How To Cook A Perfect Prime Rib For National Prime Rib Day - The Nibble Webzine Of Food Adventures How To Cook A Perfect Prime Rib For National Prime Rib Day
 
 
 
 
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How To Cook A Perfect Prime Rib For National Prime Rib Day

December 4, 2012 at 7:42 am · Filed under Meat & Poultry, Recipes, Tip Of The Day

Many families enjoy prime rib for the holidays. At our mother’s house, a bone-in prime rib (a.k.a. standing rib roast) was always on the holiday table.

Jan Birnbaum, Executive Chef at Epic Steak, a steakhouse on the San Francisco waterfront (great view of the Bay Bridge!), shares this advice so that you, too can cook the perfect prime rib.

April 27th is National Prime Rib Day.

Below:

> How to cook a prime rib.

> What makes a rib “prime?”

> What is the “rib “primal?”

> The 8 USDA grades of beef.

Elsewhere on The Nibble:

> Do you know your cuts of beef? See them all in our Beef Glossary.

> The year’s 25+ beef holidays.
 
 
HOW TO COOK THE PERFECT PRIME RIB: START WITH THE BUTCHER

Frenched

Ask for an 8-bone (approximately 14-18 pounds), bone-in beef rib export*, bones frenched 2 inches. This will serve about 15-20 people. (If you’re having fewer guests, discuss your needs with the butcher—or prepare for delicious roast beef sandwiches from the leftovers.)

Fat Cap

Ask the butcher to cut the fat cap so that it has a half-fat layer that has been cut and lifted, and only the bottom is attached to the rib. This attached fat cap will provide a perfect pocket in which to pack the aromatics.
 
 
INGREDIENTS

Aromatics

Prepare the aromatics: In a mixing bowl, toss the following ingredients until combined:

  • 2 white onions (skinned and cut julienne style)
  • 6 bay leaves (crushed and broken into half-inch pieces)
  • 4 ounces course sea salt
  • 3 ounces coarsely ground black pepper

    •  
     
    PREPARATION

  • SEASON. Lift the fat cap that has been cut from the export with the bottom attached and lay the onion mixture against the flesh. With butchers twine, tie the cap back on, going around the circumference of the rib, in between the bones, or in 4 to 5 places.
  • ROOM TEMPERATURE. Never cook cold meat. Allow the meat to temper on the counter for at least one hour.
  • PREHEAT. Preheat the oven to 500°F. (Put convection ovens on high fan.)
  • ROASTING PAN. Lay the rib on a rack with the bones facing up.
  • SEASONING. Season the outside of the meat bone side with salt and pepper. At THE NIBBLE, we also like a sprinkling of rosemary.

    •  
     
    COOKING THE PRIME RIB

    1. PLACE the meat into the oven with the bones facing front and the meaty part of the rib facing the back of the oven. Cook for 35 minutes.

    2. LOWER HEAT. Turn the oven down to 350°F and cook for 40 more minutes.

    3. TEMPERATURE. Make the temperature of the meat. For accuracy, use a quick read thermometer or digital thermometer and stick the thermometer into the thickest part of the rib.

    4. REMOVE PAN. When the thermometer reads 80°F, remove the rib from the oven and allow it to sit out on the counter and rest for at least 35 minutes.

    5. SLICE. Move the meat to a cutting board and cut the rack of bones as close to the meat as possible to remove them from the rib.

    6. SEPARATE. Separate the rack into 8 individual rib bones, leaving the meat on the end of the bone. Discard the aromatics and cut the fat cap off.

    7. Place the rib onto a roasting pan with a rack with the side of the ribs that had the bones.

    8. VEGGIES. Add washed vegetables to the pan: blanched creamer potatoes, carrots, baby turnips, or another favorite.

    9. OVEN. Return the rib to the 350°F oven and cook until a thermometer reads 115°-125° degrees for medium-rare, 130°-135° degrees for medium, and 145° for medium-well.
     
     
    SERVING THE PRIME RIB

    1. REST. Allow the cooked meat to rest for about 20 minutes.

    2. SLICE. lice the rib into slices of desired thickness. Chef Jan recommends cuts of 1-1.5 inches thick (this will yield a 14-ounce slice and will provide 12-14 cuts.)

    3. SERVE. Plate with some of the vegetables. You can deglaze the pan juices for gravy (“au jus”).

    		 

    Prime Rib Roast
    [1] Prime rib, a.k.a. standing rib roast (photo © Allen Brothers).

    Prime Rib Roast Raw
    [2] Ready to go into the oven (photo © Meat N’ Bone).

    Prime Rib Au Jus
    [3] Pouring on the jus (photo © The Mercury Atlanta [permanently closed]).

    Roast Beer Dinner Sliced
    [4] With a baked potato (photo © David Burke Prime).

    Roast Beef & Yorkshire Pudding
    [5] In the U.K., it’s served with Yorkshire Pudding (photo © Gordon Ramsay Group).
     
    Beef Cuts Chart
    [6] The rib portion is in bright orange (photo courtesy Hirsch’s Meats | Abacus).
     
     
    WHAT IS PRIME RIB?

    The “prime” in “prime rib” prime is mostly a traditional/marketing term meaning “the best.” It’s not a precise anatomical label—and it often refers to one (or both) of these:

    1. It comes from the rib primal (the “prime” part—more about that below.)

    Prime rib is a roast cut from the rib section of the beef carcass (roughly 6–12 ribs). It’s naturally tender because, like the tenderloin, the muscles in that area do less work than, say, the shoulder or round.

