the ultimate sunday roast
low and slow is the recipe for a perfect, cozy weekend meal
This may be an unpopular opinion, but Sundays might just be my favorite day of the week. Around here, we like to call them “homesteading days” so we can prepare for a new week ahead and screw our heads back on straight after a weekend of shenanigans. Now don’t get me wrong: we’re very familiar with the Sunday Scaries in this house. But I’ve found that the more purpose I infuse into that day with tasks I choose of my own volition, the better off I always feel as my husband and I curl up to watch our current favorite weekly show (Sofia has such a badass villain arc, amirite?)
These “tasks” that I speak of are almost always the same and fill my day so that by the time the sun sets, I feel rejuvenated, inspired, and well fed. The best Sundays start at a farmers market gathering ingredients that I can use throughout the week ahead. I peruse the colorful, in-season produce, grab coffee from a cute vendor, and snag a small bouquet of flowers for my office. After running some errands on the way home or taking Ripley on a quick city hike, I come back to the house to gather myself, and maybe FaceTime with a long-distance friend before deep-diving into the creative process of cooking. By the end of any given homesteading day, the house is clean, the laundry is folded, and I can still smell the remnants of a Sunday dinner.
I typically reserve new or complicated recipes for Sundays because I have so much uninterrupted time and typically no obligations that would otherwise distract me. I’ve experimented with many recipes and ideas on these days, often inviting friends over to help us enjoy a warm, home-cooked meal before our crazy weeks begin. This roast is a perfect choice for that exact scenario: a delectable dish that’s easy to pair with nearly anything that can be served to a table of people you love. If you’re lucky enough to find yourself with some leftovers – how can that even be possible? – you’ll have succulent, tender meat stored away for more delicious meals throughout your week.
I’ll be completely honest with you: this particular recipe does not come from my brain. All credit goes to one of my favorite cooks who has unknowingly taught me a lot about flavor and cooking techniques: Alison Roman. Buy her book, then buy this one, send me this one for Christmas! She’s a kitchen wizard, and I could not recommend her online videos enough as an incredible resource. Another fair warning: the grocery bill can add up quick for this meal if you’re not careful. Priced per pound, the ribeye roast is one of the most tender cuts of meat on the animal, thus a premium price. I try to keep an eye out for ribeye roasts on special discount at the local butcher counter. The good news: the roast really is the star of this show, so it’s supporting cast can lean towards simple, classic, and cheap. Grab a few potatoes or a fresh baguette for a few bucks, toss a simple green salad, and you’ll find the only investments required for a stellar Sunday Roast are the roast itself and an afternoon of your time.
There are two callouts that I’ve found most important when preparing this particular roast:
You’ll always need more salt than you think, and there’s no alternative.
The oven is your best friend for the reverse-sear; who would’ve thought?
When making this, you’ll want to salt your meat generously and do it as early as possible. Did you plan your Sunday ahead and you have 24-48 hours to spare? Your roast is already probably better than mine, since I can never plan ahead. You’re more like me and just picked it up today? That’s fine, but you’ll still need to give it at least 2 hours to let that salt penetrate and create juicier, tender meat. For my most recent 5-lb roast, I used an estimated 6-8 tsp of salt about 3 hours prior to setting her in the oven. I know that seems like a lot, but remember that you’re not ingesting 6-8 tsp yourself. That’s distributed throughout the meat, and some even ends up in the juices that leak during roasting and after in the pan drippings. Unless your doctor has you watching your salt intake for a specific reason, this shouldn’t set you back anything other than more intense flavor. You won’t salt the roast again in this recipe, so this is your chance to impart a deeper, better flavor throughout the full cut of meat. She’ll be large with all those bones intact so it’s crucial to make sure everything has been touched by the salt. I told you: we’re big #TeamSalt fans over here. Further flavor will be imparted by the rosemary/garlic/caper mixture, but it’s really the kosher salt that will be the hero here. Pick your preferred kosher salt (we’re strictly a Diamond Crystal household), learn how to properly season your dishes, and it’s game over for anyone around you.
