Prime Rib - First Cut?

Is it necessary to ask for the first cut when ordering a prime rib. My mother always did but I’m not sure it makes a huge difference. Bryan Flannery has said it doesn’t make a difference

if Bryan said no, I’d be happy with the answer.

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Agreed but he is in the minority. Also, I don’t know if he’s talking specifically about if you order prime rib from him or all prime rib

Per Cook’s Illustrated, the first cut is more desirable, which is also what I learned as a kid.

Necessary is a strong word. But certainly the closer to the middle of the cow, the better, since all that does is hold the spine up. The chuck end is more in the working class neighborhood with the legs.

…which has more/thicker cap. so it really comes down to preference - more eye, or more cap? (put me squarely in the latter category).

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I prefer towards the front end of the first cut if we are being particular. Best of both worlds.

I was always taught to buy a first three rib or first five rib roast. I guess a first four rib roast would also be delicious but we always went 3 or 5.

Exactly. I want as much spinalis (cap) as possible as I much prefer it to the longissimus (eye). The chuck end isn’t as even so it isn’t as pretty, but I’ll take taste over appearance all day long.

I always buy the whole rib. Problem solved

Yeah I mean if you want more cap you get the first cut. My grandfather was always a well done kinda guy so in restaurants he’d always ask for an end cut.

My Grandpa also always asked for an end cut.

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As did my father. I gotta say, if the roast is fresh out of the oven, maybe rested for a half hour, a well-seasoned end cut that’s still medium or rarer on the cut side is very tasty.

That’s not correct. The first cut is from the loin end and this will have less cap than you get from the chuck end. The main advantage of the first cut is that the appearance of the roast is more uniform.

OK am I mixed up? I thought we just said the first cut had more cap.

Easy answer if you cook the whole rib.
Is that what you do or do you freeze the rest?
Thanks
Ken

of course. have cut it into steaks, vacu sealed and freeze. have cooked the whole rib. have cut it in half and done 1 side at a time

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You are mixed up. The cap is more prominent the further back you go, so a second cut will have more cap than a first cut.

From Flannery website

Another major change from earlier years is the notion of the “1st cut.” Way back when, the Prime Ribs came to butchers with a whole lot more meat on them than they do today. The culprit behind this, you might ask? Look no further than the Boneless Short Ribs that have become an increasingly popular cut. Before the Short Ribs were removed from the Prime Rib, that extra beef would cause the diameter of the Prime Rib to increase starting from the loin end (the 1st cut), and the percentage of pure Rib Eye to net weight would move from 100% to somewhere around 60%. This is why our parents and grandparents would ask the neighborhood butcher for the 1st cut – to ensure that they were receiving the cut with the purest ribeye flavor. But take note: that concept is a thing of the past, and if you were to ask for the smaller end today, you would be getting the section of the short loin that is closer to the chuck.
The Prime Rib is the classic beef roast and although there are a number of other excellent roasts, the rib is the most dramatic by far in terms of presentation and flavor. Some practical points to consider; the “loin end” will have fewer chunks of fat, longer ribs, and the spacing between the ribs will be greater than the same facets of the “chuck” end. The chuck end by virtue of the greater percentage of the Rib Cap will deliver a more intense flavor than will the loin end. Either way, it’s a winner!
The average individual rib (a full Prime Rib has 7 ribs) will weigh about 2 pounds to 2.5 pounds each and will serve 2-3 adults easily. Here is something to consider when sizing the cut you need: the Prime Rib has a large diameter to the eye of the meat; so a half-inch cut from the Prime Rib will weigh a lot more than a half-inch cut from say the New York strip. So be careful when ordering by weight; what I mean by this is that if you were sizing a Filet Mignon roast, I would advise at least half a pound of meat (finished cooking weight) per person. But if you apply this to the Prime Rib, a half-pound of meat would be a slice maybe 3/8” thick. It’s much safer to figure servings per rib.
Lastly, here’s an idea to consider: Have the ribs removed and tied back on (our “Bones Tied” Rib Roast is prepared this way). We’ll be happy to do this for you or if you are shopping locally, ask your local butcher to do this for you (just don’t tell them it was our suggestion…they’ll hate us for it). For those of you who have ever struggled when carving the cooked roast, this is the answer. When done properly, you can’t even tell that the ribs have been separated. The cooking process will be exactly the same and there will be no loss of juice because the ribs are seating back exactly where they were and will seal the roast while cooking. When done, simply cut the strings and lift off the meat… Voila! you have a boneless roast to slice and the ribs will be fully cooked and servable if desired. You will also find that you can get even more servings when the roast is prepared this way.

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For a steak I am fanatical about buying the cut with huge caps. If you like rare steak that’s not great for cap though imo. For prime rib I don’t notice a huge difference though as the fat just isn’t the same as in a grilled steak cap. I do too like the end piece of a Prime rib though, something about those crispy bits along with the medium rare makes it the best slice for me.