I did a standing rib roast for Christmas dinner, so this interested me when
it caught my eye. He uses a propane torch to caramelize the surface of the
roast before it goes in the oven.

http://www.thedeliciouslife.com/blow...thomas-keller/

After looking it over, and as much as I respect Thomas Keller and would like
to give The French Laundry a try, I think using a torch on your roast is a
ridiculous idea. It seems like a lot of chefs will overcomplicate things for
no good reason. I also took a look at Alton Brown's method and thought using
an inverted flower pot was just as ridiculous.

The roast I did at Xmas was the best I'd ever made, using nothing more
complicated than a probe thermometer.

I ended up using the Alton Brown method (sans flower pot) to great effect.
After seasoning the roast I simply put it in the oven above a pizza stone
and cooked it at 200° until the internal temp was 120°, then removed it and
rested it until the carryover stabilized, which surprised me that it took 45
minutes and only came up to 130°. I then put it back in at 500° for another
10-12 minutes. It came out with a perfect caramelized crust and a final
temperature of 134° with a perfect medium-rare center.

The only difference I could see vs. the Keller roast is mine had a 1/4" band
of darker meat under the crust to the depth the final heat had penetrated.
Super easy, delicious and no tools required.

Hasta,
Curt Nelson