Rib of beef

Today marks National Two Different Coloured Shoes day and like every other person of sane mind, I'm celebrating it in the company of a small section of cow.

In actual fact, we cooked this at Easter but it's only now that I've found time to post about it. If you came here specifically for menu ideas for those times you've got one shoe completely wrong, I'm afraid you'll have to move along, there's nothing to see here.

To be honest, I kinda wished I'd cooked it today as it's also National Lumpy Rug Day which would've suited this rather dishevelled, lumpy bad boy so it would've been in great company.

I was really looking forward to this but I've got to say there were slight issues which I'll drone on about as we go on.

Vital stats : 56 degrees for 4 hours

Regal isn't it?

Any rib of beef is going to be a bit of a size so I used a 300mm wide bag and a gastronorm to make sure everything had enough room. If you're going down the gastronorm route, have a look at sousvidetools.com as they have a (limited) selection of them with custom cut lids. I've got one of their plastic containers with a matching lid and it's perfect. If you're reading this Sous Vide Tools, I'd like a free chamber sealer for that free advertising. Please deliver it on the private jet that's taking me to Hong Kong.

Four hours later and it's like someone's filled some bagpipes with Marmite and cranked out a tune.





What I regularly comment on is how unappetising food looks straight out of a water bath. Today ups that game with this dinosaur's head. If I'd known it looked like this at the time, I would've made it talk. It even seems to have an eye. Haunting. On the plus side, all was good after the frying pan and I stood toe to toe and I came out of it looking like a leprosy victim.

Et voila. I'm so tempted to try deep frying after sous videing (if that's a word), but I'm pretty sure it'll lead to absolute annihilation. I might try it soon and post pictures of the firemen. Watch this burnt-to-the-ground, empty-void-of-a-space.

I've taken it off the bone to make it easier to carve.

And so to the verdict.

It was a little bit pantsy. I always think of rib as being the mothership of all beef joints but the issue is that cap bit that sits on top of the joint. That cap needs about 20 hours longer than the eye so if I was going to cook another one, I'd cook them separately. 56 for the ribeye part is great - it might be even better at 55 - but the top bit needs its own bit of love and fuss and I'm not sure that part's worth it. Essentially, it's the Kim Kardashian of the roasting world ; it needs more attention than it deserves.

To sum up then, here's my recommended options.

• Cook a joint of sirloin instead
• Cook a joint of boneless ribeye or
• Separate the two parts and cook them appropriately