooms,
a baseball sized onion,
a couple tablespoonsful of tomato paste,
half a cup of red wine,
6 cups of beef stock (I used Better than Bullion),
a bay leaf,
and a couple sprigs of thyme.
No salt, BtB is plenty salty enough, even the low sodium one. You can check it later.
**All of this is approximate. You can use a little bit more of anything, or a little bit less of anything; In today’s cook I used a whole cup of red wine because I wasn’t paying attention and measured with the wrong cup, but I’m not worried about it; it will just be a little winier. The more frequently you make it, the more you’ll change it to what you like. Meathead uses soy sauce, I don’t (BtB is really salty); you might want to use soy, or maybe Worcestershire's. Serious Eats uses a lot more herbs, and a whole bottle of red wine! Mine is better balanced for me. But the point is that there is a pattern, but there isn’t anything definitive. Use what you have, taste, and adjust.**
Okay, here we go! This is what I did.
Brown the bones well, roughly chop the vegetables and toss them in and brown them for a few minutes. Add the tomato paste, red wine, beef stock and thyme and bay leaf. Let it simmer for a couple hours.
After a couple hours, strain the solids out. Reserve them, for now! I strain with a strainer, then I re-strain through cheesecloth:
When you’re done, coincidentally you have this much jus. I always think it’s funny when that happens!
There are a few ways to separate the fat. First, you might own one of those fat separator cups, with the spout that pours from the bottom. If you are making your jus the same day as the roast, that will be easiest. Second, you can take a paper towel and drag it over the top; after a few swipes you should have most of it. BUT, if you make your jus ahead of time, just put the container in the fridge, and the fat will harden and you can pick it off. (Alternately, you can just stir it all back in. Nothing wrong with that, either.)
You also have this:
Which, if you don’t care, you can toss… but don’t do that. Me personally, I don’t care about the celery or the onion. But I’ll be damned if I’m tossing the carrots, the mushrooms, or the rib meat. That’s good eatin’!
On the day of the cook, you can warm the jus in a pot. Then when the roast is done, use your jus to deglaze the pan it was sitting over and then pour it all into your gravy boat. Your guests will think you know what you’re doing, but all you did was read about it at Amazing Ribs!
First, everyone should read Meathead’s prime rib page! This is very close to the same, and also very close to the recipe from Serious Eats that Dr ROK posted a while back. The procedure is the same, the proportions of the ingredients are different. Use what you got. I’m putting this up to show that it’s really damn simple.
2-3 lbs of meaty beef bones (I used 4 big rib bones with lots of meat on them, 2 lbs)
2 big carrots,
3 celery stalks,
6 cloves of garlic,
a few mushrooms,
a baseball sized onion,
a couple tablespoonsful of tomato paste,
half a cup of red wine,
6 cups of beef stock (I used Better than Bullion),
a bay leaf,
and a couple sprigs of thyme.
No salt, BtB is plenty salty enough, even the low sodium one. You can check it later.
**All of this is approximate. You can use a little bit more of anything, or a little bit less of anything; In today’s cook I used a whole cup of red wine because I wasn’t paying attention and measured with the wrong cup, but I’m not worried about it; it will just be a little winier. The more frequently you make it, the more you’ll change it to what you like. Meathead uses soy sauce, I don’t (BtB is really salty); you might want to use soy, or maybe Worcestershire's. Serious Eats uses a lot more herbs, and a whole bottle of red wine! Mine is better balanced for me. But the point is that there is a pattern, but there isn’t anything definitive. Use what you have, taste, and adjust.**
Okay, here we go! This is what I did.
Brown the bones well, roughly chop the vegetables and toss them in and brown them for a few minutes. Add the tomato paste, red wine, beef stock and thyme and bay leaf. Let it simmer for a couple hours.
After a couple hours, strain the solids out. Reserve them, for now! I strain with a strainer, then I re-strain through cheesecloth:
When you’re done, coincidentally you have this much jus. I always think it’s funny when that happens!
There are a few ways to separate the fat. First, you might own one of those fat separator cups, with the spout that pours from the bottom. If you are making your jus the same day as the roast, that will be easiest. Second, you can take a paper towel and drag it over the top; after a few swipes you should have most of it. BUT, if you make your jus ahead of time, just put the container in the fridge, and the fat will harden and you can pick it off. (Alternately, you can just stir it all back in. Nothing wrong with that, either.)
You also have this:
Which, if you don’t care, you can toss… but don’t do that. Me personally, I don’t care about the celery or the onion. But I’ll be damned if I’m tossing the carrots, the mushrooms, or the rib meat. That’s good eatin’!
On the day of the cook, you can warm the jus in a pot. Then when the roast is done, use your jus to deglaze the pan it was sitting over and then pour it all into your gravy boat. Your guests will think you know what you’re doing, but all you did was read about it at Amazing Ribs!
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