Prime Rib Roast Experiment: Part 2

Tonight I cooked the second half of my prime rib roast. I decided to follow the recipe almost exactly (as close as I get). If you want to check out the recipe I used, click here to find it at FoodNetwork.com. When I took the meat from the refrigerator, I was a little afraid of what I would find. The reviews that I read had me prepared for mold and nasty smells and all kinds of seemingly inedible scenarios. However, it really wasn't bad. The meat had a few spots of discoloration (normal), which I cut off as instructed. I also cut off most of the fat, as instructed. That surprised me a little because I know that cooking meat with the fat on helps maintain good flavor and the tender, juiciness you want in a piece of meat. I did leave some on and it cooked like normal. The end result...we both thought mine was better! Don't get me wrong, the dry-aged beef was very good. Considering there was no marinade involved, it had great flavor and was very juicy and tender. But the one I did the other day had the subtle flavor from the wine that was delicious. I also liked my dry rub better. The one in the recipe was very good but I found it to be a little over-powering against the natural flavor of the meat. In my opinion, a good cut of meat should be delicious even if all you use is salt and pepper. Some of the best steaks I've ever had were seasoned with salt and pepper alone. I was also surprised at how much quicker the dry-aged beef cooked. That being said, it got up a little past medium before I served it but it was still very juicy for beef cooked medium. All in all, it was a fun experiment. The dry aging is definitely something I'll try again but maybe with a different cut of meat and a more subtle dry rub.