I’m beginning to wonder if certain cuts of Beef are regional

I’ve learned quite a bit myself.

I’ve been doing a little google search on different cuts of beef. I would love to hear how boomerang cooks her prime rib!

You know when I was at Sam’s club I asked the guy who was putting meat out about a prime rib, he said well I have this one roast with bone in, I wasn’t sure what he meant so I asked if that was prime rib, to be honest I really don’t think he knew for sure what kind of roast it was.

We do have a Costco not too far from us, I just might stop by tomorrow, if I don't see any out I'll ask their butcher.

I was planning on having a little dinner party for a few friends and thought cooking a prime rib would be perfect.

Probably ought to practice the recipe, before serving it to guests.

Good idea, Cooking a roast is hit or miss for me. I always cook one at the same temperature and same time per pound. Sometimes it comes out so tender you don’t need a knife and other times it tough. I have a feeling the tough ones is a different cut of beef and I need to pay more attention to what cut I buy.

Here's how I cook mine:

I get a "3 bone roast". That allows us each a nice chunk for dinner, some for sandwiches and some for soup. A rib per person is a pretty good amount. I have them cut off the bones and tie them back on.

I dry age the beef for three days (I had a senior moment when I put my latest in yesterday -- I won't be cooking it until the 12th so I'm going to age it longer than I usually do. I'll let you know how that works out.)

Make sure your fridge is right at 36 degrees and between 50 and 60 % humidity. Try to keep the door closed on the fridge as much as possible.

To dry age it just put the roast in a pan (bone side down (if you get a boneless roast you'll need some kind of rack to put in the pan)) and cover it with towels or cheesecloth, just kind of tuck it around -- it doesn't have to be tight. Change the towel every day.

On the day you're ready to cook bring the roast out and let it warm up to room temperature -- at least a couple of hours.

Set the oven to 225.

Put the roast in a heavy, lidded roasting pan (I use a cast iron dutch oven).

Rub the roast with olive oil and seasoning. (I use salt, pepper and rosemary.)

Put a digital thermometer in the meat. Make sure it isn't touching any bones.

Put the roast in the oven with the pan lid just cracked open (you don't want to steam the meat) and cook until it reaches 120 degrees (for medium rare (the roast will continue to cook during the "resting" phase so you want it a bit underdone here)). Depending on the roast, cooking will take 3-4 hours. The important thing is the temperature, not the time.

When the roast hits 120 take it out of the oven and out of the pan. Put it aside and cover it with foil. (Don't pull the thermometer out or you'll lose a lot of your juice -- take it out right before you put it back in to sear)

Crank the oven up to 500.

This is when you'd want to deglaze your pan to start your au jus.

Pour the au jus into a saucepan and put your roast back in the roasting pan.

Put the roast back into the oven for about 10 minutes until it gets a nice color and crust.

Let it rest again for about 10 minutes before slicing.

Enjoy!

This method works great for me. It took me about a year to figure out what I was doing. When I got to this method Mo and Mr. B said "Stop now. This is the right way to do it." I had to agree. I'm usually very critical of my cooking but this time I think I really got it right for home cooking a rib roast.

I have eaten there with mother and sister. It wasn't bad at all.

Years ago, when my son lived with us, I would sometimes make a rib roast. I never had too much luck with it. When I was very young, I had a fancy schmancy aunt who owned a hotel. We visited her, and she gave me a standing rib to take home and cook.

It was magnificent, perfect. It was then that I realized that high class hotels get meat that is not available to the rest of us. So I no longer felt bad, thinking that I was a lousy cook.

You need a meat thermometer.

Depending upon what market you're in, it may be called a prime rib, standing rib or a bone-in rib roast. They're all the same piece of meat.

I rarely shop anywhere but Publix when I'm in Florida, and the butchers are very helpful. As Phoenix said, they probably won't have roasts on display, except at special times of the year. If it's a Publix that has a larger meat department and that sells bone-in or boneless ribeye steaks, then they will likely cut one for you, though maybe not that same day. I usually give them at least a couple of days notice. (The same thing with lamb when I've wanted rack of lamb and not lamb chops.)

Ask the butcher to cut along the bones where the meat attaches, not quite all the way through, and then tie up the roast so the meat remains in place. The bones remain with the roast while cooking and add to the flavour, but the roast is much easier to carve.

Invest in a digital meat thermometer if you don't have one.

I cook prime ribs often, and this is the process I follow, almost guaranteed not to fail:

Let the roast (mine is usually between 7 - 8 pounds) sit out out on the counter, in its wrappings, to come to room temperature for at least one hour, depending upon the size. Longer if it's a larger roast.

