By Christmas Day on the ranch. The same as it's always been and not the same at all.
Colleen makes Christmas dinner the way she makes everything — from scratch, from the same recipes she's been using for thirty years, starting at seven in the morning. Prime rib this year, which is the Gallagher Christmas tradition — a bone-in rib roast, seasoned with salt and black pepper and nothing else, roasted low and slow until the internal temperature is exactly where it needs to be. Horseradish from a jar. Yorkshire pudding from the beef drippings. Potatoes roasted in the same drippings. A green salad that no one touches because there's too much of everything else.
We opened gifts in the morning — modest, the way we've always done. Dad gave me a new pair of work boots, the Carolinas I've worn since I was eighteen and that need replacing every two years. Mom gave me a cast iron Dutch oven, the ten-quart, which I've been using her smaller one and she said she needed hers back. I gave Dad a new leather strop for his knives and Mom a set of Mason jar lids, which sounds unromantic but which she specifically requested because she's been reusing old lids and they don't always seal.
I had a drink on Christmas Eve. Whiskey, one glass, alone in the shop at midnight. I don't want to write it down but I'm writing it down. I called Gary the next morning and told him. He said, "Okay. What happened?" I told him. He said, "Okay. Today is a new day. Start from today." We talked for an hour. I went inside and ate prime rib with my parents and the tree was lit and the fire was going and I was still here. Today is a new day.
Mom’s prime rib is the kind of recipe that doesn’t need improving. Salt, pepper, a low oven, and patience—that’s it. I’ve watched her make it every Christmas for as long as I can remember, and the thing I keep coming back to is how the simplicity of it is the whole point. You don’t dress it up. You trust the process. This year, sitting at that table with the tree lit and the fire going, I was grateful she’d made it exactly the same way again.
Bone-In Prime Rib Roast
Prep Time: 15 minutes | Cook Time: 3 hours 30 minutes | Total Time: 3 hours 45 minutes (plus 1 hour resting) | Servings: 8
Ingredients
- 1 bone-in standing rib roast, 4 ribs (about 8-10 pounds), trimmed
- 2 tablespoons kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon coarsely ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
Instructions
- Dry and season. Remove the roast from the refrigerator 2 hours before cooking to bring it to room temperature. Pat the entire surface dry with paper towels. Rub with olive oil, then season generously on all sides with kosher salt and black pepper.
- Preheat the oven. Set your oven to 250°F. Place a roasting rack inside a heavy roasting pan.
- Roast low and slow. Set the prime rib bone-side down on the rack. Roast uncovered at 250°F until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the meat (not touching bone) reads 120°F for rare or 130°F for medium-rare, about 3 to 3-1/2 hours depending on the size of your roast.
- Rest the meat. Transfer the roast to a cutting board and tent loosely with foil. Let it rest for 45 minutes to 1 hour. The internal temperature will rise another 5-10 degrees as it rests. Reserve the pan drippings for Yorkshire pudding and roasted potatoes.
- Sear for the crust. After resting, increase oven temperature to 500°F. Return the roast to the pan and sear in the hot oven for 8-10 minutes, until the outside is deeply browned and crusty.
- Carve and serve. Cut the bones away from the roast in one piece, then slice the meat against the grain into 3/4-inch slices. Serve with prepared horseradish, Yorkshire pudding, and potatoes roasted in the beef drippings.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 580 | Protein: 48g | Fat: 42g | Carbs: 0g | Fiber: 0g | Sodium: 720mg