# Ordering Prime Rib... **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 18, 2018, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ordering-prime-rib/806882 "2018-01-18T03:44:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2018, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ordering-prime-rib/806882/21 "2018-01-18T23:09:41Z")
> [@gigi](#): > > Huge elephantine woman here, and I enjoy the fat on my meat too. Buttermilk I would skip but the rest sounds good. I like the fat too. I don’t eat all of it, not interested in the buttermilk, but I’m disappointed when I get a piece of prime rib with no fat on it, and the big blob from the middle cut out, and I know it was closed up with ‘meat glue’. I’m not quite elephantine though, maybe rhinocerine. ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2018, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ordering-prime-rib/806882/22 "2018-01-18T23:19:13Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > Another thing restaurants will do to bump up a level of doneness is to ladle so hot au jus on the meat prior to running it out to the table. I actually prefer this method to the salamander. > [@eenerms](#): > > This is what I used to do when I was a restaurant cook.we didn’t use the salamander. If you are just taking it up a temp to mid rare or so, you just ladle a bit of au jus. If the customer is an idiot 🙂 and wants it medium or more, it goes in the salamander. > [@Grrr](#): > > Yes. I know for a fact that Outback will pan sear your prime rib. I used to order mine “blackened” (Basically, they season it, then sear the crap out of it) but I knew the cook. Not sure if they would do that for the general public. They probably would if you gave them specific instructions. Every place I’ve worked that had prime rib had the option of having it blackened. It’s not hard, just put some blackening seasoning on it, and toss it on the hot iron skillet that is on top of every saute station I’ve ever worked. > [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > I used to work at a restaurant in Montgomery Twp (Cincinnati area) called Chester’s Road House, and they were known for their prime rib. I miss that place, it was awesome, even though I only went there a few times. Applied for a job there, but that was apparently right when they were getting ready to close their doors. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2018, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ordering-prime-rib/806882/23 "2018-01-19T00:37:04Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > I’d never heard of a salamander broiler before so I Googled it. Now you’ve got me wanting one! Except that [this nice one](https://www.bluestarcooking.com/cooking/broilers/salamander-broiler/) suitable for residential use has a special introductory price that starts at only $3,295! :eek: Or $85 for an [iron one](http://www.townsends.us/iron-salamander-sm279-p-1222.html), if you’re into Colonial reenactments. ---
**Author:** ![glowacks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/glowacks/32/5548_2.png) [@glowacks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glowacks)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2018, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ordering-prime-rib/806882/24 "2018-01-19T02:14:07Z")
The only time I have not been able to get exactly how I wanted my prime rib done was at a buffet where they had a slab of meat where you could get a cut from the rare end or from the well-done end. I don’t remember which I chose; probably the latter, as I have quite an aversion for rare meat compared to overcooked meat. Sorry, I’m not a steak snob, I prefer the texture of it actually cooked. ---
**Author:** ![JpnDude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/838e76/32.png) [@JpnDude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JpnDude)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2018, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ordering-prime-rib/806882/25 "2018-01-19T02:26:30Z")
For my birthday each year, JpnGal treats me to [Lawry’s Prime Rib](http://www.lawrys.jp/akasaka/) here in Tokyo. They always ask how we would our meat cooked. ---
**Author:** ![Weisshund](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ba8739/32.png) [@Weisshund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weisshund)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2018, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ordering-prime-rib/806882/26 "2018-01-19T02:36:16Z")
I imagine you could ask it any doneness you want, though i do not think i would like it cooked beyond the traditional rare. I dont eat much beef but when i do, i only like it cooked just enough to be servable which for me is just enough it isn’t squirting blood, just dribbling it. But if someone likes it burnt, they are the ones eating it, may as well be in a fashion they enjoy. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2018, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ordering-prime-rib/806882/27 "2018-01-19T13:27:46Z")
