Cooking a cow, month by month - Ribs

Cook up a whole rack of ribs a la Francaise

A cow’s middle is the part that does the least physical work. It follows, then, that meat from this area, which divides neatly into ‘rib’ and ‘loin’, is very tender. Rib is where classic roast beef comes from.

A whole rib roast has up to eight ribs but these are more often divided into two-, three- or four-rib roasts. And how does a French rib roast differ from a Chinese one?

Only in appearance: the French habit is to leave the trimmed bones exposed. Remove them and cut the meat up and you’d be left with thick, juicy entrecote (literally ‘between the ribs’) steaks.

Always cook good meat simply. Let the flavour flood out. Smother the joint in olive oil, pepper and salt. Then shove it in the oven. Simple as that. What to serve with it? It has to be dauphinoise potatoes.

There’s a great recipe in The French Kitchen: A Cookbook by JoanneHarris (of Chocolat fame) and Fran Warde, a book which looks unbearably naff but is actually brilliant.

Warning: you need 100g of butter and almost a pint of cream for this version of the bistro staple. Don’t serve it to elderly relatives unless you’re practised at CPR.

HOW TO COOK IT

Smother a three-rib cote de boeuf in olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast for 15 minutes at 220C, then for another hour or so at 180C. If you’re concerned about it not being cooked through, use a meat thermometer.John O'Connell

Buy your meat at Boucherie Michel, First Floor, Jiezuo Building, Xingfucun Zhong Lu, Chaoyang district (6417 0489). Open 9am-8.30pm daily.

Buy your chillis, garlic, cumin, cloves, olive oil and redwine vinegar at Jenny Lou’s, 6 Sanlitun Beixiaojie, Chaoyang district (6461 6928). Open 8am-10pm daily.