Prime Rib thoughts for Christmas Eve dinner

[Dadbo]

Good afternoon all. You have helped me in the past with great success and wish to get your thoughts on options available for this year's Christmas Eve dinner. We do prime rib and sides and will continue to do so this year as is tradition. In the past I have purchased this protein from the local grocery store, but now have the option to get it from Wild Forks Foods or Costco. In the past I have always gotten bone in to as to use the bones/meat for soup days later. Thinking possibly a boneless rib roast this year, but never have done one. It will be choice grade, but wish some input as to which location would better serve me and also pros and cons of boneless. I assume some of us have done that in the past.

The roast will have a dry rub for a few days and then another rub and into the 590 at 225-250 to 125/130 and then seared in the oven under the broiler for a, hopefully, delicious crust. So what do you choose and why? As always, I sincerely appreciate all comments and those of you that just read this.

 

[Smagnus]

Hopefully others who have used WF for prime rib chime in. My local grocery store has great butchers and I’m used to getting bone in for $10lb this time of year. I rather like looking at some different roasts to pick thru or talking with them letting them know how many I’m cooking for vs someone shipping me one. I’ve done bone in and boneless and prefer the bone in. Mainly so I can pick little morsels off the rib bones as I carve up the main portion. I also think you can get a better all over crust going boneless. One last note/question- why use the oven broiler if you’ve got the bullseye? Fire that up to 500/riot mode and sear it therebut your cook, your call. Hoping to see pics.

 

[Roaniecowpony]

Your plan sounds great. I've done bone-in from Costco a few times. I found success in cutting the bones off as a slab, after cooking the roast, then seasoning and wrapping them in foil and finishing the ribs to tender was fantastic for another meal.
The only thing I'd do differently from your plan is do bone-in and go with prime. Oh, and maybe 5-10 degrees less before the sear.

 

[Greg Jones]

I’ve always done bone-in, and Wild Fork has always been good to me with this cut. Once I followed a suggestion that I should remove the bones beforee cooking, then truss them back on. Can’t remember why that was supposed to help other than getting it seasoned where the bones normally would be attached, but either way is spectacular. good luck!

 

[Roaniecowpony]

I’ve always done bone-in, and Wild Fork has always been good to me with this cut. Once I followed a suggestion that I should remove the bones beforee cooking, then truss them back on. Can’t remember why that was supposed to help other than getting it seasoned where the bones normally would be attached, but either way is spectacular. good luck!

Would you do the ribs first like that again? Sounds great. Hopefully, it still gives a juicy roast.

 

[Smagnus]

price correction and time to go shopping. Weekly ad from local publix

 

[SmokeOCD]

The ribs act as a roasting rack. As @Greg Jones says, getting the seasoning in there is a definite plus. I’ve never sliced it on purpose before cooking but I think I prefer it partially sliced off for the seasoning access.

 

[Pacman]

Like @Greg Jones , I too was always under the impression that for bone in, you separate the bones, add your rub, and then truss them back together. I have blindly followed that approach multiple times and have been happy with the results particularly when I was just using the oven and a compound butter slather.

The oven method I've seen the most is the start crazy hot and then drop the heat or even turn off the oven until done. On the Recteq I've always done the reverse sear method as I wanted some smoke. I think the last one I did I started at 200 - 225 until internal temperature of like 95 - 100 and then cranked up to 375 - 400 to get to an internal temp of 120 and let rest (back then I did not keep my notes).

I've also blindly bought into the bone-in is always better mentality, but my first prime rib on the Recteq was a boneless one was a relatively inexpensive one from Wild Fork and it came out superb with a SPOG rub with some minced fresh rosemary added.

 

[Jim6820]

Good advice above about separating the ribs and then trussing them back to the roast.

There is a reason why they don’t call it “Choice Rib,” so do yourself a favor and get USDA Prime. I tried a USDA Choice a few weeks back and it was a big disappointment; not enough marbling in that particular piece of protein to make it tender.

 

[Waterboy]

Pretty well covered above. Both are good and each has pros and cons. All the sources you mentioned can provide a nice quality roast so you can’t really go wrong. As @Roaniecowpony and @Pacman mentioned you might want to pull the roast earlier than 125/130 as Prime Rib in particular has quite a bit of a carryover temp. One last suggestion is if you go boneless truss the roast into more of a circular shape so you get a more even cook.

 

[Jim6820]

…you might want to pull the roast earlier than 125/130 as Prime Rib in particular has quite a bit of a carryover temp.

Excellent point! The one I did a couple weeks back had a 13F carry-over after a 30-minute rest. So, unless you like you prime rib a true medium, pull at not more than 125F.

 

[Dadbo]

I am so very thankful to everyone for their wisdom based replies. In the past I always did the almost cut off bones and retired method. And did in the past pre pellet grill 500 degrees for 5 mins per pound turnoff grill and don’t open oven door for 2 hours. Always turned out “good” .

will see if prime can fit the budget as I will be doing sea scallops too from WFF. Going to be 13 of us this year so a bit more manageable.

thanks all. And happy Holidays as this whole month is a blessing to our friends and family.

 

[Jim6820]

…will see if prime can fit the budget…

If you do need to go with USDA Choice, look for the most marbling you can find and, don’t be afraid of some fat veins and pockets. Extra lean cuts should be avoided IMO.

 

[Dadbo]

If you do need to go with USDA Choice, look for the most marbling you can find and, don’t be afraid of some fat veins and pockets. Extra lean cuts should be avoided IMO.

I go for the chuck or large end rather than the loin end for that reason. And I have actually gotten some great ones with my butcher looking in the back room for me.

 

[Thor8594]

Deep fried prime rib.....the best I have ever eaten and I will never cook it any other way!

 

[SmokeOCD]

Deep fried prime rib.....the best I have ever eaten and I will never cook it any other way!

How much oil is required for that? And what kind? I know it depends on the pot width, just looking for a ballpark estimate.

 

[Thor8594]

How much oil is required for that? And what kind? I know it depends on the pot width, just looking for a ballpark estimate.

It depends on the size of the prime rib as well as the cooker, I will use canola or vegetable oil and say it is a 10lb slab I will use about a gallon and a half, it need to cover the meat. A good way to measure is to put the meat in the pot or machine and fill with water and measure the water, that will determine the amount of oil.

 

[Jim6820]

Deep fried prime rib.....the best I have ever eaten and I will never cook it any other way!

I have to chuckle when you mention “deep fried prime rib.” It may be great, but it brings back some interesting memories for us.

Years ago, we stopped at a restaurant in British Columbia, Canada, and they had a “prime rib special” on the reader board. We ordered it and were surprised when we got fried prime rib.

It was basically a half-inch thick slice of prime rib fried on a flat-top grill like a steak to well done. It wasn’t that good and the memory of that has been a family joke ever since. “Would you like your prime rib fried?”

 

[SmokeOCD]

@Jim6820 you seem to have a severe aversion to vats of butter and/or oil.

 

[Mozekian]

watch

Alton Brown's prime rib instructional has been my go to for a few years, it's perfect. You get the benefit of the smoke to 118-120 degrees, the long rest, and then the sear to crust. And because you already rested, you are free to slice after the sear to crust it up.