This recipe is a prime example of low-temperature roasting, and you will have to start cooking at least 5 hours before you want to eat. It's a great showcase for dry-aged meat, if you can get hold of some, but it'll suit any good-quality rib of beef. I cook the meat to 55C, which will make it medium-rare, but if you prefer it rarer or more done, refer to the photograph below for the appropriate temperature. The bone marrow gives the sauce a rich, unctuous character, but if you can't obtain bone marrow, you can make the sauce without it.

Serves 6

For the beef:

Groundnut oil

1 Well-aged three-bone rib of beef (on the bone)

Salt

For the bone-marrow sauce:

2kg beef stock

100g unsalted butter

250g peeled and finely sliced shallot (approx. 5 banana shallots)

150g white wine

100g Dijon mustard

10g sherry vinegar

15g lemon juice

100g bone marrow, rinsed and diced (ask the butcher)

20g flat-leaf parsley leaves

20g chives

10g tarragon leaves

Salt and black pepper

Pre-heat the oven to 60C.

Place a large frying pan over a high heat until it is smoking hot. Coat the bottom of the pan with a thin layer of oil and when it begins to smoke, season the beef with salt and brown on all sides.

Bottom to top: pieces of a sirloin steak cooked to 45C (bleu), 50C (rare), 55C (medium rare), 60C (medium) and 70C (well done). Photograph: Angela Moore/Bloomsbury

Put the browned meat in a roasting pan and place in the oven until the internal temperature of the meat reaches 55C (this should take 4–6 hours). When the core temperature reaches 55C, remove the beef from the oven and leave to rest at room temperature for 1 hour.

To start the bone-marrow sauce, pour the beef stock into a large saucepan and place over a high heat. Bring to the boil and allow the liquid to reduce by three-quarters until 500g remains (approximately 25 minutes).

In the meantime, melt the butter in a medium saucepan and cook the shallots for approximately 7–10 minutes until they are light brown in colour. Add the wine and allow to reduce by three-quarters.

Remove the shallot pan from the heat and add the Dijon mustard. Stir thoroughly before adding the reduced beef stock.

Add the sherry vinegar and lemon juice and whisk until all the ingredients are fully incorporated.

Gently heat the sauce and when hot, add the diced bone marrow and remove the pan from the heat. The bone marrow should soften but not melt. Finely chop the herbs and stir them into the sauce. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper and pour into a warm jug.

When the beef has rested, cut the meat from the rib bones in a single piece by running a very sharp knife along the bones. Then run the knife along the chine (the other bone) so that all the bones have been removed. Carve the meat against the grain in 1cm slices. Serve with the sauce and roast potatoes.

• This recipe is taken from Heston Blumenthal at Home by Heston Blumenthal (Bloomsbury, £30, with photography by Angela Moore and Art Direction from Graphic Thought Facility). Order a copy for £20 from the Guardian bookshop