my dad loves prime rib. it's that simple. our family goes out of our way on holidays and my dad's birthday to find prime rib. not many places serve it, or serve it well. and i've never been a big fan of it. that is, until i made it myself at home.

we've had plenty of good prime rib in our outings. it's tender and juicy, but i have always just found the cut a bit bland. a couple yeas ago, i decided to try and make it at home for christmas. it was fine; my family was happy.

this past thanksgiving, i ordered a rib roast from belcampo meat company. they are a sustainable farm, processing plant and butcher. their beef is dry-aged 30 to 40 days. and for the first time ever, i was in love with prime rib.

in short, it's all about the meat! this cut isn't cheap at $30 per pound, but it is so good, and makes my family so happy, that it's worth it. in my experience, it's been about a rib for every 2 people (three ribs for 5 to 6 people, four ribs for 7 to 8 people) and about 2 pounds per rib. for my dad's 60th birthday earlier this month, we had seven people at our house, so we got a 4-rib roast, which came out to 8 lbs.

the night before making the prime rib, i peel the cloves from one and a half to two bulbs of garlic and throw them in a food processor with olive oil, salt, black pepper, white pepper, and atomic extra hot horseradish. this stuff is killer, and what we pair with our prime rib. be super careful, it's much hotter than pure horseradish due to the addition of mustard oil. i took a sniff when i opened the jar just to make sure it hadn't "soured" and the burning sensation that shot through my nose was insane. but if you find your horseradish is never hot enough, this is the stuff for you.

i spread this over the fatty side of the roast, wrap it in plastic, and put it back in the refrigerator overnight. don't worry if you think this is a very pungent marinade - you really won't taste it on your prime rib at all, as most of it will be in the fat on the edges.

about an hour or two before i plan on starting the roast, i pull it out of the fridge to let it get to room temperature. then it goes into a 500°F oven for twenty minutes. then i take the roast out and stick an instant read thermometer into it, lower the oven to 325°F, and put it back in the oven until the center is at 125°F. after letting it rest for 15 minutes, remove the garlic crust, slice and serve! easy, right?