I’ve never had a problem getting prime rib medium well. What’s odd is going to a particular steakhouse and seeing prime rib on the menu with a notation that it may only be available at certain times. I’m always pleased when it’s “in season”. ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2018, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ordering-prime-rib/806882/28 "2018-01-19T13:54:54Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > What’s odd is going to a particular steakhouse and seeing prime rib on the menu with a notation that it may only be available at certain times. It’s an expensive-ass hunk of meat even when it’s not “Prime” and takes a couple hours to cook. The amount they start cooking is a judgement on how much they will sell in the next few hours. If they always cooked enough to cover any possible rush on it, they would constantly be throwing extra away(or often selling it as a roast beef sandwich the next day at a big loss). ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2018, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ordering-prime-rib/806882/29 "2018-01-19T14:06:49Z")
> [@wolfman](#): > > It’s an expensive-ass hunk of meat even when it’s not “Prime” and takes a couple hours to cook. The amount they start cooking is a judgement on how much they will sell in the next few hours. If they always cooked enough to cover any possible rush on it, they would constantly be throwing extra away(or often selling it as a roast beef sandwich the next day at a big loss). Just like Arby’s. ^flees\* ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2018, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ordering-prime-rib/806882/30 "2018-01-19T16:53:59Z")
My father, who had a pathological fear of undercooked meat, used to ask specifically for an end cut, and then cooked until well done. Waiters reacted with shock and horror, chefs with disdain, but he didn’t care. ---
**Author:** ![sitchensis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sitchensis/32/4892_2.png) [@sitchensis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sitchensis)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2018, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ordering-prime-rib/806882/31 "2018-01-19T17:22:12Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Ovens often aren’t used. There are steamers that can be used, or just dunking the slice of meat in aus jus in a steam table pan. The entire roast is usually kept very rare and at a cool temp so it won’t cook further and every cut needs some heating before serving. > > Prime rib can be a good item for a restaurant. The customer will pay a premium for it even though it often isn’t actually Prime grade meat, and there’s minimal prep and cooking time and little chance of over cooking it like a broiled or grilled steak. We always had a large steam table pan filled with au jus just for dunking prime rib. We would try and keep the actual roast pretty damn rare to accommodate most people but could dunk slices to get it a little more cooked. it also added a little salty flavor. We always served a true prime grade prime rib but I’d rather have choice. I talked to a butcher once and he was of a similar opinion. True prime rib is mostly always bought up by the restaurant industry and it jacks the price of a roast up beyond reasonable for most people. A prime rib roast can be around $15 to $20 a pound whereas a choice roast might be $5. The key to getting the prime grade is fat content and they go to the extreme to try and get good marbling. The thing I don’t like is that in trying to get good marbling the large chunks of fat tend to make up a larger and larger portion of the slice. A good 16 ounce piece of choice rib roast may have a few smaller hunks of leftover fat whereas a true prime rib might have golf ball size hunks leftover. ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2018, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ordering-prime-rib/806882/32 "2018-01-19T17:41:46Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > I used to work at a restaurant in Montgomery Twp (Cincinnati area) called Chester’s Road House, and they were known for their prime rib. > > We used to get a group of nuns that came early every Friday evening for the prime rib. One of them, whom we snickeringly called “Sister Mary Elephant” was a HUGE woman. Just enormous. > > She would always ask for the fat chain off the rib (blech), and she would wash it down with…buttermilk. > > Yep. Super gross. Scrawny bitch here (representin’ for the Skinny Committee) and I’d happily sit down to a small _meal_ of beef ribeye fat chain. Probably need a cuppa hot tea & a nap afterwards, but I’d be one happy camper. Not interested in drinking buttermilk but if they allowed me to take with, I’d bring it home and bake biscuits or maybe marinade some chicken in it. ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2018, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ordering-prime-rib/806882/33 "2018-01-19T18:56:59Z")
> [@sitchensis](#): > > A prime rib roast can be around $15 to $20 a pound whereas a choice roast might be $5. Are you talking about prices at restaurant volumes? Because You can’t get a choice rib roast for anything close to $5 bucks a pound here as an off-the-street(or web) customer. I usually look around for the holiday’s and see what it would be. $16 is the best normally, occasionally on sale down to 12 or so. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2018, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ordering-prime-rib/806882/34 "2018-01-19T19:02:02Z")
> [@wolfman](#): > > Are you talking about prices at restaurant volumes? Because You can’t get a choice rib roast for anything close to $5 bucks a pound here as an off-the-street(or web) customer. I usually look around for the holiday’s and see what it would be. $16 is the best normally, occasionally on sale down to 12 or so. In Phoenix, while visiting my in-laws for Christmas, we got a choice rib roast (just four ribs), for $5/lb. (ETA: Actually, it may have been $4.99 at one and $5.99 at the other, but both definitely under $6.) I saw that price at both Basha’s and Fry’s. My brother here in Chicago, for New Years, got the same deal, though I’m unsure which store he went to. And they were fricking delicious! ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2018, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ordering-prime-rib/806882/35 "2018-01-19T19:06:58Z")
