prime rib or choice

  • Some of the links on this forum allow SMF, at no cost to you, to earn a small commission when you click through and make a purchase. Let me know if you have any questions about this.
SMF is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.

chiefsmoke

Newbie
Original poster
Aug 14, 2012
7
10
west valley, utah
can anyone tell me the difference between prime rib or if its labeled choice. its the same cut of meat right? ive been told all prime goes to resturants and choice is sold in the store is this true or false? going to smoke 2 full prime ribs for christmas i did one last year it was choice and turned out excellent cant remember whos recipe i used on here, what do you all reccomend,, thank you
 
Hello.  Same cut of meat, different animal.  Prime tends to be less fat and may even be aged more.  As for cooking, Hot and fast as possible. No low and slow for that cut.  Serve medium rare at the most.  Pull from the smoker no more than 150-155 IT and rest for about 1/2 hr..  Good luck.  Keep Smokin!

Danny
 
Last edited:
77.gif
 I bow to the master.  If Bear says low and slow then that's the way to go.  Good luck.  Post pics.  Keep Smokin!


Danny
 
 
77.gif
 I bow to the master.  If Bear says low and slow then that's the way to go.  Good luck.  Post pics.  Keep Smokin!


Danny
If I have company coming, and one or two of them don't like Med-rare, I would use a higher temp. That way Mrs Bear and I could have the pink middle slices, and they could have the gray end ones. As it stands med-rare Prime Rib is one of the few things Mrs Bear and I agree on.
wife.gif
drool.gif


Bear
 
Yep, agree with the Bear. I like to pull any larger cuts of beef I'm roasting or smoking at 140 in the middle, allowing it to rise some while resting. The end cuts will be more towards 'medium' for those people and a pretty much perfect MR for the rest of us. 'Prime Rib' is a common name for standing rib roast. 'Choice' refers to the USDA grading system of beef. You are correct in your assumption most 'prime' grade meats go to restaurants. Costco is about the only place I know of that sells actual Prime graded beef and only a few select cuts. Most cannot afford the price tag on Prime so markets don't bother stocking it. You will see markets calling their assumed better cuts of meat various names now.....butchers choice, Ranchers Reserve and such.....mostly a name-game gimmick to boost sales. 'Choice' is always a good pick. There are non-graded cuts called 'no-rolls' in the biz....which refers to the grader and his dye roller labeling hanging beef, usually very tough cuts. Then comes Select, which you will see in many markets on the label, then Choice, then Prime. There are butchers on here that can/will explain it better than I, but that's the gist of it......Willie
 
 
Yep, agree with the Bear. I like to pull any larger cuts of beef I'm roasting or smoking at 140 in the middle, allowing it to rise some while resting. The end cuts will be more towards 'medium' for those people and a pretty much perfect MR for the rest of us. 'Prime Rib' is a common name for standing rib roast. 'Choice' refers to the USDA grading system of beef. You are correct in your assumption most 'prime' grade meats go to restaurants. Costco is about the only place I know of that sells actual Prime graded beef and only a few select cuts. Most cannot afford the price tag on Prime so markets don't bother stocking it. You will see markets calling their assumed better cuts of meat various names now.....butchers choice, Ranchers Reserve and such.....mostly a name-game gimmick to boost sales. 'Choice' is always a good pick. There are non-graded cuts called 'no-rolls' in the biz....which refers to the grader and his dye roller labeling hanging beef, usually very tough cuts. Then comes Select, which you will see in many markets on the label, then Choice, then Prime. There are butchers on here that can/will explain it better than I, but that's the gist of it......Willie
Yep yep.   Regardless of how things might have been in the past, today, Prime Rib refers to a Rib Roast of any grade (Prime, Choice, Select).

Not to nitpick, but a "Standing Rib Roast" is one that either still has the rib bones attached, or they are separated then tied back on.   Cooking "bone in" somewhat limits the smoke penetration on that part of the roast, but you get the added flavor that comes with cooking "bone in".