Whether you tackle this for a simple Sunday recoup or an upcoming holiday feast, this is one of my absolute most favorite dishes I’ve ever tasted. My hope is that endorsement encourages you to try this for yourself and see what I’m talking about. Set aside your squeamish side if you’re not a fan of anchovies. Disregard any doubt that says this is too much rosemary. Listen to me when I say: add. more. salt. You’ll thank me later. Get this thing in the oven, put on some cozies and a record, and find a little time to yourself before digging in. ~L
INGREDIENTS
6-10 sprigs fresh rosemary
1 head of garlic
Kosher salt and fresh-ground black pepper
1 tin of anchovies
1 jar of caper berries in brine
1-2 white onions, quartered
INSTRUCTIONS
Place the rib roast on a wire rack atop a rimmed baking sheet. Season generously with kosher salt + black pepper; I aim for about 1-2 tsps for every pound of meat. Let the juices drain into the rimmed baking sheet for at least 2 hours room temperature or up to 24 hours in the refrigerator. Time is your friend here: the more of it, the better.
Finely chop 8 anchovies + 4-6 sprigs of rosemary. Add to a small bowl + grate 8 cloves of garlic into the mixture. Finely chop 1-2 tbsp caper berries + add to mixture. Season with salt and pepper and slowly drizzle up to 1/4 c olive oil to create a paste. Be reserved with the olive oil; you don’t want this to be a liquid! The paste will bake a crust onto the meat, and you don’t want it to slide off.
Preheat your oven to 250* + scatter the remaining 4-6 rosemary sprigs all over a clean rimmed baking sheet.3
Once the oven is preheated, smear the anchovy paste all over your rib roast + place onto the rosemary-lined baking sheet. Toss onion quarters in any leftover olive oil or any remaining anchovy past and place on baking sheet surrounding the roast. Place into the oven for about 2-2.5 hours or until a meat thermometer inserted into the deepest part (away from bone) reads 110* –– the roast will continue cooking while resting up to 125* for a perfect medium rare. Remove from oven and let rest at room temperature for up to 4 hours. (This is a perfect time to roast some baked potatoes into a screaming hot oven while you wait!)
After resting once you’re ready to serve, it’s time to reverse sear! Either place your rib roast fat side down into a smoking hot high-heat skillet until the fat renders (about 6-8 minutes).4 Alternatively, and my favorite method, you can turn your oven to 500* and continue roasting for another 16-18 minutes until the top is deeply brown and crispy. Once finished, transfer roast to a warmed platter for carving, reserving any pan drippings.
To Serve: slice the roast into slices (I like them about 1/4” thick). Plate the roast slices, top with any leftover pan drippings, sprinkle with chives and add a side of crusty, toasted bread for scooping and a bright, tangy salad.
4-5 pounds of bone-in rib roast will serve about 4 people; if you’re ready to invest and increase the size, you’ll just have to increase the amount of salt in step 1 and extend the cooking time in step 4. A simple rule for this recipe would be 30-35 minutes for every pound of meat; I’d keep an eye on the doneness throughout with my meat thermometer if I went this route.
Unfrenched ribs are very important here; In butchering, "frenched" refers to the process of removing fat, meat, and cartilage from the bones of a cut of meat. For example, a rack of lamb with the rib bones exposed is frenched. Frenched chops have the majority of fat removed, exposing several inches of the rib bone. Trust me, you’ll need this fat and can trim around it when serving.
I line this fresh baking sheet with foil for easy clean-up.
This method supposedly gives you better flavor and texture; in full transparency, my kitchen (not to mention my smoke detector) doesn’t like that high heat rendering so much fat on the stovetop. I’ve only tried the oven method described and can tell you: it’s absolutely the way to go. It’s so easy, no cleanup, and you won’t even miss what you don’t know!