My mom flew down from Alaska this last weekend, so we did a belated traditional Christmas dinner on the MAK. This was my first time flying solo on making the prime rib roast, plus my first time doing one on a grill, so was a little nervous we might end up eating takeout, but it turned out pretty darn good!
We started off the day by hacking up a large lamb shank bone that I wanted to use to make the stock for gravy. James was having a difficult time keeping the chickens off of it long enough to get a good whack at it.
For preparing the roast, I trimmed off the fat, sprinkled it with salt, and let it sit in the fridge overnight. The morning of the cook, I mixed up some rosemary, oregano and thyme in olive oil, and smeared that generously all over the roast (patted dry first). Then I tied it up to get the most uniform shape possible so it would cook evenly.
After I got the lamb shank stock bubbling (onions and the peels, carrots, celery, some of the meatier fat trimmings from the roast, and a healthy splash of dry red wine), I got the rib on the grill. I put the roast on the tray from the warming box on my 2 Star so I could get it high up enough to have a nice even airflow around the whole roast, and still have room to catch all the drippings. I put it on at 225 for about 3 1/2 hours.
When the IT reached 125, I threw it in the warmer box, took off the flame zone cover, and cranked the grill on high so I could sear it and get a crisp crust on the outside. We had to juggle things around a little to get the rest of the meal finished at the same time, so I was thankful I had that warmer box to keep the roast warm while we caught up with the rest of the meal!
I seared the roast on all sides, and brought it in when the IT hit 135, just as mom pulled our yorkshire pudding out of the oven.
Was almost perfect medium rare edge to edge, with just a little crust on the edge (I would have preferred more, but... will strive for perfection next time.)
Here are the yorkshire pudding popovers! I rendered down the fat from the roast trimmings, and mixed it from the drippings off the roast while it was cooking. We spooned a little of the fat into each muffin tin, then put in the batter, and cooked it at 425 for about 15 minutes.
This was my plate-- I couldn't finish it all!!
And the yorkshire pudding with the lamb shank gravy (the gravy was just to die for-- added some of the crispy beef cracklings from when I rendered down the beef fat, which made for a really great texture and little burst of flavor every few bites. Totally worth the 3 + hours of simmering and smashing of lamb bones to expose as much of the marrow as possible. Was a rich, savory sauce that was just far and away the best I've done before! (I have long arms, great for patting myself on the back)
After some kitchen cleaning and resting of full tummies, it was time for the Christmas pudding! My mom brought this one with her, and after eating it, told me it was one that we bought on our trip to England almost 3 years ago! Those things would withstand a nuclear bomb without blinking.
Mid-afternoon flambe isn't quite as impressive as when you can shut all the lights off.... but at least this year, I'm proud to say, I didn't catch the tablecloth on fire!! (We had an unfortunate little incident a number of years ago-- we couldn't find any brandy with a high enough proof, so my mom decided that swapping out everclear would work just as well... My grandmother's heirloom tablecloth had a different opinion on the matter.)
Mom also brought some Christmas crackers to finish up with the festivities.
Everyone reveling in the silly hats and goofy jokes from the crackers.
Was an absolute joy to have my mom visit, even though it was too short! Felt amazing to have her so excited for my rib roast to come out so well and feel like she passed on the tradition successfully!
