Dijon-Horseradish Crusted Rib Roast with Horseradish-Mustard Sauce and Pan Jus

I'd never made a standing rib roast before. My family has high expectations of this dish, and I was trying a new recipe, so I was more than a little scared. Especially when my oven's internal probe told me it was done cooking at 4pm.

But it turned out perfect - medium-rare in the middle, nice and crusty along the outside.

This is based off a recipe in The Wine Lover's Cookbook.

Dijon-Horseradish Crusted Rib Roast with Horseradish-Mustard Sauce and Pan Jus

3 tbsp Dijon mustard
3 tbsp prepared Horseradish
3 tsp herbes de provence
4 1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 1/2 tsp freshly-ground black pepper
15 lb standing rib roast, boned and tied

Horseradish-Mustard Sauce
3/4 cup prepared horseradish
1/2 cup stone-ground mustard
1/4 cup white vinegar

Pan Jus
2 cups Cabernet Sauvignon
3 cups beef stock
Salt & Pepper to taste

Combine the Dijon mustard, horseradish and herbes in a small bowl. Place rib roast fat side up in a roasting pan. Liberally apply the mustard mix to the surface of the roast. Place roast in cold oven. If your oven has a temperature probe, use it, following manufacturer's instructions. Turn oven on and heat to 425ºF for 20 minutes. Reduce heat to 350ºF and cook until internal temperature reaches 130º (figure 15 minutes per lb). Turn oven off and leave door closed.

While roast cooks, mix together ingredients for the horseradish-mustard sauce. Refrigerate until it's time to serve.

30 minutes before serving, turn oven back on at 250º to bring roast to temp (about 150ºF internal temp). Remove roast from oven, cover with foil to keep warm.

Place pan on stovetop over medium heat. Add wine and beef stock, bring to a boil, scraping the bottom of the pan to loosen browned bits. Cook until liquid reduced by half. Run jus thru fat separator to discard the fat and solids.

Carve roast, setting ribs aside (some people like to gnaw on them but they also make great bones for soup/stock). Serve with jus and horseradish-mustard sauce

Wine Pairing: Serve with a well-matured Cabernet Sauvignon. We had it with a 40-year-old bottle of Bordeaux.