Coffee-Rubbed Prime Rib

While I have made dinners that make my friends squirm - think of entire menus centered around beets or eggplant - sometimes I make the carnivores happy. Really happy.

We had a joint birthday dinner for our two November babies - Pia and Mike. And this was one of the main dishes.

Ingredients

The Roast

• 1 (2 rib) prime rib roast (mine weighed about 5 pounds)
• 3 T coffee grounds
• 4 T organic dark brown sugar
• 1 t sweet paprika
• 1 t smoked paprika
• 3/4 t dried ginger
• 1 t ground cumin
• 1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped and pod reserved
• 1 T freshly ground black pepper
• 2 T freshly ground salt
• splash of olive oil
• 2 to 3 onions, peeled and sliced
• 1 C brewed coffee

Procedure

The Roast
In a medium bowl, combine the coffee grounds, sugar, paprikas, ginger, cumin, vanilla bean seeds, salt and black pepper. Massage spice mixture into the beef, coating evenly.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. On the stovetop, heat olive oil in a Dutch oven. Sear the roast on each side for two minutes to create a nice crust.

Add the onions and coffee to the pot. Bring to a boil.

Then cover the Dutch oven and move the pot to the oven. Roast at 450 degrees for 30 minutes. Then reduce the heat to 350 degrees F and continue roasting for another 75 to 90 minutes, depending on how well done you want your meat. We like ours medium and it took about 90 minutes.

Let rest 20 minutes before slicing. I served this with a side of pickled apples.