• prime rib, olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic, oregano

1. Begin by selecting an 8 lbs prime rib from your local butcher. Have the meat cutter remove the bones and include them as he ties the roast together. Our family joke is that once the roast is done you have a boneless beef to serve your guests, and the cook can eat the bones.
2. Cover the roast and leave it out on the counter to warm up.
3. Preheat oven to 500 degrees.
4. Liberally rub with olive oil and season with salt, pepper, garlic, and oregano to taste.
5. Cover with tin foil and place in 500 degree for 20 minutes. This high temperature will seal the outside of the roast and lock in moisture and flavor.
6. After 20 minutes reduce heat to 250 degrees cook until thermometer reads internal temperature for "rare." It is important to use a thermometer to ensure that the roast has reached a safe and appropriate temperature.
7. Remove from oven and the roast will continue to cook for an additional 20 minutes until reaches "medium rare."
8. Cut the ties and slice the roast. It is best served immediately with garlic mashed potatoes, horseradish, dinner rolls, and fresh vegetables.

There are many reasons to love my small Montana hometown. The beautiful mountain views, a calm pace of life, friendly neighbors, and a strong sense of community are perhaps the first that come to mind. For many this list may also include the ability to walk up to the meat counter in the local grocery store and be greeted by a familiar face with a genuine smile and sparkling eyes. For many, this is just "Bill the Butcher"; they may not realize he has been cutting meat in my hometown for nearly thirty years. His local game processing facility has become part of nearly every child's first successful hunting story; he has purchased dozens of young 4-H-ers' livestock at the county fair; he has helped to put the entire town's Christmas roasts in the oven; and he knows just how every little old lady likes her dog bones prepared. However, it is fair to say that Bill Kennedy holds a special and unique place in my life; after all he is my step-dad. Over the years he has taught me how to hunt, how to raise animals, grow a garden, and prepare a delicious dinner. His foodways have become mine.

Growing up in Grants Pass, Oregon many of Bill's fondest memories include hunting trips with his father, uncle, and grandpa. "It was a big deal to shoot a deer back then, because we ate it," Bill reminisced. The men would butcher the animal and his mom would prepare it for dinner. It was this deep connection with hunting that led him at the age of nineteen into his lifelong career as a professional meat cutter.

He has had a front row seat witnessing evolution and change within the meat industry. Bill chuckled as he explained that three decades ago his meat would come to the store as "hanging meat." He and his employees would have to use their skill in selecting cuts and selling an entire beef, hog, or chicken carcass. Today, his meat arrives in cardboard boxes: boneless, skinless, and ready to be put on the shelf. Now, there is a higher demand for organic, local, and naturally grown meat products. He also explained that although large corporations are able to process thousands of animals each day, they have dramatically improved their humane butchering practices.

Bill shares his passion for food in every aspect of his life. At home his custom meat processing business has allowed him to produce the cattle and hogs raised on our ranch in a sustainable way. A glance in any freezer or cupboard in our ranch house will show you that nearly 80 percent of the food our family eats has been raised in the family garden, on one of our pastures, or harvested by one of our many sharp shooters.

Although Bill the Butcher has brought many important virtues to our family table, I believe it is his passion for and emphasis on self-reliance of good food that have been most influential in shaping my family's foodways.