Prime Rib for the holiday??

[phattboy]

I put drained horseradish (about ¼" thick) on top of my prime rib-coat well with course black pepper and cook, smoke, broil etc. Seems to make the meat more tender and the horseradish disappears into the juice......... [img]/forums/images/icons/wink.gif[/img]

[Al_Wa]

I tried the hot mustard coating this past weekend. Normally I just use fresh ground black pepper and cook on a rotisserie. The mustard formed a very tasty crust and helped retain the juices.
I will be adding the mustard from now on. Thanks

Note: Adding salt to the rub it is very easy to ruin a fine cut of meat if you overdo it.

[DocsknotInn]

The Secret to a good and truelly tender Prime Rib is sloooow cooking it. Restaurants that specialize in Prime Rib use special ovens often referred to as Alto Shams, although that is a name brand. At home I use Fresh garlic, Coarse ground Sea Salt, Rosemary, and Black pepper. I coat the surface of the Ribs with a little oil first. I use LOTS of seasoning. I also sometimes stud the meat like Hakim. Thats a great technique on a leg of Lamb too [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img] I start by carmelizeing the ribs at 450-500 degrees for 30-45 minutes or as long as it takes to get a nice Goldon color. ( assumeing we are useing a whole Prime Rib ) . Then I turn the oven down to 220-250. Many regular ovens might not let you dial down the temp this low. You can prop the door open just a tad with a wooden spoon to lower the temp. Ideally a whole rib will take 5-7 hours to get to temp. This is going to very wildly with home ovens and youll be in good shape if you can draw the cooking process out to at least 4 hours. It VERY important to remember when you are roasting any whole muscle meat, prime rib, turkey, lamb etc that once you pull out the goodies to settle the residual heat will continue to cook your roast and the internal temperature will rise an average of 10 degrees. I pull my roast at 110 degrees. You can get decent thermometers at Stores like GFS for under $5. Dont assume they are accurate, take a glass of Ice water and check them. They should read 34-36 degrees. Theese can be easily calibrated with two pairs of pliers. Just gently grip the metal stem below the dial with one set and gently turn the dial to the correct setting with the other set. A oven thermoter goes a long ways to getting a perfect roast as well. Even with the vikeing Range I have its not uncommon to get a 50 degree difference between the oven dial and reality. Dave

[Al_Wa]

Welcome to CBN, First post is on cooking, we will get along fine here. I use Rosemary on pork roasts, it's great there. Never was brave enough to experiment much on Prime Rib @ $9 pound. Cooking without a good thermometer is a dice roll. The rotisserie figures out to about 20 minutes/pound to reach 110 deg F in the middle. I let it set for 10-15 minutes before cutting.

[DocsknotInn]

mmm, Rosemary is great on Pork. My wife brought home a rosemary bush the other day shaped like a xmas tree. A pretty nifty gift [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img] Fairly often the chain grocery stores, like krogers etc, will have whole prime ribs for under $5 a #, sometimes under $4. Usually its "No Roll" but honestly that makes next to no difference on a prime. Its a very rich piece of meat. Here we can get Black Angus Choice for about the $9. Prime grade is of course even higher. Prime grade Angus Ribs are so rich that I can barely eat them. Its a bit overkill. But it sure makes good Rib eye or Delmonico steaks [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img] Its been the caraziest year for meat quality and price. Some day I am going to pony up the $$$ and do a whole Buffalo prime rib. Dave

[Pat]

Hakim, (et al) but mostly Hakim! You are a devil. I wasn't even close to being hungry till I read your post and now I am drowning in my own saliva and wondering how to get some beef in my mouth.

About thermometer checking. A good mix of crushed ice (put cubes in a clean bag and smash with blunt object like a hammer or whtever) and just enough water with it in a glass should stabalize real close to 32 degrees F. You can also get another calibraton point by boiling water and checking for about 212 F. (don't let thermometer rest on botom of the pan or glass of ice).

Horseradish: Over blending or cutting it too much with sour cream is NOT preferred to just using less of the REAL THING if your taster is too delicate for adult food. (Sorry Gary)

Finely grated fresh horse radish can be quite potent but for the authentic taste use less to prevent starting a fire in yor mouth rather than adulterating it with with sour cream. Not that a sour cream and horse radish dip isn't nice but as a dip for chips and crackers, not roast beef.

As regards the current beef prices: None of my neighbors are complaining about the beef prices (most are cattle producers.)
The Atkins diet is having an effect on beef prices but... there are other effects such as the Canadian BSE case (Canadian beef animal diagnosed with mad cow's disease.) This stopped importation of Canadian beef and a small variation is supply can have a much larger variation is price. There has also been a considerable success in getting the message out as to the "TRUTH ABOUT BEEF." Similary the "Beef, it's what's for dinner" program has been working and general beef demand is up as a separate phenomenon from thte BSE or Atkins influences.

Recently information has been disseminated regarding the fat content of lean beef as compared to chicken. It is virtually a dead heat except beef has a lot more essential nutrients than chicken. We have all been brainwashed to think beef is an artery clogging poison and that chicken is the elixir of life. 'Taint so.

Sure, if you choose highly marbled beef with lots of edge fat and do not trim prior to cooking and as you eat you can easily get more fat than with chicken but that isn't a fair comparison. The Colonel's presure "Broasted" chicken is full of added oil and high fat.