EDIT:   I pull and rest mine when it reaches 127ish.   :)
 
Last edited:
 
If I have company coming, and one or two of them don't like Med-rare, I would use a higher temp. That way Mrs Bear and I could have the pink middle slices, and they could have the gray end ones. As it stands med-rare Prime Rib is one of the few things Mrs Bear and I agree on.
wife.gif
drool.gif


Bear
Hehe, you are much nicer than I am.   If some of the company doesn't like Mid Rare PR, I'll steep their slices in Au Jus to bring it up to whatever temp they want   :)
 
Prime rib like others have said is just the common name folks call the "standing rib" or bone in rib roast.  Prime is a grade of beef in reality.  Choice is the most common beef found today in stores, and yes, the majority goes to resturants.  Prime beef has more fat and is marbled more than Choice.  One reason it costs more is because there is more loss [fat/waste] before the final product is put on the retail floor or on the resturants plate than choice.  When i was still working we would get prime mixed in with choice at times but not that often. However we sold it as choice because it cost us the same as choice having been substituted for choice when they didn't have choice in stock for that particular box of beef we ordered.  Would i go out of my way to buy a prime standing rib even for the Christmas? NO.  Choice in many markets are from Angus beef which is the majority of beef sold here.  Excelent beef and choice is my choice for any beef cuts.  

Well, i also agree with Bear about preparing a prime rib.  Although i did one last year this way.  I seasoned it, injected it with Korean beef broth with garlic thrown in.  Put it in the oven for one hour at 450.  Then i put it in the smoker at 225 with one tray of cherry chips until the internal temp was 125.  I then let it rest on the kichen counter [under a foil tent] until the internal temp was 130.  In the meantime i had aujus ready warm.  Sliced the prime rib and put the slices in the aujus ready to serve. Reinhard
 
I cook prime rib to a it of 125 and let it rest about a half hour. If company wants its more done I will cut their slice and grill it
 
For PR and other roasts I do it real low and slow at first. I smoke or cook it in the oven set at 185-200 to an IT of 115-120 then pull and wrap in foil, or even FTC it, for 30-45 minutes. Then it goes into the oven which has been pre-heated to 500+ for 7-8 minutes. Pull it, let it rest very briefly, then slice it. Perfect medium rare every time without even a hint of the dreaded gray border.

Like others, I keep a pan of au jus or seasoned beef stock simmering on the side for the folks who fear red, or even pink, meat. I don't cook the sliced meat that much more, I just color it.
 
Last edited:
 
For PR and other roasts I do it real low and slow at first. I smoke or cook it in the oven to an IT of 115-120 then pull and wrap in foil, or even FTC it, for 30-45 minutes. Then it goes into the oven which has been pre-heated to 500+ for 7-8 minutes. Pull it, let it rest very briefly, then slice it. Perfect medium rare every time without even a hint of the dreaded gray border.

Like others, I keep a pan of au jus or seasoned beef stock simmering on the side for the folks who fear red, or even pink, meat. I don't cook the sliced meat that much more, I just color it.
Yup---500* for only 7 or 8 minutes won't cause any gray border. You really should smoke a Prime Rib---You'll never go back to the oven.

Bear
 
 
Yup---500* for only 7 or 8 minutes won't cause any gray border. You really should smoke a Prime Rib---You'll never go back to the oven.

Bear
Around 70% of the time I use the smoker, especially for those large Holiday meals where the free oven space comes in handy for other stuff. My smoker is very well seasoned so I use a small amount of wood or none at all. My experience has taught me that those folks who like their meat well done are also the ones who do not like something that's too smokey, though my family and I might consider it normal.
 
 
Around 70% of the time I use the smoker, especially for those large Holiday meals where the free oven space comes in handy for other stuff. My smoker is very well seasoned so I use a small amount of wood or none at all. My experience has taught me that those folks who like their meat well done are also the ones who do not like something that's too smokey, though my family and I might consider it normal.
LOL---Mrs Bear is the opposite. She loves Med-Rare, but would rather have no smoke. So I slice our slices from the middle, and then I trim the outside inch off of hers---For me. Works pretty good.

Bear
 
SmokingMeatForums.com is reader supported and as an Amazon Associate, we may earn commissions from qualifying purchases.

Latest posts

Hot Threads

Clicky