Black Pepper Crusted Standing Rib Roast Au Jus

Directions

1. Place roast, fat-side up, in roasting pan. Brush exposed ends of roast with vegetable oil. Sprinkle roast lightly all over with salt.
2. Mix 8 Tbsp. butter, 2 Tbsp. cracked pepper, chopped garlic, and 1/2 tsp. salt in small bowl. Reserve 2 Tbsp. pepper butter for sauce. Spread remaining pepper butter all over top (fat side) of roast. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover roast and reserved pepper butter separately; chill.)
3. Position rack in bottom third of oven and preheat to 350 degrees. Roast rib roast till instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of meat registers 125 degrees for medium-rare, about 2 hrs 45 min. Transfer roast to platter and cover loosely with foil; let rest 30 min (temperature will rise slightly as roast stands).
4. Strain pan juices from roasting pan into measuring c.. Skim off any fat from top of pan juices; throw away fat. Return pan juices to roasting pan; set pan over 2 burners. Add in broth and wine to roasting pan and boil over high heat till liquid is reduced to 1 1/4 c., scraping up any browned bits from bottom of pan, about 6 min. Whisk in reserved pepper butter and remaining 4 Tbsp. plain butter. Season with more salt and pepper, if you like.
5. Surround roast with Roasted Red Onions. Garnish with watercress. Slice roast and serve with sauce.
6. This recipe yields 8 servings.
7. Comments: Boning the roast makes slicing the meat much easier at serving time: Have your butcher remove the backbone, or possibly chine, from the whole rack and cut the meat off the ribs in one piece, then tie the meat back onto the bones. The roast can be served on or possibly off the bones. To crack whole peppercorns, enclose them in a resealable plastic bag and crush slightly with a meat mallet.
8. What to drink: A medium- to full-bodied red with peppery spice, such as Syrah (called Shiraz if it's from Australia).