Oven-roasted beef rib steak with roasted garlic butter

🥩 A $130 cut doesn’t leave room for guessing My rib steak cost me $130 for 1.3 kg. When you spend that kind of money on a single piece of meat, you don’t play guessing games with the cook. That’s exactly why this recipe is built around a probe thermometer and reverse searing: two simple tools that completely remove the guesswork. You cook slowly in the oven to the exact temperature you want, sear at the very end for the crust, and you get meat that’s rosy pink from edge to edge. No grey ring, no cold center, no surprise when you slice it in front of everyone. 🧄 The roasted garlic butter is where things get serious A whole head of garlic that roasts for 45 minutes in the oven has absolutely nothing in common with raw garlic. The cloves turn golden, sweet, creamy, and you mash them directly into softened butter with fresh thyme and rosemary. I never use raw garlic in a butter meant for searing-hot meat: it burns on contact and turns bitter within seconds. Roasted, it’s the opposite. It melts into the beef fat and complements it instead of fighting it. You drop this onto the still-steaming steak and watch the butter run everywhere. 🎉 Christmas, a birthday, special company This is a special-occasion recipe, and there’s no shame in saying so. At our place, it comes out at Christmas, for a birthday, or when we’re having guests we really want to impress. A 1.3 kg steak feeds 3 to 4 people comfortably, which makes it the perfect format for a celebratory dinner without going full ten-pound roast. Buy it at your local butcher shop, not a big-box grocery store: for a cut like this one, it’s worth talking to someone who slices it in front of you.

📝 Ingredients

• 1 bone-in beef rib steak, about 1.3 kg (2.9 lb), 5 cm (2 in) thick
• 2 tbsp (30 ml) olive oil
• Fleur de sel
• Freshly ground pepper
• 2 tbsp (30 ml) canola oil
• 1 whole head of garlic
• 1 tbsp (15 ml) olive oil
• 1/2 cup (125 ml) unsalted butter, softened
• 2 tbsp (30 ml) fresh thyme leaves
• 1 tbsp (15 ml) fresh rosemary, finely chopped
• 1 tsp (5 ml) fleur de sel
• Freshly ground pepper

👨‍🍳 Instructions

1. 1--- Préparation ---
2. 2Take the beef rib steak out of the fridge 1 hour ahead of time. Pat it completely dry with paper towels, rub olive oil all over every surface, then season generously with fleur de sel and pepper. Let it rest at room temperature on a rack.
3. 3Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 400 °F (200 °C). Cut the top off the head of garlic to expose the cloves, drizzle with olive oil, wrap in aluminum foil and roast for 45 minutes, until the cloves are golden and creamy. Set aside.
4. 4Squeeze the roasted garlic cloves out of their skins and mash with a fork. Mix into the softened butter along with the thyme, rosemary, fleur de sel and pepper, until you have a smooth, uniform paste. Set aside at room temperature.
5. 5Reduce the oven to 350 °F (180 °C). Place the beef rib steak on a rack set over a baking sheet and insert a probe thermometer into the center of the meat, without touching the bone. Cook for 45 to 75 minutes, until the internal temperature reaches 118 °F (48 °C) for rare or 125 °F (52 °C) for medium-rare. The cook will finish in the pan.
6. 6Heat a cast iron skillet over high heat with the canola oil until it just begins to smoke. Sear the rib steak for 2 to 3 minutes per side, then hold it upright with tongs to sear the fatty edges as well, until a deep, dark crust forms all around.
7. 7Remove from heat and generously spread the roasted garlic butter over the hot meat, spreading it as it melts. Wrap in aluminum foil and let rest for 5 to 10 minutes.
8. 8Detach the meat from the bone, then slice against the grain into 1 cm (½ in) slices. Spoon the melted butter that has pooled in the pan over top and finish with a pinch of fleur de sel.