Prime Rib thoughts for Christmas Eve dinner

[Big D]

Glad you asked, I can hopefully prevent the mistakes I’ve made

So previous years I’ve done the AB method, got it to 118 internal, pulled, rested, and cranked the Bull to 500 to sear. Problem is, way too much fat drippings from the long rendered cook, got a small flame up. So don’t go that route.

2 years I used the oven and broil like AB does.

Recently I took my cast iron, put a cooling rack on top, and cooked the prime rib on the rack to 118 degrees. When it hit 118, I removed it all, took the drippings in the pan, separated fat, deglazed and made an au jus with it. Because the drippings were in the cast iron, grill was clean and fat has rendered. Cranked it to 500 and placed rested meat on the grill for 10 minutes to char

After all these experiments, oven broil works best because of the direct heat on the beef. But your house will smell like broiled beef,
not a bad thing, but it can get smokey

If you like a heavy crust, go this route. If a medium crust works, try the cast iron on the rack, which allows the air to get under the beef to keep smoke flowing.

Thank you so much for the advice. It makes perfect sense to capture the drippings to keep fire issues and mess to a minimum. I really didn’t want to use the oven for this, and a medium char is just fine with me, so I’m going to give your method a go. Thank you again and Happy Holidays!

 

[TheRicker]

This topic was covered thoroughly. Only thing I wanted to add is how I season mine.

I take two packets of the Lipton Beefy Onion (dry) soup packets, empty them into a medium-sized glass bowl, add some finely chopped fresh rosemary, and then enough EVOO to make a paste. I then rub that on the roast the night before, wrap it in plastic wrap, and put it in the fridge overnight.

I take it out of the fridge at least an hour before putting it on my RT-700. I typically use oak or mesquite pellets by themselves or blended. I have used other blends of pellets that have similar characteristics. There are plenty of options out there.

I get great seasoning and crust from this method. (Note: I make extra paste to put on just the top of the roast once I put it on to cook. It kind of melts down the sides.

I do put a pan underneath to capture the drippings…makes a great sauce/gravy for serving. You will need to keep some water, broth, or wine in the pan to keep the drippings and stuff from burning.

 

[Greg Jones]

YouTube Great video out today from Kenji Lopez-Alt with a butcher on grass vs. grain fed and aged beef. I’ve only watched the first 11 minutes thus far, but great info on these two topics that we’ve discussed here recently.

 

[Waterboy]

Here is a great tutorial video from The Bearded Butchers on everything Prime Rib. Anything these guys put out on butchering and cuts of meat is really good. If nothing else you have to admire their knife work.

 

[Pacman]

If nothing else you have to admire their knife work.

I must admit, I used to enjoy chatting with the old salty butchers while they meticulously cut meat. At least for me, all of the old salts are long gone and the "butchers" here are only good at opening cryovac bags.

 

[Greg Jones]

I must admit, I used to enjoy chatting with the old salty butchers while they meticulously cut meat. At least for me, all of the old salts are long gone and the "butchers" here are only good at opening cryovac bags.

Don’t even have that luxury near me anymore. The bags are what you have to choose from, Kroger and Meijer. I understand that Whole Foods and Costco are somewhat better, but both are nearly an hour drive for me. Opening up some Wild Fork steaks right now for my present to my wife for our anniversary.

 

[SmokeOCD]

Opening up some Wild Fork steaks right now for my present to my wife for our anniversary.

5lbs of Veal - is first thing I thought of. (Scrooged, for those unfamiliar with the scene)

 

[Waterboy]

I must admit, I used to enjoy chatting with the old salty butchers while they meticulously cut meat. At least for me, all of the old salts are long gone and the "butchers" here are only good at opening cryovac bags.

My brother-in-law just recently retired from butchering. He could take a 1/2 of beef from the hook to completely custom cut in 30 to 40 minutes. He was in high demand because his skills were so rare. There are still some markets around us that have a real old school butcher but most today are slicers. It’s just the way the industry has gone.
There aren’t many ranch butchers and custom shops around anymore either. My in-law’s old place still does custom cutting and retail sales. They seem to do well.