1.
Pick a roast that has a nice thick fat cap on the top (opposite from the bones). Wash and pat dry the roast, place in roasting pan with the rib bones on the bottom.
2.
Combine the garlic, thyme, pepper, salt and olive oil. Spread the mixture evenly over the fatty top of the roast. Spread 1 T of the softened butter on each of the cut ends of the roast.
3.
Insert a leave-in meat thermometer into the very center of the meat so the tip is equally spaced between the two cut sides and top and bottom of the roast.
4.
Let the roast sit out until it reaches room temperature (at most 1 hr). Preheat the oven to 500 degrees.
5.
Place the roast in the oven for 20 minutes to sear the outside. If it smokes too much, turn it down to 475 or 450.
6.
Reduce the temperature to 325 degrees for the rest of the cooking time. Every 30 minutes, baste the roast with the drippings in the bottom.
7.
Watch the temperature of the roast - you want to remove it when it is between 135 and 140 degrees. If it is a smaller roast, leave it in the oven until 140, for larger roasts, you can probably pull it out at 135.
8.
When you remove the roast, baste it one more time, then immediately cover loosely with foil for 10 to 15 minutes. It should reach at least 145 degrees before serving. If, after 5 or 7 minutes it is no longer increasing in temperature, put it back in the oven for 10 minutes, then pull it out again.
9.
After it has rested and reached 145 degrees, cut it into nice thick slices and serve immediately.
Serving suggestion
Serve it with hot horseradish, crusty bread, a side of garlic mashed potatoes and broiled or grilled asparagus. The drippings are mostly oil and butter, so it doesn't make a very good Au Jus, but all of the moisture is locked in the roast and there will be plenty of mositure released as the meat is eaten.