Foolproof Standing Rib Roast

(print this recipe)
The original recipe came from Paula Deen, although my husband says his grandfather used to cook rib roast the same way when he visited him in Savannah, Georgia as a teenager (must be a Southern thing). To save you some time (I spent way too much time trying to find the answer to this question on the internet) it doesn't matter what size rib roast you have; since the thickness of a rib roast is pretty much the same no matter how many pounds it is, the cooking directions are the same. Paula's directions are for a 5 lb. roast, ours was 9 pounds and it came out perfectly done and so tender; the ends were done to medium, the middle was medium rare. We did some tweaking, of course, and here is what we came up with.

Ingredients: (this is what we used for 9 pounds; adjust according to the size of your roast)
1 standing rib roast
3 Tablespoons kosher salt
1 Tablespoon cracked pepper
2 Tablespoons minced garlic

The day before roasting, mix the salt, pepper and garlic together and rub all over the roast, including the ends. Wrap well in plastic wrap and refrigerate. The next day, allow the roast to stand at room temperature for at least 1 hour (this is the part we forgot about so we left it in for an additional 10 minutes before we turned the oven off).
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F
Place the roast on a rack in a roasting pan with the rib side down and the fatty side up. Roast for 1 hour. Turn off the oven. Leave roast in the oven but do not open the oven door for 3 hours. About 30 - 40 minutes before serving time, turn oven to 375 degrees and reheat the roast. Important: do not remove the roast or open the oven door from the time roast is put in until ready to serve.

This recipe was so easy because you just put it in the oven and forget about it! And I kid you not, it rivaled any prime rib I've ever had in a restaurant.