    Prime rib is also sold as:

  • Ribeye roast (boneless prime rib)
  • Rib roast
  • Standing rib roast

    •  
    2. It may be USDA Prime grade—but it doesn’t have to be.

    A common misconception is that “prime rib” automatically means USDA Prime, the top quality grade of beef (compared to USDA Choice or USDA Select).

    The grade is based largely on marbling (intramuscular fat) and maturity.

    However, in the store, a “prime rib” roast can be Prime, Choice, Select, or ungraded—yet still be called “prime rib” because it’s from the rib section and is a classic “best roast” cut.

    In reality, only about 5% of beef is graded “prime,” and the limited supply is sold at only the finest butcher shops and restaurants. It will be labeled “USDA Prime Rib Roast,” not just “Prime Rib.”
     
    Uncooked Boneless Wagyu Prime Rib of Beef
    [7] What a beauty: a boneless wagyu prime rib from Snake River Farms (photo © Williams-Sonoma).
     
     
    WHAT DO “PRIMAL MEAN” & “RIB PRIMAL” MEAN?

    In butchery, a “primal” is one of the large sections of the animal that is separated during the first stage of butchering. Think of it as the “master cut.”

  • A whole beef carcass is first split into four quarters; those quarters are then broken down into roughly 8-9 primal cuts
  • These primals are too large to cook whole, so they are further broken down into sub-primals (like a ribeye roll—more about that below), and finally into retail cuts (like a ribeye steak).

    •  
    The orange section of the chart labeled “Rib” represents one of the major primal cuts of beef.

    The reason the Rib is considered one of the most valuable primals is that it sits in the middle of the back where the muscles don’t get much exercise as the animal moves.

    This makes it extremely tender compared to the Chuck or Round primals.

    There is a distinction between the “Primal” and the “Sub-Primals” found within te area:

  • The Primal: The “6-12 Rib Primal” is the entire section shown in that orange box. In professional butchery, it is the bulk piece of meat and bone that comes off the hanging side of beef.
  • The Sub-Primals: Once a butcher starts working on that orange section, he/she breaks it into sub-primals. The most famous ones from that specific box are the Ribeye Roll (the centered muscle) and the Short Ribs (which are cut from the lower portion of that same rib section).

    •  
     
    Breaking Down The Rib Primal

    The Ribeye Roll is the “heart” of the rib primal, containing the most prized muscles in the cow. It is typically broken down into:

  • Ribeye Steaks (Bone-In or Boneless): The most common retail cut. A bone-in Ribeye with a long bone is called a Tomahawk, while a shorter bone is a Cowboy Steak.
  • Prime Rib Roast (Standing Rib Roast): The ribeye roll left whole (usually with 2 to 7 ribs) to be roasted slow and low.
  • Ribeye Cap (Spinalis Dorsi): Often called the “butcher’s butter,” high-end shops will sometimes peel this outer muscle off the roll and sell it separately as a Cap Steak or rolled into a Ribeye Cap Roast.
  • The Eye of Ribeye (Longissimus Dorsi): If the cap and the complexus muscle are removed, the center lean muscle is sold as the Eye Steak (very uniform and lean).

    •  
    Prime Rib Dinner
    [8] Who’s ready to feast? (photo © Good Eggs).
     
     
    The 9 Standard Primals Of Beef

    The labels on the chart generally correspond to the 9 standard beef primals:

  • Chuck (shoulder)
  • Rib (orange section)
  • Loin (often split into “short loin” and “sirloin”)
  • Round (back leg/rump)
  • Flank (lower belly)
  • Short Plate (mid-belly, labeled as “Plate” on the chart)
  • Brisket (chest)
  • Shank (fore and hind legs)

    •  
    While Prime and Choice are what you see most often at high-end steakhouses and grocery stores, there are actually eight total grades of beef. They are generally split into two categories: high-quality table meat and utility/processing meat.
     
     
    THE 8 USDA GRADES OF BEEF

    These are the grades you will encounter at a butcher shop or supermarket:

  • USDA Prime: The top grade with maximum intramuscular fat, which translates directly to flavor, juiciness, and tenderness and a rich, beefy flavor.
  • USDA Choice: The second-best grade, the everyday high-quality steak, still very good but not as luxurious as Prime.
  • USDA Select: This is the grade directly below Choice. It is very lean and lacks the marbling of the higher grades. It is often less tender and juicy, so it benefits from marinating or braising rather than dry-heat grilling.
  • USDA Standard: This is frequently sold as “store brand” or ungraded beef. It has very little marbling and is often used for budget-friendly cuts or in applications where the meat will be heavily processed.

    •  
    Other grades that aren’t typically sold to consumers:

  • USDA Commercial: This grade usually comes from older cattle. While it might have some marbling, the age of the animal makes the meat tougher, so it is rarely sold as individual steaks in retail.
  • Utility Grades: These grades—USDA Utility, USDA Cutter, and USDA Canner—are typically sold to food processors or commercial kitchens to be used in ground beef, canned stews, frozen dinners, or pet food.

    •  
    Stuffed Standing Rib Roast
    [9] If you’ve never had a stuffed prime rib, here’s the recipe for this one, stuffed with spinach, sausage, and mushrooms (photo © Francesco Tonelli | New York Times).
     
    ________________

    *The export is butcher lingo for a bone-in prime rib with the cap removed (exported) that is used for a standing rib roast.
     

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