There is a lot of money at stake in the perpetuation of the chicken is superior to beef myth. Big bucks and politics are afoot. Chicken interests are trying to make "beef checkoff" programs illegal. Beef checkoff programs earmark a couple bucks per head of cattle sold to go to the Beef Council for paying THE VOICE to make those Beef, it's what's for diner ads and publishing information like the truth about beef vs chicken and new lean beef recipes.

When it comes to a festive holiday meal and the question of ham or turkey comes up, THINK BEEF. //Soapbox mode off//

I hope everyone gets a slice of the finest prime rib roast cooked exactly the way they like it with some REAL horseradish.



[img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img] Pat [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

[Bird]

</font><blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr />
When it comes to a festive holiday meal and the question of ham or turkey comes up, THINK BEEF

[/ QUOTE ]

Interesting coincidence. My wife just told me day before yesterday that she and our youngest daughter were wondering how I'd feel about barbecuing a brisket for Christmas dinner instead of having the traditional turkey. [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

[DocsknotInn]

Yup, 34 degrees is real close to frezing. Unless its solid thoughI dont think its going to be accurate at 32. I dont buy much beef from my ranching friends but its good to hear that prices are stable in your area. Tenderloin here has gone up several dollars a pound recently. I suspect that many who dont buy a great deal of meat daily/weekly/monthly might not notice. As far as the atkins diet haveing a impact on prices I think thats a urban myth. The canadian ban on beef was lifted within a few weeks from the time it started. That was much earlier in the year. At the whole sale and retail level we see all the fluctuations more dramaticlly than on the farm. Thats to say the distributors use every little excuse to instantly inflate prices [img]/forums/images/icons/mad.gif[/img] When I was a kid we used to be able to but meat from ranchers by the whole or half. I no longer know of any place here doing that. Cant agree on the raw Horsey sauce. Theres no rules in food. Were just makeing some ones steak the way they like it. [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img] I'm with the sour cream club, but then again I like straight Hrad ever now and then too [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

[Pat]

Bird, This ongoing synchronicity in our experiences is getting almost spooky.

BEEF, its what's for dinner!

Pat

[Pat]

Docksnotinn, The temperature of a water ice slurry is real close to 32 degrees unless at a barometric pressure way out from sea level (29.92 inches of mercury). You can have ice at 32 F. You can have liquid water at 32 F. A well stirred ice/water mix (slushy) with pretty pure water (salt and the like messes up the change of state temp) will be REALLY CLOSE to 32 and is a standard laboratory thermometer calibration technique.

Same story for 212 F. You can measure the temp of dense steam just above the water or the temp of well sitrred ( boiling will stir it for you) water that is boiling. It will be 212 F with relatively pure water with fairly close to 29.92 on the barometer. In either case 32 or 212 F don't let the thermometer rest on the side or botom of the container. This is how thermometers can be easily and accurately calibrated and is the traditional method used in labs. Ask a physics student or failing that a chemistry student. It is easy to get well within less than a tenth of a degree by this method.

I missed you with my humor. The reason my neighbors aren't complaining about beef prices is because they are beef producers and they are selling at higher prices and loving it.

You are right about the time of the ban but wrong about the influence. When human psychology is involved all bets are off as to a rational response. I recently attended the local county chapter Oklahoma Cattlemens Association dinner meeting (yes beef was the featured entre) where one of the guest speakers was a nationally recognized agricultural economist. His talk sort of had me "up to speed" on the effect of the BSE case in Canada, the Atkins diet, the "Beef, its what's for dinner" ads, and the Beef information dissemination program being put out to resturants, 4H, home ec, sources, etc.

You are right about fluctuations in retail prices not neccessarily reflecting price paid at auction to the producer. The connectons are not simple (many think not honest). Case ready beef prices are up now as are prices at auction. Folks around here are culling their herds to get top dollar from any marginal animals. Some short term greed has folks essentially selling out their entire herd with expectations of buying in again when the "cattle cycle" dips back down... WHICH IT ALWAYS DOES. When producer prices dip, it (as you said) doesn't ensure retail prices will drop. Only retail gas prices are as bogus as beef prices with a most tenuous connection to cost of productioin.

I have witnessed all the shody pricing practices you mention. I assure you, profiteering by producers is NOT a part of the mix. Producers are typically ripped off just like consumers. It is the BIG BUSINESS interests with feed lots and packing plants and distribution chains that get the most of the profit (usually).

Regarding buying direct. If you want to buy a whole live animal (get a neighbor or 3 to share with you) from a smaller beef producer (big corporate types won't talk to you) they would be happy to sell you one and probably haul it to the processor for a real fair fee. If you offer a few cents/lb more than the current going auction rate, lots of my neighbors would sell you a head of beef. By the time you get it wrapped and distrubuted to your "partners" you won't really have saved all that much. You will of course feel better knowing it was a good healthy animal and that it didn't get shipped to a super market to sit away from the frige till someone got around to putting it up. If you buy a quality animal it might spoil you from regular store bought product.

Hey, I'm not an officer in training for the food police! You can put anchovy paste on your date nut bread and I'll not squawk. It is just that contaminating horseradish with sour cream was an invention of resturants to be able to please the "tourists" and not at all a gormet creation. Most of what Taco Bell sells is NOT AUTHENTIC MEXICAN but that doesn't mean it is all bad. Hey, I like peanut butter with a lot of stuff that I won't mention out of respect for the delicate tastes of those present. I have been known to eat Chinese hot mustard with a spoon so consider that when evaluating my comments regarding the Purity of Essence in fine dining.

Enjoy,

[img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img] Pat [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]