Jumping in here for Dad! The problem with the notion of the “first cut” is that the way ribs are produced now (compared to back when Dad was still working with his Dad!), is that slaughterhouses use to leave a lot more of the shortrib meat on the prime rib. What used to be common for butcher shops to receive when they ordered ribs is classified as a “107 Rib” nowadays. The more common rib to being in nowadays is a “109E Rib”. If you’ve ever shopped at Costco, they’ll have 109s, but they will never have a 107. There’s just a lot more fat/bone/less tender meat on the 107 than the 109.
But back to the concept of 1st cut - you guys are right that the chuck end has the highest percentage of the spinalis dorsi muscle (that magical rib cap), and if you’re looking for pure flavor, you’d want to stick with the chuck end of the rib. But that’s assuming you’re cutting from a 109; the chuck end off a 107 will have all that spinalis dorsi, but a lot of other shit that you don’t want. It even has a tiny piece of the shoulder cartilage that you have to cut out. So - that’s why the concept of the 1st cut came about - people wanted to make sure they were getting the best value from the rib, and wanted to avoid the chuck end because of all the ‘extra’ meat. If someone can teach me how to upload my own picture, I can spell out the various muscle names/placements to better explain, lol. I think what Dad was trying to explain is that the reason behind ordering the 1st cut doesn’t really come into play nowadays.
I think what’s more important in todays world is to know whether you want your rib cut from the chuck end or the loin end. That will also make sure you’re getting exactly what you want, because I bet you could find one butcher who thinks the 1st cut comes from the chuck end, and a second butcher who thinks the 1st cut is from the loin end. The rib is a cool subprimal - on the chuck end it’s comprised of 3 separate muscles (spinali dorsi, longissimus dorsi, and complexus). By the time you reach the end of the rib (where the loin, or New York) starts, it’s almost 100% longissimus dorsi. No more spinalis, no more complexus. So you will have differences between each side, and it all depends on your tastes which end is better!!
Based on Katie’s response above, I emailed Flannery and requested that my roast, scheduled to ship in a couple of days, be from the chuck end if possible. I received a swift response that the request had been noted on my order. The roast arrived today, and “Chuck End” was indeed on the packing slip - written in pink magic marker.
I love everything about working with the Flannery family and staff.
I didn’t jump on the prime rib sale, thinking it would not keep until Christmas. It never occurred to me to choose a later shipping date.
Sometimes, I am my own worst enemy.
Your post was a perfect description of how cool Flannery is to shop with.
I’ve told this before, but one year we were in Mill Valley for Thanksgiving and I needed an ‘emergency’ prime rib t to handle extra guests. I called Flannery and asked if I could come buy it at their shop and that’s when I learned there was not a retail space…so what did they do? Yup, they personally delivered it!!!
Another Flannery note…My son spent a year working in San Rafael, and my sister in law asked if he would be willing to be her mom’s night time caregiver in Larkspur. He already loved her mom, Margi, so he agreed to do it. His first night there, she was showing him around and showed him the garage freezer. He said he jaw fell slack when she opened it and said, “All Flannery, all the time.”
(He was very well fed, became skilled in proper cooking, and also got to accompany Margi to her ‘personal’ table at Picco each week. It’s cool how Flannery bridged the gap between a 21 and 82 year old! She requires too much care for him to handle it now, but they still chat and go to Picco now and then. Enjoying great food and chatting is something all people have in common.)
