Carving prime rib, etc.

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Always carve the roast the same direction as the bones?

  • Yes, 100%

    Votes: 19 100.0%
  • No, you have it backwards

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • It depends, the grain direction CAN actually vary

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    19
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chef k-dude

Smoking Fanatic
Original poster
Mar 11, 2015
797
646
Central Virginia
Thought I would throw this out for opinions and experiences. I have searched and searched and gotten aggravated at nearly every article referring to bieng sure you cut across or against the grain. Well, duh, most people with any meat cooking experience have seen or heard of this.

But with a rib roast, is there really any confusion as to grain direction? I found only one article out of dozens that actually said "the grain runs perpendicular to the bones on a rib roast". That means, just like most pictures and videos, you cut the roast in the same direction of the bones. Some leave the bones on and cut between the bones, but most cut the bones off then proceed to cut in the direction the bones. Not one video I watched actually mentioned grain direction but almost all the articles did...without saying which direction that should be on a roast like this. All except that one.

I made a poll looking for the definitive answer!

Also, does anyone cut a thin slice off the ends so that there are the most prime slices from the middle? Seems every video I've looked at, they cut a regular thickness slice at the ends and they say "there is always someone in the crowd that wants that slice". I dont know the preference yet of the other folks eating. My instinct is to trim a thin slice off the ends to achieve more prime slices overall. I love both extremes, red/rare beef as well as the well seasoned ends, bits pieces. Not a fan of grey beef unless its like a braised or tender pot roast type cook. Seems like if I achieve perfection like Thirdeyes pic below and Civilsmoker's both in this thread, there wouldn't be much concern for that grey exterior or overcooked perimeter.

I plan to use Civilsmokers proven 235 degrees cooking temp with no sear.

Couple other questions:

-I decided to de-bone the roast ala Civilsmoker and Thirdeye, and now I have a rolled and trussed roast.
20241222_121222[1].jpg

My inspiration is this pic Thirdeye shared and I've rolled and trussed it pretty much identical except mine is only about 4.75lbs
1734967197873.jpeg


The butcher took almost all of the fat cap off the roast, but does look very much like Thirdeye's example above.

You can see there was a lot of fat on the bone-end of the roast (left side in my pic). Should I position the roast with that major fat portion on top so the fat theoretically would work its way down in to the meat, or is thinking this way just a waste of brain cells?:emoji_thinking:

-Them Bones...not just an Alice In Chains song! I seasoned them with salt and pepper like the roast and plan to roast them the same time and temp as the roast. Anyone done this? What should I expect? They will at least make for a good stock if not great to eat off the bone.

All input is welcome.
 
The butcher took almost all of the fat cap off the roast, but does look very much like Thirdeye's example above.
When doing my largest prime rib cook, I removed all the surface fat, and they came out great. Tying helps with even doneness.
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I seasoned them (bones) with salt and pepper like the roast and plan to roast them the same time and temp as the roast. Anyone done this?
Yes, I cut the ribs off myself and leave them meatier than most back ribs you buy at the market.
Yj1fBHF.jpg

This a 4-bone rack. And for me take about 5 hours total, which includes 1 hour wrapped.
VJJa03V.jpg
 
Thanks for the votes everybody. I just wanted to plant that on the internet. Most of the info out there is vague, copping out to "cut against the grain" when they know full well the answer to a rib roast is "cut the direction of the bones".

Thanks for the reply Thirdeye. Your prime ribs look outstanding. What cooking temp do you use? Of if you can link me to a thread you created I'm happy to just read it.
 
Still curious to know from you, clearly pro-level cooks...when carving, do you start by taking a thin slice off the ends, then cutting into, say, 3/4-1" slabs, or just make the first cut 3/4-1" in and let 'er rip from there?

Seems like most do the latter.
 
Prepared and served PR weekly (on Fridays) in a restaurant ~2 years

End cuts were saved for requests. Sliced just like I would if I were breaking down a whole loin into steaks. We started out with boneless loins, just sliced straight cuts, often cutting them in half and then using a slicer.
Went from that restaurant to a steakhouse. Generally used boneless loins to break down into steaks. Sliced them straight through, sometimes using the band saw, sometimes the slicer, sometimes by hand. Saw was easier, and if we were going to slice tbones or chops and have to clean it anyways, then saw it was. Didn't have one in the restaurant. Owner of said steakhouse was a true butcher (butcher shop attached) and it was all 6 of one or a half dozen of another when it came to slicing ribeye.

No real "grain" in a ribeye to worry about.
 
Thanks Hijack. I ended up slicing at about one inch slices including the ends. One diner liked the idea of having some of those ends because she wasn't crazy about med-rare meat. Even though it was medium rare out very close to the edges, the ends did offer a bit more "doneness". The rest of us wanted that very red center cut. So it worked out in the end.

I culled the leftovers using the remaining pink meat in beef dip sandwiches, then the rest of the "less prime" outer bands in a beef soup along with the roasted, then cooked in to broth, rib bones with meat on them. Got eight substantial servings in three ways out of that 6lb bone in roast (4.75lb after de-boning).
 
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