Over Rated ?...

[Fishonshawn]

With holiday times upon on there's lots of cooking going on. Whether its turkey, hams, prime rib, or some special sea food lobster holiday meal. Im curious what people think are the over rated meals they see people doing all the time.

Years ago I would have said turkey. I was always a ham person growing up but after finally getting a house a few years ago and my pellet grill and learning how to cook good food i realized I hated turkey growing up cause everyone always over cooked it and dried it out. Never saw a spatchcocked bird until I did one myself. Love turkey now.

Now I know i'll catch some flak for my pick of over rated meals but 2 years ago on Christmas I did a prime rib roast for my wife and I and we both were pretty disappointed with it. Watched a ton of videos, made a nice horseradish sauce and cooked the bone in roast to what I thought was perfection but it just lacked flavor. Of course the outside is seasoned fine but the inside is just so plain. I dont get why people like them so much. If you just like the taste of plain unseasoned beef then I get it. We do a ton of ribeye steaks throughout the year and they are great. But you also season an entire steak. You'll never ever on any video see the cook say to only season the edge of the steak... but when you slice a piece of ribeye off a prime rib roast thats all you have, a ribeye that's seasoned on the edges only. They do look super impressive though. The only thing thinking back that I maybe could have done differently was I saw in a video where someone stabbed holes in theirs and shoved garlic cloves inside it.

Anyways just curious what your thoughts are on what meals you see that you think are a over rated. Here's the roast we did. What's a post without pics anyways. For how disappointed we were i still find myself wanting to cook another one, like I missed something or somehow it could be better...

 

[SmokinEdge]

Any meal can be blah, if it is cooked improperly, or if the ingredients in the meal are not quality, or a combination of the two.
I love prime rib. I’ve eaten a ton of it over the years. Some that was outstanding, some was just ok, and some not worth eating. Most all of it was cooked right, but it boils down to meat quality. USDA grades beef in 5 categories, but 3 are most commonly seen in the grocery.
Prime (the best and most expensive)
Choice (can boarder on prime or lower select, but usually flavorful)
Select ( this can be closer to choice, but usually is closer to Standard. Generally dryer, tougher and less flavorful)

The grading system is based on the maturity (age) of the meat and it’s fat marbling. To be graded U.S Prime, the meat is young and well marbled. This will be very tender and flavorful (fat equals flavor).
The roast you cooked looks great from a temperature perspective, but would barely make U.S Choice grade, from the picture it looks much closer to U.S Standard grade. Low marbling and low flavor.
When I shop rib roast, i look for marbling, even if I’m specifically buying Prime grade, too much marbling means not much meat to eat and a lot of waste in fat. I look for a good balance. I’ve bought some Choice roasts that were outstanding, but I’ve bought some Prime that I wouldn’t do again.
Sometimes when I wind up with a marginal rib roast, I inject it with beef broth, salt and garlic. While this is not optimal, it can make a bland roast enjoyable, you just don’t get much beefy flavor.

 

[smokerjim]

Personally I would rather cut the roast into steaks and grill them. But smokinedge gave you some good advice

 

[civilsmoker]

As Edge said, a good PR starts off with picking out a good roast. You want a nice thick rib cap and a well marbled center....two recent examples.

the next and probably the most important is a pepper Au Jus. That is your seasoned crust for every bite. I will spend more time and effort on the Aus Jus than the roast.....

the next thing you can do is you smoke the PR in 3.5 to 4 lb size that way you get two ends and a middle cut the end cuts rule. As of late this is how I’ve been doing them as well but again Au Jus!

if smoked at 225 even the end cuts will be perfectly as well. For example: smaller roast 2 end cuts one middle:

Again with a good Au Jus or it’s just a pretty plate.

With regards to the turkey, if you want perfectly cooked you should do it on parts, ie cut into breast, legs with thighs, and wings. That way each can be cooked to the perfect individual temp... even better then spatchcock. I’m not a fan of spatchcock....cooked in parts is the easiest and best cooked, however the past 2 years I have been experimenting with whole again....but I remove a potion of the back bone so air can freely flow through the cavity. It is my go to for birds now. The results speak....this years 20 lber... this is the pull temps the wings were 180.

