How Can I Adjust The Cooking Time For Roast Rib Of Beef?

Our answer

Nigella's Roast Rib Of Beef With Port And Stilton Gravy is a celebratory joint of beef that will feed up to 14 people. Nigella suggests taking the rib of beef out of the fridge an hour or so before cooking (and up to 2 hours in advance of cooking), to let the joint lose its fridge chill. Letting the meat come to room temperature will usually mean that it cooks more evenly, particularly as the method used for cooking the meat is hot and quick.

We are not sure whether the beef came straight from the fridge, but we would mention that for a rib of beef from the fridge, the extra 20 minutes cooking time is added to the overall cooking time and is not an extra 20 minutes per kilogram of meat. Medium rare can also be slightly subjective, with some people preferring the meat to be towards rare and some towards medium. It may be helpful to use a meat thermometer to keep an eye on the internal temperature of the beef and take it out of the oven at the appropriate time. If using internal temperature as a guide, also be aware that the rib of beef needs to rest and a large joint will see the internal temperature rise another 5-10°C (10-20°F) as it stands. Insert the temperature probe to the centre of the meat (make sure it is not close to the bone, as this can affect the reading) and cook until the temperature is 49-52°C/120-125°F, using the lower end of the range if you prefer meat on the rarer side. After resting the beef should be around 54-59°C/130-138°F, which is usually considered to be medium rare.