I usually won’t order prime rib because it’s so raw in the middle. Once in awhile a place will offer one end that’s cooked and I’ll happily order a spice. I don’t object to a hint of pink. It doesn’t have to be well done. I will happily eat this. Looks yummy. [https://goo.gl/images/39pEvj](https://goo.gl/images/39pEvj) Oh, hell no. [https://goo.gl/images/AEfLPC](https://goo.gl/images/AEfLPC) ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2018, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ordering-prime-rib/806882/36 "2018-01-19T19:10:55Z")
> [@wolfman](#): > > Are you talking about prices at restaurant volumes? Because You can’t get a choice rib roast for anything close to $5 bucks a pound here as an off-the-street(or web) customer. I usually look around for the holiday’s and see what it would be. $16 is the best normally, occasionally on sale down to 12 or so. And, actually, I was able to find the price [archived here](https://jillcataldo.com/coupon-matchups-jewel-osco-deals-week-122017-122617/), for Jewel in Chicago: > [@](#): > > $4.99/lb. Beef rib roast > Bone-in beef rib roast is $4.99/lb., limit 1 It’s definitely a choice roast, but the couponing site doesn’t list the grades of meat. That’s what my brother bought. Heck, choice ribeye steaks this week are only $7.77/lb, and it’s not even a holiday! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2018, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ordering-prime-rib/806882/37 "2018-01-19T19:12:15Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > I usually won’t order prime rib because it’s so raw in the middle. > > Once in awhile a place will offer one end that’s cooked and I’ll happily order a spice. > > I don’t object to a hint of pink. It doesn’t have to be well done. > > I will happily eat this. Looks yummy. > > [https://goo.gl/images/39pEvj](https://goo.gl/images/39pEvj) > > Oh, hell no. > [https://goo.gl/images/AEfLPC](https://goo.gl/images/AEfLPC) Those look to me to be about the same doneness. The main difference is the lighting. I like 'em a bit rarer around the edges than that, but both look good to me! ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2018, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ordering-prime-rib/806882/38 "2018-01-19T19:37:04Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > In Phoenix, while visiting my in-laws for Christmas, we got a choice rib roast (just four ribs), for $5/lb. (ETA: Actually, it may have been $4.99 at one and $5.99 at the other, but both definitely under $6.) I saw that price at both Basha’s and Fry’s. My brother here in Chicago, for New Years, got the same deal, though I’m unsure which store he went to. And they were fricking delicious! We get similar at our only supermarket that carries rib roasts around holidays. First cut (the large end) around $8/lb. Around $6/lb for second cut. Honestly, these are the cuts that just miss being select, but slow-roasting does wonders. But don’t bother asking the in-store butchers to do anything (like removing the meat from the bone and tying it back on). Just hope they chined the bones properly. I know many on here know this, but I’m certain that not everyone does. _Prime_ Rib does **NOT** have to be USDA Prime grade. It simply means it comes from the rib primal. It’s an accepted but confusing naming practice if you don’t understand the USDA beef grading system. And there are definitely supermarkets who take advantage of this. ---
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2018, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ordering-prime-rib/806882/39 "2018-01-19T19:41:43Z")
Now I’m hungry for some prime rib. Luckily, the local steakhouse happens to do prime rib on Friday and Saturday evenings. ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2018, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ordering-prime-rib/806882/40 "2018-01-19T19:52:21Z")
> [@D\_Odds](#): > > We get similar at our only supermarket that carries rib roasts around holidays. First cut (the large end) around $8/lb. Around $6/lb for second cut. Honestly, these are the cuts that just miss being select, but slow-roasting does wonders. But don’t bother asking the in-store butchers to do anything (like removing the meat from the bone and tying it back on). Just hope they chined the bones properly. > > I know many on here know this, but I’m certain that not everyone does. _Prime_ Rib does **NOT** have to be USDA Prime grade. It simply means it comes from the rib primal. It’s an accepted but confusing naming practice if you don’t understand the USDA beef grading system. And there are definitely supermarkets who take advantage of this. Colloquially, sure, you can make that argument. But it is not an [acurate desription.](https://www.weber.com/US/en/blog/the-finer-points-of-choosing-a-rib-roast) If it comes from the rib primal, it’s a rib roast. If it also happens to be prime, then it’s a prime rib. > [@](#): > > Not all rib roasts are a true prime rib. In fact, in common use, a USDA Choice or Select graded roast are still—mistakenly—referred to as prime rib. Only USDA Prime-graded rib roasts qualify as a true prime rib. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ordering-prime-rib/806882.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ordering-prime-rib/806882.md?page=3)