Pre-heat the oven to 450.

Season the roast if you like, but not with salt because salt draws out the moisture.

Place the roast, fat side up, on an open roasting pan with low sides.

Sear for 10 minutes, up to 15 minutes, if it's a larger roast than 7 - 8 pounds.

Reduce heat to 325.

Leave the roast uncovered, basting the cut sides, only, every half-hour with pan drippings. The top is already being basted with the fat from the roast.

The cooking time will vary depending upon your oven, which is why you need a good digital meat thermometer. Cook to 120-125 F. for rare and 125-130 for medium rare.

Remove from oven, tent with foil and let it rest for 15-20 minutes. The internal temperature will rise by at least another 5 degrees.

Don't forget the au jus, gravy, if you prefer, and yorkshire pudding.

I can't speak for the entire State of Maryland, but Prime Rib is a big seller in Baltimore, Washington D.C., and Annapolis restaurants. It is tougher (no pun intended) to get Prime cuts of any beef in most supermarkets. Small independent butcher shops are hard to find, and my favorite butcher shop just went out of business right before Christmas. I have to find another, because even tho it costs more, you know what you cook, roast, braise or whatever will taste like you remember meat tasting like when your grandmother made dinner.

One of my old favorites was something my mom and grandmother called fresh ham. It's also a large piece of meat that must roast for hours with basting about every 30 minutes. It's really simple, just requires advance planning and I like to pour chicken stock over the ham, makes Devine gravy. I've never been fond of smoked ham but I love the fresh hams, makes dinner for a group simple and special.

I have a cousin who grew up in Maryland but has lived many years now in New Mexico. Her motto is never order crab cakes in New Mexico and never order Mexican in Baltimore. What I am trying to say is every region has a speciality item or items. Here in Maryland we have been flooded by chain restaurants, but I haven't yet been to a chain that can really deliver "Maryland Crab Cakes".

I agree with your cousin, glitter.

Mr glitterbag gave me an iPad so I can log in while he uses the other computer. I've been playing with it all day!!!!!

Lucky girl!

I really like the thermometers that stand outside the oven and have a long wire with a probe on the end that goes into the meat or poultry.
I have one like this one.
http://www.amazon.com/Polder-Digital-In-Oven-Thermometer-Graphite/dp/B000P6FLOY/ref=pd_sim_sbs_k_1

I set the thermometer for the internal temperature I want the meat cooked to, and when it reaches that temperature an alarm sounds. You never have to open the oven door to check the meat thermometer because it stands outside the oven, and that helps to maintain a constant temperature in the oven. And you can cook the meat to the exact degree of "doneness" you prefer because you control the internal temperature setting.

I've been using this thermometer for years and I love it. It makes cooking a turkey or simple roast goof-proof because it eliminates a lot of guesswork. And I've found the probe to be much more accurate than any other meat thermometer I've ever used, and certainly much more accurate than just trying to time it.
You can also use the probe as an insta-read digital thermometer beside just using it in the oven, so I've really found it a handy gadget to have around.

jcboy--you might want to get one of these.

One of the main ways to tenderize it is to pull the moisture out... That's what aging does.

Adding to the drama, I'm wrong on Harold McGee's views re searing meat, re effect of that..

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Searing

I just wanted to point out that JC's question was about finding prime rib in restaurants. Cooking it a home, and being able to put a properly done roast on the table on one's own schedule is a good deal different from what a restaurant owner would have to do to offer it on the menu all day, every day.

I long lived in northern Virginia (Arlington and near Fredericksburg) and although i didn't know about a Maryland love of prime rib, you'd need a steary deamnd to make it worth your while as a restaurant owner to try to keep a supply of an expensive dish on hand. I love it myself--i don't digest beef well, and have no interest in most steaks. Prime rib i could eat all day--except i don't think The Girl would let me.

Thank you for the recipe! I’m going to use that when I get the Prime Rib.

I did check at Costco today, I was told they do get them in but didn’t have any today, the guy in the meat department said if I came in on a Tuesday I could have them cut me one.

I’ll have to test one out on the Puerto Rican before serving one at the dinner party.

I have a couple different thermometers, one I bought especially for making that Opera Fudge, and the meat thermometer I bought hasn’t been used yet.

I fully appreciate that this may be considered offensive to someone who has declared his invocation of the "ignore" feature when it comes to my posts, but then it's hard to worry about the sensibilities of someone who is ignoring me.

Am I the only one who has found the title of this thread amusing given the honestly expressed proclivites of its author?

I know, it's all so offensive, but it's funny too if you are willing to admit it.

He likes to cut things? WTF?