Yet another RR - this one Prime, Dry Aged w/pics


 
T

Todd Randall

TVWBB Pro
Local supermarket dropped their prices on their still in the meat rack, holiday time, Angus, USDA Prime, Dry Aged Rib Roasts. Orig price 23.99 pound (YIKES), to 13.99 pound (Still YIKES on my state budget). I bought one anyway, 3.5 lbs, boneless.

Fired up the WSM for the first time since October (don't ask). Needless to say, it required a hot burn to clean her up first. 2 full chimneys, all vents open, door propped open, lid left a skewed by 1/2 ", and 45 minutes later, while wearing welding gloves, she brushed right down clean in 5 minutes. Well, MY clean anyway
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It was fun to get on the horse again. The little wifey made some corn, mashed taters and gravey, and it was a nice meal.

I have to say though, I was a bit disappointed, I thought the roast was a little on the tough side for Prime Dry Aged. I only took it to 126 internal, seared for a couple minutes on all sides, and it rested for about 20 minutes. It was still on the rare side, I don't think it got to med rare, but I didn't measure the final temp.

Do you think maybe I didn't rest it long enough? Or just bad luck with this hunk of meat?

Had 1/2 of it left over, not sure if this was smart or not for this cut of meat, but I took my electric knife, and sliced it all up as thin as I could. The plan is to grab some locally baked Costanza sub rolls tomorrow, toast them up, some cheese, lett, tomato, peppers and onions and make a fine steak sub for tomorrow's dinner
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Here's a couple snap shots:

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Another:
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Last one:
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Todd
 
Maybe it's the pic but it looks med-rare to me. Contrary to popular notion, rare, med-rare, med, etc., do not denote a temp, they denote an appearance. Temps might correlate with these appearances but this can vary.

Was the roast placed in the cooker cold? What was the cooktemp?
 
Hey Kevin,

Thanks. Pics are bad, that new cutting board of mine reflects too much flash so these are with no flash. It pretty much was placed in cold, it sat out for maybe just 15 minutes plus or minus.

Cooks temps started warm, at 350, dropped to 290 over the course of about 1 hour, then worked back to 350 over the next 45 minutes to an hour.

Todd
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">It pretty much was placed in cold, it sat out for maybe just 15 minutes plus or minus. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Leave it out for 90-120 min next time. Makes a difference when cooking meats to lower internals.
 
woo hoo, Todd's back! I thought maybe with the current economy and foreclosure rates you had to evict your wsm so you could take residence in it's shed.
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Here's some pure speculation but more marbling (prime) might mean an older cow, which might be the reason for toughness.

How was the taste? My current project is to stop shopping for conventional meat and buy only local, well raised beef and pork (more for flavor and health than for animal welfare reasons). I actually have a locally raised, 100% grass fed, angus steak coming to me monday. I have no expectations for tenderness but this thing better be tasty.

btw, where did the roast come from? I'm surprised at that initial price.
 
If the grade was accurate (and I am assuming it was) then the carcass cannot be from an older animal. Relative youth is essential for a Prime designation. (See here.)

It's usually important to follow 'standard protocols' when cooking larger beef roasts (and often even steaks) irrespective of grade or aging, when cooking to lower internals: bring to or substantially toward room temp before cooking.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">I thought maybe with the current economy and foreclosure rates you had to evict your wsm so you could take residence in it's shed. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I love it, that is hilarious. My wife and friends are going to laugh their waa hoos off at that one.

I'm not sure what it was really. Time is always an issue. My wife has a huge family and there always seems to be birthday or Christening or something to attend on the weekends. Maybe I just needed a break. I still have brisket, ribs, beans, pulled pork, etc vac sealed and frozen, so I have not needed to run the smoker too often.

I picked it up at Wegmans, so that explains the price. But they do this every year. Each one (the two near me anyway) stock up on 5-6 smallish Angus Prime Dry Aged roasts right around the holidays, and then slash the price after. I picked one up last year too this time of year. I have to head in one of their directions today, so I think I'll stop in see if they have reduced the price further.

