It's all in the game: Hestons (and mine ) real slow fore (three) rib beef

There was a thread on the wild food website about roasting a rib of beef joint, I thought I would present my effort as per Hestons 20 hour beef done for our cookery club diner..

I think that this was one of my successes that I am most proud of, not that it took a lot of prep or that it was especially demanding or difficult but because it turned out just as Heston said it would.

First make sure you have the best piece of beef that money can buy (you cannot turn a piece of an old milk cow into a good roasting joint and if that is all you can afford then try making a good stew.

I bought mine from a farmer that only raises beef cattle and I can watch them growing from start to finish, they feed naturally on grass and only in the deepest winter will they have hay as a suppliment.

The whole point in low temperature roasting is that if you keep the oven temperature at 60 degrees then it is impossible to dry your beef out and it will be juicy and tender.

I gave my forerib joint a good going over with a blow torch, this gets rid of any nasties still attached to the outside and also gives it a nice browned crust

When it has been scourched all over (I have a good blow torch that does 1700 degrees so much more than any oven is going to get to.

Next push in the oven thermometer, I have an electronic one, but as I was at Lindas, we used her good old analog thermometal one. (it also proved that Lindas oven thermostat was perfect). I rested it on some spuds cut through the middle, this allows the heat to circulate all around the beast, rubbed it over with a bit of neutral tasting oil and gave it a good salting and peppering.

Now into the oven for 20 hours or a bit more, it doesn't matter as the inner and outer temperature cannot rise above the oven temperature of 60 degrees.

After the 20 or so hours removed, you can carve it straight away as the heat has not been high enough to drive the juices into the centre, they are evenly spread through out the joint.

Notice the cut from piece I cut to do a tasting, it is perfectly (for me and my guests) rare. If anyone needs it a bit more "done, then you can do it at 70 degrees