Roast Prime Rib

3- or 4- rib roast, about 6 to 8 pounds

4 cloves garlic, cut into slivers

1 cup Dijon mustard

1/4 cup soy sauce

3 Tbsp fresh ground black pepper

1 Tbsp instant coffee, optional

2 tsp chopped fresh thyme or rosemary, optional

olive oil

Sauce:

1 1/2 cups beef stock

3 Tbsp Dijon mustard

1 Tbsp soy sauce

freshly ground black pepper to taste

If you like, insert thin slivers of garlic all over the roast.

In a bowl, whisk together the mustard and soy, add pepper and optional ingredients and then whisk in a few Tbsp olive oil to emulsify the rub.

Place rib roast in a large roasting pan, bone side down. Spread the rub all over the roast. Keep it at room temperature for at least 1 hour and preferably two.

Heat the oven to 500 degrees. Roast for 20 minutes, then turn oven temperature to 350 degrees. Allow 12 to 15 minutes per pound of meat.

To be on the safe side, start checking the temperature of the meat after 1 hour. Insert the instant-read thermometer into the center of the roast, not touching bone.

If your oven is unpredictable and does not respond to rapid changes, heat oven to 350 degrees and roast at this temperature for about 15 minutes per pound. Check temperature after 1 hour and 15 minutes.

When the thermometer reads 110 degrees for rare, 115 for medium rare or 120 degrees for medium, remove the roast from the oven and tent with foil. Let rest for 20 minutes before carving.

While the roasts rests, prepare the optional sauce: Drain away most of the fat from the pan. Combine the beef stock, mustard and soy sauce in a small saucepan, add a few grindings of black pepper and simmer for 5 minutes.

Carve the roast and serve with sauce or horseradish cream, if using.

Serves 8-10.