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content"> It's usually important to follow 'standard protocols' when cooking larger beef roasts (and often even steaks) irrespective of grade or aging, when cooking to lower internals: bring to or substantially toward room temp before cooking. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Guilty there for not following protocols. I learned something there. I knew bringing a hunk of meat to room temp prior to cooking helped with more even doneness, but didn't realized it played a part in tenderness as well. Thanks!

Todd
 
It can. Enzymes in the meat (the same ones that work during aging) become more active as the meat warms. They quit their activity at ~105 for one, ~120 for the other. Milking the time below these temps can add significantly to tenderness and bringing the meat to or toward room temp first does this--in addition to allowing for more even cooking.

(If you forget to take the roast out of the fridge but have time, start the cooking at a lower temp for a while so that you can milk the enzymatic activity that way. This is especially important for less tender roasts that will be taken to a low internal--like eye of round, for example. If the meat is cold and there's no time for the counter, warm it slowly in the cooker first. This is a reason why finishing sears are often better.)

Another thing that might be the or an issue here: Many people find that well marbled meat seems more tender if taken to a done point higher (rare up to rare/med-rare or med-rare, med-rare to med-rare/medium or medium) than what they'd usually prefer. If one is cooking at a higher temp this can be finessed during the resting period by simply going to a slightly higher internal before removal.
 
I here you Todd. Last winter I was really gung-ho and all I managed to do was waste ton of time and effort making crappy 'cue. This winter I'm sticking to short easy cooks and dreaming of warmer weather.

Kevin, now that I think more about it, isn't there a max age for beef cows? age can't really be an issue when all cows are slaughtered at a relatively young age.

Not that you need help from my little corner of the culinary world, but I'll second the room temp technique. Last set of thick fillets I did, I sat out on a counter for a nice long while before heating them. Easily the best fillets I've made, perfect doneness throughout. And to think I was tenderizing them too, I'm smarted than I ever thought!

Enzyme activity never ceases to amaze me, but then again I am a biologist.

That's interesting about marbled beef and doneness. I suppose its similar to fatty pork (ex spares) where you need it somewhat rendered to avoid the excess fat.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">isn't there a max age for beef cows? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Well, kind of. Anything, practically, can qualify for the lesser utility grades. Animals need to be young to make it as Prime, Choice or Select, the grades available at retail for consumption. Age is less determined by actual time (how many months old the animal was at slaughter) than by the degree of ossification of the sacral and lumbar vertabrae and the ossification of the cartilaginous tips of the thoracic vertabrae. More ossification means more maturity and more maturity requires more marbling to get a Prime or Choice grade. Were the tips to be more than 40% ossified then the carcass would be considered a 'C' maturity and wouldn't be suitable for any of the retail grades (Prime, Choice, Select) nor the top sub-retail grade of Standard.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Animals need to be young to make it as Prime </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Kevin, I'm curious to know your opinion on animal age. I recently read about a guy who purchased a 4 year old, grass fed, bull because he was looking for maximum flavor. It sounds contradictory to most popular wisdom (something I rather enjoy...debunking those old wives and their tales).
 
I buy 4-year-old grass-feds fairly often. Sometimes 3-year-olds. Note that the dynamics of development are different between grass-fed and -finished and grain-finished. Also note that grading is dependent on marbling. This requires grain finishing; grass-finished are rarely graded because they are naturally less marbled (and should be cooked, therefore, to lower internals--the normally low-internal-finished cuts anyway).

It is not so cut-and-dried. Consider the wives' tales amply debunked.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">I buy 4-year-old grass-feds fairly often. Sometimes 3-year-olds. Note that the dynamics of development are different between grass-fed and -finished and grain-finished. Also note that grading is dependent on marbling. This requires grain finishing; grass-finished are rarely graded because they are naturally less marbled (and should be cooked, therefore, to lower internals--the normally low-internal-finished cuts anyway).

