Chef notes

I love making this dish for special guests on special occasions. It's full of drama, taste and makes a big impression. It's paradise for people who love meat and seafood.

Technique tip: Roast until a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the beef registers 130 degrees for medium rare or 150 degrees for medium.

Swap option: You may substitute the crawfish for lump crab meat which can be easier to find than crawfish.

Ingredients

Prime Rib Roast

1/4 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
3 tablespoons kosher salt
2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary

2 tablespoons minced garlic
1 5-pound bone-in-beef rib roast, fat trimmed about 1/8-inch thickness

Crawfish-Onion Gravy

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 red bell pepper, finely chopped
1 tablespoon rubbed fresh sage
1½ tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 cup chopped green onions

1/2 cup heavy cream
1 cup unsalted chicken stock
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 pounds shelled crawfish tail meat, chopped

Preparation

For the prime rib roast:

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Fit a shallow roasting pan with a rack.

In a small bowl, combine the pepper, salt, rosemary and garlic. Rub evenly over the rib roast.

Place the roast, fat side up, on the rack.

Roast until a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the beef registers 130°F for medium rare or 150°F for medium, 1 to 1½ hours.

Let rest, tented with aluminum foil, for 20 minutes before carving.

For the crawfish-onion gravy:

In a large skillet, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Add the onion, bell pepper and sage. Cook, stirring often, until the onion is translucent, about 3 minutes. Add the flour and green onions and cook, stirring continuously, until well blended, about 3-4 minutes.

Stir in the cream, stock, cayenne and a pinch of salt and black pepper. Keep stirring and cook until gravy has thickened, about 5 minutes.

Fold in the crawfish meat and cook until heated through, about 5 minutes. Serve immediately with the sliced rib roast.