This roast looks intimidating but it’s actually pretty easy to make for a crowd

Shawn Knowles, owner of Old Town Market in Lewisville, Texas, says the crown rib roast is one of his favorite cuts of meat.

“The crown rib roast is an elegant dish to serve at large parties, but can be really intimidating for home cooks,” says the Dallas finalist from Beef Loving Texans’ Best Butcher in Texas competition. “However, it is probably one of the easiest cuts to cook. You just have to trust your thermometer.”

The crown rib roast uses the rib-eye cut, which has the best integrity, flavor and consistency, he says. Ask your butcher to prepare the roast by trimming the chine bones until they are flat, and peeling the eye off the rib, then tying it back on with butcher twine to create even slices all the way around the roast.

Unsure how large of a roast you need? Knowles says to plan on 1 pound per person of bone-in rib roast. Grab your thermometer and follow this simple recipe and temperature guide.

Crown Rib Roast

1 bone-in rib roast (approximately 1 pound per person)

Old Town Market Famous Rub, or your own favorite rub

Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.

Season the roast with the rub. Place it in a pan, bones down. This will lift the meat off the pan and get even heat around the roast.

Do not cover the roast. Cook it open to get a crusted, seasoned surface.

In a conventional oven at 325 degrees Fahrenheit:

Rare: 20 minutes/pound

Medium rare: 22-23 minutes/pound

Medium: 24-26 minutes/pound

Medium well: 27-29 minutes/pound

Well: 33 minutes/pound

In a convection oven, which cooks more evenly, shorten the time:

Rare: 18 minutes/pound

Medium rare: 20-21 minutes/pound

Medium: 22-23 minutes/pound

Medium well: 26-27 minutes/pound

Well: 30 minutes/pound

Trust your thermometer! To determine doneness, use the following temperature guide to take the roast out of the oven at just the right time (the roast will still cook a bit when it’s resting).

Rare: Cook to 130-135. Take it out when thermometer reads 125-128 and let it rest for 15-20 minutes.

Medium rare: Cook to 135-140. Take it out of the oven when it reads 130-135 and let it rest for 15-20 minutes.

Medium: Cook to 140-145. Take it out of the oven when it reads 135-140 and let it rest for 15-20 minutes.

Well done: Cook to 160-165. Take it out of the oven when it reads 155-160 and let it rest for 15-20 minutes.

SOURCE: Shawn Knowles and Beef Loving Texans