It is not so cut-and-dried. Consider the wives' tales amply debunked. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Thanks, as I mentioned up thread, I'm abandoning the comforts of vac pack, graded, supermarket meat and exploring my local options. I have already found two sources for local beef (one 100% grass fed, one grain finished) and any advice at this point is really appreciated.
 
I think prime rib is becoming my all time favorite meal. I plan on eating half my weight in it next weekend. Going to Vegas for the first time since I was 12, with some pals from work. We booked a deal online where we got our own rooms in the Wynn for two nights, and airfare for under $500 each. Plus they give us a $100 immediate rebate on all dining purchases billed to the room. As long as it's one of the several restaurants they apparently have there, we're good. So bring on the prime rib, and other tasties.

Thanks again Kevin for the tips on the good BBQ picks there. I would have never guessed. I'm going to hit all of them for lunch the three days we're there.
 
You're welcome Tom. I think you'll like the Wynn. I do. I'm in Okla at the moment but if I end up in Vegas next weekend I'll let you know.

j-- You have many choices up there. See here. (Try the beefalo from Bennington.)
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Tom Chips:
I think prime rib is becoming my all time favorite meal. I plan on eating half my weight in it next weekend. Going to Vegas for the first time since I was 12, with some pals from work. We booked a deal online where we got our own rooms in the Wynn for two nights, and airfare for under $500 each. Plus they give us a $100 immediate rebate on all dining purchases billed to the room. As long as it's one of the several restaurants they apparently have there, we're good. So bring on the prime rib, and other tasties.

Thanks again Kevin for the tips on the good BBQ picks there. I would have never guessed. I'm going to hit all of them for lunch the three days we're there. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

WOW Tom, thats a screaming deal. I guess vegas is hurting like everyone else. And you are in for wuite a shock if you haven't been to vegas since you were 12 (assuming you are over 20 now
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I wanted to fire in a last post on this topic, was originally going to be something along the lines of......I very much appreciate Kevin's knowledge, wisdom, and experience sharing he does, and the time he spends on this site, it really is invaluable, and would be very hard to come by to us average joes else wise. Also, jb, I applaud your ambition, I know I'm too lazy to go to the lengths that you do. And I'm hoping to meet you at one of these comps sometime in our area, we become friends, so I can take advantage of your ambition without feeling bad about it
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So with that honest response first, I was then going to dig both of you on semi-hijacking my thread and post up what was the most important thing on Sunday night. Left over prime rib steak subs, with peppers and onions, melted in American cheese, topped with some nice tomatoes and lettuce, melted provolone on top on a toasted foot long roll.

But alas, the camera screwed me again and they are not worth posting. I blame the camera
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So I guess it was good that you guys kept this thing interesting!

Todd
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Todd Randall:
I wanted to fire in a last post on this topic, was originally going to be something along the lines of......I very much appreciate Kevin's knowledge, wisdom, and experience sharing he does, and the time he spends on this site, it really is invaluable, and would be very hard to come by to us average joes else wise. Also, jb, I applaud your ambition, I know I'm too lazy to go to the lengths that you do. And I'm hoping to meet you at one of these comps sometime in our area, we become friends, so I can take advantage of your ambition without feeling bad about it
icon_smile.gif


So with that honest response first, I was then going to dig both of you on semi-hijacking my thread and post up what was the most important thing on Sunday night. Left over prime rib steak subs, with peppers and onions, melted in American cheese, topped with some nice tomatoes and lettuce, melted provolone on top on a toasted foot long roll.

But alas, the camera screwed me again and they are not worth posting. I blame the camera
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So I guess it was good that you guys kept this thing interesting!

Todd </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

That's one of the biggest secrets - the left overs and what you can do. Another one is to "steal" from a frozen roast (I have 3 ribs from a 7 rib prime in the freezer right now).

By that I mean shaving off some of the frozen roast (chipping) for Philly cheese steaks. Great with any cut, but especially good with tri tip and PR! I don't have a slicer but a good mandolin works great. You only need a pound or so to make a couple of great sammies, and you still have the roast.
 
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