At 335 for 3.5 hours 20 min rest no tent.

this is what they back of the bird looks like from last years bird. Also a 20 lb

my last thought is that’s the beauty of cooking at home. You can experiment to get what you like best......

 

[JCAP]

We did a prime rib for Christmas last year and it was really good. I love that stuff. To me, the most overrated protein is turkey breast- the dark meat is great but the breasts and bland and flavorless.

 

[civilsmoker]

Here is my Au Jus.....I won’t do PR with out it....

Au Jus (Quick Version)

1 can of consommé
2 cups beef stock or broth
½ - ¾ C Red Wine
2tbs Demi Glace (Demi is just a highly concentrated low salt brown sauce. The real deal can be spendy but a good alternative (very reasonably priced) is better than bouillon but is a bit more salty than demi so you have to adjust for that).
1tbs each soy sauce & Worcestershire
Some grated sweet onion about a tbs and a crushed (whole) garlic clove
Fresh - 2 thyme sprigs, 3 sages leaves, about 1/3 inch rosemary sprig. Oh and a pinch to 2 tsp of white sugar a the end to smooth it out, just a pinch at a time though….and at the very very end.

Add all the liquid and demi and bring to a boil then low simmer (need about 20 min) to cook the wine in. Then last 5 min or so put the fresh herbs, onion and garlic in and then let them just seep in till it tastes a bit strong then use a screen spoon the remove them. Adjust the flavor of soy and worc to taste (I don’t really measure these days I just put it all in and adjust so the above is the starting place). remember to cook the Soy and Worc in if you add any more, they need some simmer time to blend in. It shouldn’t need any salt but some pepper adds if desired.
Note it will seem a strong with a little kick (when tasting with a spoon) but remember it is a layered flavor enhancer so it should be that way. When added to the meat and spuds it makes magic…..

Au Jus (the long version)
Pretty much the above except you replace the consommé with 3-4 beef ribs (shiners work great) that have been seared under the broiler and 3 cups more stock then light simmer the ribs for at least 8 hours, 12 is better (covered). Then season with the fresh as above. The seared ribs and long simmer to draw out the marrow in the bones makes this awesome, but it takes along time, so the quick version is still pretty good.

 

[civilsmoker]

We did a prime rib for Christmas last year and it was really good. I love that stuff. To me, the most overrated protein is turkey breast- the dark meat is great but the breasts and bland and flavorless.

the breast meat is nothing more than a vehicle for gravy......gravy is the Au Jus of turkey......the gravy/Au jus is the left hand.... turkey/PR the right hand.....

 

[texomakid]

We just had our Thanksgiving yesterday with ham only (ALL the usual sides & trimmings.) My bunch almost unanimously said they preferred ham over turkey. So the turkey I bought is still in my freezer. I kind of thought I might cook the turkey for Christmas but again, the masses informed me yesterday they would really like Prime Rib. I've done PR for about 3 years and it's really good (Chef JJ was very helpful in my quest learning how to create a great Au Jus!) So I'll get a second mortgage on my house and purchase a really nice Rib Roast. I love seeing everyone enjoy something they only have once a year at our Christmas gathering.

As far as turkey, I like it but I will cook mine via rotisserie if at all possible. The rotisserie is a real game changer on the turkey. I also think a good gravy is a big plus for any Turkey meals. My wife makes a really nice gravy.

Full discloser, I've never fried a turkey and I'm told they are the "bomb"? Might have to give it a shot at some point.

IMO, if it's what my family and friends request to eat I'll make it happen somehow, some way.

Pot of beans with the ham bone for Saturday

 

[chopsaw]

I'm in for the beans .

 

[indaswamp]

2 cups beet stock or broth

beet stock? talk about an earthy bite! Did you mean to type beef?

 

[civilsmoker]

beet stock? talk about an earthy bite! Did you mean to type beef?

yes beef......beet that would be an interesting flavor stupid Siri!

 

[Bearcarver]

With holiday times upon on there's lots of cooking going on. Whether its turkey, hams, prime rib, or some special sea food lobster holiday meal. Im curious what people think are the over rated meals they see people doing all the time.

Years ago I would have said turkey. I was always a ham person growing up but after finally getting a house a few years ago and my pellet grill and learning how to cook good food i realized I hated turkey growing up cause everyone always over cooked it and dried it out. Never saw a spatchcocked bird until I did one myself. Love turkey now.

