| 1 | Remove fat cap off top of meat (butcher can do this for you) and save. |
| 2 | Place the roast, standing on the rib bones, in a very large roasting pan. |
| 3 | Then with a knife make several dozen punctures through the silver skin so seasoning can permeate meat. |
| 4 | Pour a very generous, even layer of black pepper over the top of the meat (the pepper should completely cover it); repeat with the garlic powder, then the salt, totally covering the preceding layer. |
| 5 | Carefully arrange the onions in an even layer on top so as not to knock off the seasoning. |
| 6 | Place the fat cap back on top. |
| 7 | Refrigerate 24 hours. |
| 8 | Bake ribs in a 550f oven until the fat is dark brown and crispy on top, about 35 minutes. |
| 9 | Remove from oven and cool slightly. |
| 10 | Refrigerate until well chilled, about 3 hours. |
| 11 | (this is done so the juices will solidify and the steaks can be cooked rare). |
| 12 | Remove fat cap and disgard. |
| 13 | With the blade of a large knife, scrape off the onions and as much of the seasonings as possible and discard. |
| 14 | Then with a long knife, slice between ribs into 6 steaks (4 will have bones); trim the cooked surface of meat from the 2 pieces that were on the outside of the roast. |
| 15 | Season and cook in your favorite way for steaks. |
| 16 | To blacken the steaks: combine the ingredients of the seasoning mix thoroughly in a small bowl; you will have about 8 tablespoons. |
| 17 | Sprinkle the steaks generously and evenly on both sides with the mix. |
| 18 | Using about 4 teaspoons on each steak and pressing it in with your hands. |
| 19 | Heat a cast iron skillet over very high heat until it is beyond the smoking stage and you see white ash on the skillet bottom--at least 10 minutes. |
| 20 | (the skillet cannot be too hot for this method). |
| 21 | Place one steak in the hot skillet (cook only one side at a time) and cook over a very high heat until the underside starts to develop a heavy, black crust, about 2 to 3 minutes. |
| 22 | Turn the steak over and cook until the underside is crusted like the first, about 2 to 3 minutes more. |
| 23 | Repeat with the remaining steaks. |
| 24 | Serve each steak while piping hot. |
| 25 | (*note*: if you don"t have a commercial hood vent over your stove, this dish may smoke you out of the kitchen. |
| 26 | It"s worth it! but you can also cook it outdoors on a gas grill; a charcoal fire doesn"t get hot enough to "blacken" the steak properly. |
| 27 | If you have a smoke detector in your house, you will be able to determine if it is working correctly. |
| 28 | This is not a dish to prepare in an apartment building with a central fire alarm system wired into your smoke detector. |
| 29 | It causes great excitement! also, you can be guaranteed you will meet your landlord). |
| 30 | From paul prudhomme"s louisiana kitche |
