Crock Pot Prime Rib - an Experimental Thanksgiving Dinner for Two!

This thanksgiving, as my husband was On Call at the hospital, we had a quiet dinner for two... but enough food for about 8!

I'm currently studying for an exam, so I knew I wouldn't have time to do a big meal, nevermind a turkey. Still wanting to do something special to celebrate the holiday, I decided to make a crock pot roast (we already had a large Prime Rib in the freezer - a gift from Mom and Dad - Thanks!)

I was a little hesitant to make this in the crock pot, but it actually was DELICIOUS! If you are particular about your prime rib being rare, this is not the recipe for you. If, however, you don't mind it being cooked thoroughly, but still juicy and tender - give this a whirl if you are short on time! The texture is so tender, it is almost like a brisket!

Prep Time: Just under an hour (I'm a slow chopper)
Cooking time: 7-8 hours

You will need:
2 tbsp Vegetable oil
Prime Rib roast
1-2 White Onions
Salt and pepper (I use coarse sea salt)
Approx 1 box  Beef Broth (800-900mls)
Butter
1 Garlic bulb
Mushrooms and/or Carrots and/or Potatoes and/or parsnips, etc.
2 tbsp All Purpose Flour
Herb de Provence (Or thyme/rosemary)
Red wine
+/- Cornstarch

Instructions:
1. If your prime rib is frozen - thaw it at least one day in advance. You don't want any nasty surprises come cooking day (has happened to me before!)

2. Season your meat in salt and pepper.

3. Sear your roast. I used about 2 tbsp of vegetable oil in a large frying pan. When oil is hot (medium high heat), place your roast in the oil. You want to sear every aspect of the meat, all angles and sides - this is important for locking in all the flavour of the beef.

4. Once completed, transfer hunk of beef into crock pot.

5. Slice 1.5 large white onions in chunks. Add to the now-empty frying pan, with 1 tbsp butter. Add salt and pepper to season. Cook on medium heat until onions are brown, stirring often. The darker (aka more caramelized), the better - but don't over do it.

6. Add a few full garlic cloves to centre of frying pan. (If you don't like garlic, omit this step. I LOVE garlic, so I used an entire garlic bulb) Add a tbsp of butter directly over the garlic cloves, add some salt to help break it down. Sautee in butter for 30sec, then mix in with the onions.

Left - onions before cooking.
Top Right: onions and garlic, mid - caramelization.
Bottom Right - Roast after searing.

7. Add beef stock to your onions/garlic cloves. This is used to clean off the bottom of the frying pan to get all the left over meat pieces, and good stuff that is stuck to the bottom. You don't need to add a lot, maybe 1/2 a cup, depends on how large your frying pan is.

8. Add your onions, garlic and beef broth to the crock pot.

9. Decide what other veggies you want to add to the roast. I used mushrooms only, as my crock pot wasn't large enough for other veggies! (I roasted them in the oven separately) Mushrooms, carrots, potatoes, parsnips and sweet potato would all work very well!

10. Add 1/2 cup to 1.5 cups of beef broth to your crock pot - the amount will depend on the size of your crock pot and how full it is. There will be liquid generated upon cooking, so don't add so much that it will overflow!

11. If you like your veggies on the firmer side, they recommend that you cook on "High" for 30 minutes, then drop it down to "Low" for 8 hours. I'm lazy, so I just cooked it on low the whole time. Also, since I only had mushrooms in my crock pot, it didn't really matter that they wouldn't be firm.

Prior to Cooking

After 6.5 hours

After 8 hours, I removed my roast and put it in the oven for 5 minutes under the broiler for a nice finish on the top of the meat. This is optional.

To Make a Delicious Gravy:
1. Add equal parts butter and flour into a small sauce pan (I used 2tbsp of each). Heat on medium heat, while stirring constantly. If you burn it, you have to start again, so watch it carefully. The purpose is to cook the flour, so it should change from yellow (because of the butter) to an only SLIGHTLY more "tanned" yellow.

2. Use a turkey baster to collect some of the juices from your roast. (I collected about a 3/4 cup, and still had plenty left over!) If you have time, you can let it sit for a few minutes and remove the top layer of oil, leaving behind only the juices. Or, you can use one of those fancy gravy separators - I don't have one.
Add 1/4 cup of juice to your flour/butter combo - this should make a thick paste.
Add another 1/4 cup of juices. It should get lumpy. Use a spatula or whisk to remove all the lumps. You can add more juice to make it more liquid. Put aside until roast is done.

3. Flavour gravy with Herb de Provence (1-3 tsp, depending on your taste), and cracked pepper. I didn't have Herb de Provence - I used Thyme and Rosemary, just a little bit of each.

4. Once the roast is done, remove all juices and set aside. Remove top layer of oil. Use sieve to remove bits of meat and veggies. Slowly add juice to gravy - use as much as you need/have.

5. Add red wine to taste (mine is ~ 1/4 cup). Allow to reduce, while stirring often.
If you are like me (impatient), you can add cornstarch to speed things up. Just remember - always add gravy to cornstarch (small bowl on the side). Add just one spoon full, then blend. Keep adding a spoonful of gravy at a time, then once very liquidy, add to the original pot of gravy. This way you avoid clumps!

6. Salt and pepper to taste. Add more herbs if desired.

7. Pour over meat, potatoes, etc!

I served it with:
 - Hot Horseradish
 - Onion Soup Potatoes
 - Green Beans with dried cranberries, toasted almonds, roasted pecans (maple and dijon vinaigrette)
 - Roasted Carrots
 - Roasted Garlic Cloves
 - Sparkling Jacob's Creek (a Chardonnay and Pinot Noir blend), and Hecula Monastrell (2012) - Red wine

And FINALLY - Sit down and ENJOY!!!

Happy Thanksgiving to all the Canadians out there!

Cara xox