Now I know i'll catch some flak for my pick of over rated meals but 2 years ago on Christmas I did a prime rib roast for my wife and I and we both were pretty disappointed with it. Watched a ton of videos, made a nice horseradish sauce and cooked the bone in roast to what I thought was perfection but it just lacked flavor. Of course the outside is seasoned fine but the inside is just so plain. I dont get why people like them so much. If you just like the taste of plain unseasoned beef then I get it. We do a ton of ribeye steaks throughout the year and they are great. But you also season an entire steak. You'll never ever on any video see the cook say to only season the edge of the steak... but when you slice a piece of ribeye off a prime rib roast thats all you have, a ribeye that's seasoned on the edges only. They do look super impressive though. The only thing thinking back that I maybe could have done differently was I saw in a video where someone stabbed holes in theirs and shoved garlic cloves inside it.

Anyways just curious what your thoughts are on what meals you see that you think are a over rated. Here's the roast we did. What's a post without pics anyways. For how disappointed we were i still find myself wanting to cook another one, like I missed something or somehow it could be better...
View attachment 517298
View attachment 517299

Click that link (Below) to see 14 Prime Ribs.
They were All "Choice", and All Awesome.
I cook mine in a Steady Temp of 220°, so that the result is Nice Pink color from Bark to Bark. That also means I never need Au Jus, because the Juices are still in the Meat, because it didn't get cooked out, and none of it turned Gray from too high a cooking temperature. We loved them all:

Prime Rib Calendar (14 Smoked Prime Ribs)

Bear

 

[tallbm]

With holiday times upon on there's lots of cooking going on. Whether its turkey, hams, prime rib, or some special sea food lobster holiday meal. Im curious what people think are the over rated meals they see people doing all the time.

Years ago I would have said turkey. I was always a ham person growing up but after finally getting a house a few years ago and my pellet grill and learning how to cook good food i realized I hated turkey growing up cause everyone always over cooked it and dried it out. Never saw a spatchcocked bird until I did one myself. Love turkey now.

Now I know i'll catch some flak for my pick of over rated meals but 2 years ago on Christmas I did a prime rib roast for my wife and I and we both were pretty disappointed with it. Watched a ton of videos, made a nice horseradish sauce and cooked the bone in roast to what I thought was perfection but it just lacked flavor. Of course the outside is seasoned fine but the inside is just so plain. I dont get why people like them so much. If you just like the taste of plain unseasoned beef then I get it. We do a ton of ribeye steaks throughout the year and they are great. But you also season an entire steak. You'll never ever on any video see the cook say to only season the edge of the steak... but when you slice a piece of ribeye off a prime rib roast thats all you have, a ribeye that's seasoned on the edges only. They do look super impressive though. The only thing thinking back that I maybe could have done differently was I saw in a video where someone stabbed holes in theirs and shoved garlic cloves inside it.

Anyways just curious what your thoughts are on what meals you see that you think are a over rated. Here's the roast we did. What's a post without pics anyways. For how disappointed we were i still find myself wanting to cook another one, like I missed something or somehow it could be better...
View attachment 517298
View attachment 517299

I'm with you 100% on how bland a Ribeye roast is!!!

I have one one but I did it more like a Crown Roast where every 2 inches I sliced into the roast as though I was cutting a giant steak but didn't cut all the way through. Then I seasoned every surface and spread out the slices when smoking.

Afterwards I presented the roast to the table but then cut each "slice" completely and seared on the grill to serve everyone. This did the trick wonderfully. Best of both worlds but a lot of work.

Next time I'll just cut think steaks and smoke em then sear on the grill and serve. No point doing the whole crown thing other than for looks :)


As for my own personal overrated item... store bought rolls. Those sad little square rolls with 3 indentions on the top. People are like "Oooh rolls... sooo good" and they are like the most generic item ever. Now if they were hand made from scratch cooked to be golden, fancy steakhouse rolls. I wouldn't say all this. Those are damn good but still do not outshine the meals at those fancy steakhouses but I see how a bread lover could think so with one of those fancy rolls.
These piddly little generic rolls, nothing even close to special to me and way overrated in my book :)