In Search Of... Prime Rib

[Ron_L]

No, I'm not talking about the show on Food Network...

My wife and daughter requested Prime Rib for dinner tomorrow (good choice...) so I went to the store to pick up some groceries and a rib roast. The other day I had driven by a meat market that I hadn't visited, so I decided to try them out. It took me about 15 minutes to get there. The place looked nice inside, and they had a large display case of good looking meats, but no rib roasts. The cute young lady behind the counter (he he he) asked if she could help me, so I asked if they had any rib roasts. She pointed to a small (2 lb max) piece of meat in the corner of the case. It was a boneless rib roast. So, I asked if they had any with the bone still on. She went in back, and came back in a few seconds and told me that they don't carry rib roasts with the bone in. They were special order... :?:

Has anyone ever heard of bone-in rib roast being special order?

I ended up at Sams and bought one of the monsters they carry there and cut it into three pieces... Two are in the freezer for another day...

 

[BBQchef33]

Nope.. rib roasts are pretty common around here. Never heard of special order unless you are looking for Prime Grade. Costo and Sams a usually restaurant grade stuff. I always get mine there cause the prices are better than the butchers and the quality is just as good if not better.

 

[BigBelly]

Has anyone ever heard of bone-in rib roast being special order?

I ended up at Sam's and bought one of the monsters they carry there and cut it into three pieces... Two are in the freezer for another day...

Newp, not me either. Probably what happened was that you suffered from a mild case of the butcher wanting to make some coin off each of his customers. I'd bet they get their prime ribs and break them down into smaller 2lb. hunk O meat in order to make the price more reasonable to the typical shopper. He surly has no intentions of making a sale which may land him your patronage from there on out.

For that reason alone that is why I just go to Sam's and get my goodies.

 

[Ron_L]

I think you hit it on the head... Too bad... I was hoping that I had found a decent place to buy meat. Our local Sam's is sporadic at best. Its hit or miss on what they will have from week to week...

 

[chad]

You need to find a volumn Sam's or Costco! Occassionally mine will be out of something (brisket flats or spare ribs or something) but I can count on it being there the next time.

Also, I've been able to get the missing items at my local GFS (used to be Smart & Final) - they don't carry as much or each item as Sam's but they do carry a good variety AND I can special order eithe single items or case lots. GFS is kind of like a convenience store for restaurants.

And yeah, your "local" butcher is taking everyone for a ride. He/she get there primal cuts in just like everyone else and then cut them into retail - otherwise they are just idiots and you're paying the price for them NOT being a real butcher shop.

 

[Ron_L]

We just finished our Prime Rib dinner...

Oh...

My...

Gawd!

It was wonderful! I really enjoy Prime Rib, and I've cooked some good one on the gasser and in the kettle, but this one was by far the best! I've also tried Prime Rib in a lot of restaurants, and this one was much better than every restaurant except our favorite place for Prime Rib, Skip's Other Place in New Buffalo, Michigan.

Anyway, on to the PR... The chunk I used as just under 6 pounds. I seasoned it yesterday with salt, pepper, garlic powder and dried rosemary leaves and let it sit in the fridge overnight. I pulled it from the fridge at 11:00AM and preheated the Cookshack. I put the PR in at noon along with a small chunk of white oak, three large garlic cloves and four sprigs of fresh rosemary in the firebox. I cooked it at 250 until the internal temp was 130 (about three hours) and then I turned the CS down to 140 degrees and held it there until 6:30pm (3 1/2 ours).

The PR was just beautiful on the outside, with a gorgeous brown color. Inside, it was medium rare all the way through. I sliced off the bones, and then sliced it for us to eat. I am soooo full! We have half of the roast left for later in the week!

Here's some pics...

 

[Bill-Chicago]

mouth watering mod

 

[Samichlaus]

hard weenie mod

 

[BBQchef33]

getting up to get a snack mod.

 

[chad]

Beautiful work!

 

[BigBelly]

Wow, and there it is! That is one healthy looking plate! YUMMY.

 

[jt]

Awesome, Ron.

We've got a little grocery store here that's kind of a hole. Big liquor department . But they have a good meat counter - sales every week and when you get spare ribs from them they're already trimmed and the membrane removed. Picked up a 4# boneless from them when it was on sale - Kick got one as well. Look for some small stores and see what they've got. This one does some smoking on the side so they never sell BBRs at the counter - gotta buy those by the plate!

 

[tommykendall]

I gotta stop looking at the Q-Talk forum in the morning. I am so farking hungry right now. Great work Ron.

 

[JacksonsDad]

Wow! Looks like I got something else to add to my "Must Try" List

 

[Wayne]

Prime rib is great. And if you are a newby it is nearly impossible to fark up. Everybody should start their BBQ career with prime rib and then work their way up to the hard stuff like brisket. Most prime ribs with the bone must be special ordered. Every now and then I will see them at Sam's. I can usually get a boned rib roast and to tell you the truth they are just as good, but sometimes I really like the bone in the roast. Even restaurants usually special order their prime ribs and a lot of them fix the things without the bone. Especially if they serve several sizes. Also don't forget that the cut that is just forward on the cow from the prime rib is the chuck roast. Plop two or three on the old pit and slow cook them for about 4 hours and you have a great meal. I call them super steaks and I rarely have any left overs. Sunday evening with the family is a great day for chuck roasts. You can also cook then on a Weber kettle if you hold the temp down and keep the lid on.

 

[Ron_L]

Prime rib is great. And if you are a newby it is nearly impossible to fark up.

And I'm living proof of that!

I'll have to try a chuck roast one day...

How do they know the cow's name, anyway? :roll:

 

[tommykendall]

How do they know the cow's name, anyway?

Same way we know the neighbor's dog name is Chunks. Again - great job. I haven't cooked a prime rib in at least 10 years.