Prime rib is easy to make once you know more about it! Learn all the tips and tricks here as well as some delicious recipes!
Prime rib is a delicious cut of beef that often comes with a hefty price tag. While you may not see at the dinner table every week, you can expect to see it grace the table around the holidays in many homes. But why is it so costly and what makes it the ideal cut of beef?
Prime rib is a beef bone-in rib roast that you can find at your local grocery store although you may not find it referred to as “prime rib” simply because that is a name given to explain the USDA grade.
What is a prime rib?
A prime rib roast is a cut from the upper back rib section of a steer and is normally comprised of 7 ribs, although most cuts that you purchase will have about 3 ribs.
Is prime rib and ribeye the same?
The prime rib and the ribeye both come from the exact same rib area of the steer but in order to be considered a ribeye the cut must be made from the prime rib.
You can buy bone-in or boneless ribeye, and its easiest to simply think of it as a prime rib roast that was cut into steaks. Similar to how a pork tenderloin can be cut into pork chops.
What are the grades of beef?
As mentioned before prime rib is a special cut and grade of beef, but what are the other grades of beef and where does “prime” fall in line?
Actually, there are 8 different grades of beef and they range from “prime” to “canner” and they all take into consideration the age of the animal and the marbling in the meat. As you can imagine the higher the grade, the pricier the meat, whereas the cheaper options are found in the lower grade levels.
The 8 beef grades are as follows:
- Prime
- Choice
- Select
- Standard
- Commercial
- Utility
- Cutter
- Canner
You are more likely to find the choice and select cuts in your local grocery store and are probably more accustomed to buying these cuts. While it wouldn’t be uncommon to see the prime grade in your grocery store, only 2 percent of graded meats are labeled as prime whereas about 45 percent is graded as choice and 21 percent is select grade.
Now that you know more about this awesome cut of meat, you’re probably feeling hungry and wondering where the delicious recipes are. I know I’m excited to round up these beef recipes for you!
My Top Prime Rib Recipes
After all of that talk about prime ribs, it just doesn’t make sense to not share a few prime rib recipes. Here are 3 prime rib recipes that are sure to rock your world.
The Best Prime Rib Recipe
The name says it all, this is an incredible recipe worth trying, especially if you’ve failed at prime ribs before or are just looking to skip the trials and errors and jump straight to the winner section.
Smoked Prime Rib Recipe
If you’re looking for an excuse to pull out that smoker, this is it!
Getting that tender cut of beef cooked perfectly thanks to a nice slow roast and the perfect blend of seasonings.
More Prime Rib Recipes
- Instant Pot Prime Rib
- Roasted Prime Rib Recipe
- Boneless Prime Rib Recipe
- Emeril’s Prime Rib Roast Recipe
- Easy Prime Rib Recipe
- Reverse Sear Prime Rib
- Cranberry Crusted Prime Rib
- Perfect Prime Rib Roast
- Chorizo-Stuffed Prime Rib Roast
- How to Cook the Perfect Standing Rib Roast
What to do with Leftover Prime Rib
I hope that this nifty guide to beef grades and recipes helped you to understand a little more about everything and answered any lingering questions that you may have had. It’s amazing how much can be done with one animal and how versatile the flavors, textures, and grades can be.
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