Hi all! I’ve tried to research this, but I keep getting answers in pounds not inches.
about how many inche(s) is in a 1 bone prime rib steak?
I’m trying to figure out how large of a roast to get for 2 people for my Christmas dinner, with leftovers.
Thanks!
Jen,we have got to find you some new sources for research.
Remember my comment about asking your butcher?
Well, this could be your opportunity to make asking worthwhile.
Dare i say it’s pretty much common sense? As you know there’s about an inch of finger meat between the rib bones so depending on where the cutting saw or knife is placed a rib steak can be from about an inch to 2 inches thick. Any more and they are cutting through bone and that’s unprofessional. Get a steak as thick as you can afford and the butcher can cut. Get an estimate.
FYI, working back from the chuck in the rib section there’s 7 rib bones, if you’re counting on the animal back from its head they number 6 through 12. Rib steaks or roasts with bones #6 through #9 are larger with several layers of meat over the rib bones while #10 through #12 are smaller with mostly just the rib eye meat on the bone.
Any one-bone rib steak will serve two people with moderate appetites. As you would expect you will have more leftovers from the larger steaks cut from closer to the chuck.
My preference is a 2" thick “first-cut”, or bone #12 nearest the loin section. If i want all those other layers of meat i’ll buy a first-cut chuck steak at half the price of a rib steak which i usually do anyway.
Just as tender and tasty.
I hope that wasn’t so much information that you will scare your butcher with your knowledge.
When SV cooking your rib steak it’s advisable to pad the ends of the bone which could be sharp or ragged and pierce your SV cooking bag. That’s one reason i don’t usually cook meat on the bone. Another is the bone insulates the meat alongside it on short cooks. On longer cooks it all evens out.
Another reason to leave the bone out: It is an urban myth that somehow flavor is somehow transferred from the bone to the meat. The only reason I keep the bone when cooking is that I like to chew off the little bit of meat.
Indeed John, i considered advising Jen to go boneless, but these days photographs can be a significant part of every event and the bone adds interest, just no flavour.
chatnoir and john.jcb. I have already made the decision to leave the bone(s) off, but I do want the bone, plus more, to roast with veggies and herbs, to make a bone broth.
I don’t have a relationship with a butcher yet. I’m not sure if the butchers at my grocery store is what you are referring to, or a stand alone meat market. There is one that we have been wanting to check out. I think it has locally sourced beef. So we plan to go there, talk to the butcher, get a couple steaks and see how we like them.
I’ll use your advice on the cuts, chatnoir, but I wouldn’t pretend to have any knowledge while talking to the butcher, that could just backfire, leaving me to look like a fool lol.
Thanks for replying, guys, as always, it’s much appreciated.
Never a fool Jen. You demonstrate a lot of cooking knowledge and increasing your supply chain knowledge will only enhance it. Don’t pretend, just be precise in stating what you want.
Here in the 21st Century many grocery store meat departments only sell tray-pack items, product cut and wrapped in a factory setting and shipped to many stores. The stores only put a price tag on the wraper and place the meat in the showcase. What you see is what they got, you might say.
There’s likely a premium grocery store in your area that sells on site cut meat and pountry. As American examples, in California there’s Trader Joes, in the South East it’s Publix, Kroeger in the mid-west, and in the North East it’s Wegmans. They do some cutting from what are called in the industry, subprimal pieces or boxed beef. Those are the places you can get a “first-cut rib steak” cut for you, or the 7th if you want more leftovers.
The stand alone meat markets may or may not have better quality beef. Ask people who shop at one. Many of those are retail outlets franchised by meat marketing companies. Ask about their sources and aging practices.
Hi @jen2
I hope you’ll find this link of interest! It is to a video on YouTube where they cut up an entire side of beef and describe many of the various cuts that can be made as they do so. It should provide you with a little of that knowledge you currently lack that might make talking with your butcher a little easier!
It’s a lengthy video so you might want to view it an increased speed and then slow to normal at the points you find of interest. Best of luck!
Here is a useful PDF on beef cuts. It shows the primal, subprimal and cuts from the subprimal. My local groceries get a mixture of sub primal and some retail cuts. Many of the cuts like an eye of the round roast are too big for retail and the butcher will trim and subdivide the roast for sale. I make a lot of jerky and will get the uncut roast for more than a dollar of a pound off of the trimmed one. We just had a prime rib roast that was marked down for sale and it was very good. However, lately I am favoring the tough cuts for flavor. I don’t mind investing 2 or more days in the cook.
Good advice all around. I order a prime rib annually for Christmas with the bone removed and then tied back on. Roast, then cut the twine and serve as a boneless prime rib. As I like to gnaw on the bone myself, true to lack of flavor but the bits of meat left makes it all worthwhile.
Not sure where you are located, but in Texas the HEB grocery chain will butcher your cuts the way you want them.