What to do with a subpar whole ribeye?

jbwrangler · Jul 29, 2011

I bought a whole ribeye today that was on sale. Cut a couple of steaks and grilled them. The steaks were tough as shoe leather and taste about the same. Is here anything I can do with this thing? Smoke it? Give it to the dog?

Callahan-que · Jul 29, 2011

I've never had a tough ribeye. Curious as to how you cooked it?

Hoss · Jul 29, 2011

Grind it. Great burgers. :thumb:

Mo-Dave · Jul 29, 2011

A good butcher once told me there is no such thing as bad meat, just bad cooks. Come on a ribeye, can't be all that bad. Think I would give it another go and see if you just weren't paying attention.
Dave

bigabyte · Jul 29, 2011

Take a piece from the center and see if it is the same.

Cook · Jul 29, 2011

You cut it so you know if has any decent marbling. If it's tough and tasteless, I'd guess it doesn't have any marbling.

Along with the other great ideas you'll get on this thread I would suggest slow roasting (smoking) it like a prime rib. Take it to 120, rest on the counter for an hour, slice into steaks, and freeze what you're not going to eat right now.

landarc · Jul 29, 2011

If it really has no marbling, then your best bet is to grind it into burgers. I would have to disagree with Mo-Dave's butcher, there are bad hunks of meat, as there are exceptional ones. If there is marbling, I would slice it real thin and make make sandwiches out of it.

Hoss · Jul 29, 2011

I may have jumped the gun.A picture of the uncooked meat would help.I have bought "on sale" stuff before that was select or lesser,wound up grinding them.They made good burgers.How thick were they,How did you cook them and at what INTERNAL temperature did you remove them from the grill? These answers would help us a lot.You can overcook PRIME beef and it will be tough and flavorless.

JMSetzler · Jul 30, 2011

+1 on the burger meat if it truly is 'bad' meat. Like others here, I have yet to have any 'bad' ribeye. If I end up with ribeye that has less marbling than I would like, I tend to change up the way I cook it... I'll cook it slower over lower heat for a while and then sear it over some really high heat and it turns out pretty well...

Matt_A · Jul 30, 2011

A lot of people only know Prime, Choice & Select for beef grading, nobody ever told them about Standard, Commercial, Utility, Cutter & Canner grades. If there's no grade on the package, you can almost bet it's not graded, or graded no higher than Standard. A Standard ribeye would not be at all fantastic.

NorthwestBBQ · Jul 30, 2011

Use a meat thermo and don't overcook it. :thumb:

135F ok?

Matt_A · Jul 30, 2011

I keep a stash of beef fat trim in my freezer. If I get a piece of meat that is poorly marbled I use some of the trim and lay it on top of the lean cut. I've also rendered the fat and injected.

Phrasty · Jul 30, 2011

IMHO I wouldn't grind it... I say semi freeze it and slice it up thin for some philly cheese steak sammys! I say thats the shot! :thumb:

Cheers

Midnight Smoke · Jul 30, 2011

I have to say with no offense, I expect you may have overcooked the steaks. There are good and bad pieces of meat but a sub-par Ribeye would still be better than a good Sirloin, especially when purchased from the local supermarket chains. JMHO

How did you cook the steaks, what was the color of the cooked meat?

Phrasty · Jul 30, 2011

{Midnight ☼ Smoke};1730508 said:
I have to say with no offense, I expect you may have overcooked the steaks. There are good and bad pieces of meat but a sub-par Ribeye would still be better than a good Sirloin, especially when purchased from the local supermarket chains. JMHO

How did you cook the steaks, what was the color of the cooked meat?

:heh::heh::heh, You obviously have never gotten a SUB-par ribeye!!! I can tell you about these... Unfortunately! :shocked:

The flavor might be there but I've had a couple as tough as show leather for sure! :wink::wink:

So much so I've stopped buying local beef altogether! As sad as that may be...

Cheers

Midnight Smoke · Jul 30, 2011

Phrasty said:
:heh::heh::heh, You obviously have never gotten a SUB-par ribeye!!! I can tell you about these... Unfortunately! :shocked:

The flavor might be there but I've had a couple as tough as show leather for sure! :wink::wink:

So much so I've stopped buying local beef altogether! As sad as that may be...

Cheers

Are you sure it was beef you bought? :twisted::twisted::twisted:

Churrasqueiro Bob · Jul 30, 2011

I've had a few rib eyes over the years that were tough too, and they weren't overcooked. It hasn't happened often, but I've had it happen.

Phrasty · Jul 30, 2011

{Midnight ☼ Smoke};1730512 said:
Are you sure it was beef you bought? :twisted::twisted::twisted:

:heh::heh: Come to think of it.... No, not really! :shock::shocked::tape:

Midnight Smoke · Jul 30, 2011

Phrasty said:
:heh::heh: Come to think of it.... No, not really! :shock::shocked::tape:

Took U long enough to respond...:doh: I have to be honest, I really am talking out my arse here. I have only bought a whole Ribeye a few times and it was rated Prime, so it was a Prime Rib. I cannot afford it. I did pickup one from the local grocery, "Albertson's in the States" at a holiday rate of $3.77 LB, it was not very good, but not tough, just substandard. Guess that is why a whole Prime Rib is normally $10.00 + a LB...

ccourt9283 · Jul 30, 2011

The dog.

What to do with a subpar whole ribeye?

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