Bobby Flay's Easy Trick For Adding More Flavor To A Classic Prime Rib

Bobby Flay holds a wealth of knowledge for home cooks. Remember the time that Flay taught us how to make perfect rice? Or when we learned how to organize our kitchen pantries like a celebrity chef? Turns out that Bobby Flay is also the prime rib master when it comes to celebrations. When a coterie of your favorite Food Network chefs gathered for a star-studded buffet-style Christmas dinner (seen on YouTube), Flay was put in charge of the main course. While fellow luminaries like Alex Guarnaschelli and Geoffrey Zakarian exchanged hugs and sipped wine, Flay was giving the royal treatment to a full seven-rib standing roast that would be eventually carved into prime rib steaks. Flay undoubtedly researched how big your prime rib should be to serve your dinner party! The trick that Flay used to impart flavor was so simple that we couldn't believe we didn't think of it ourselves. He left a generous fat cap on the roast and scored slits in the fat. Then, he inserted whole cloves of peeled garlic into the slits. 

As the prime rib cooks low and slow in the oven, the pungent flavor of the garlic melts, mellows, and permeates the proteins of the rib roast, unleashing delicious flavor. Notably, Flay also covered the cut's fat cap in a solid, thick coating of salt and pepper before roasting, then cut the entire thing (including the garlic cloves) off before serving. By this time, the salt, pepper, and garlic had served their purpose and were no longer needed.

Adding garlic to the fat cap of the prime rib isn't the only way that Bobby Flay delivers big flavor to guests when he's cooking prime rib. He ups the ante by removing the prime rib from the pan straight out of the oven so it can rest on a carving board. Meanwhile, he takes the pan drippings and stirs in fresh thyme and a few generous glugs of red wine to make an au jus pan sauce that will beautifully complement the roasted meat with its subtle kiss of garlic.

Just how delicious is Bobby Flay's prime rib? Unanimous five-star ratings on the Food Network recipe page tell the story. "The cooking method has been my go to for prime rib for years! Comes out perfectly every time!" raves one satisfied home chef. Another cook who prefers this method waxed eloquent about not just the flavor, but the convenience factor: "The best & most easiest way to wow your guests, just let the meat speak for itself, the au jus turned out great. Video very reassuring and simple to follow. This method allowed me to multi-task and still entertain & enjoy my families [sic] company." Flay's method is also beginner-friendly, as yet another delighted host confirmed: "This was a super easy recipe, the directions were simple to follow, and my guests loved the meat," they wrote, reserving particular praise for the wine sauce and, like so many others, the helpful video.