Calculating Prime Rib for 25

[Huskee]

I'd be in

[Dr ROK]

Huskee, it turned out very well. It was a Christmas party for the local Shrine club that I'm a member of. Large slab of upper prime grade prime rib, gigantic baked tater w/ butter and sour cream, hickory smoked beans w/ pulled pork drippings and bits, tossed salad w/ garlic cheese croutons, and a slice of pie w/ whipped cream for 20 bucks. Wine or ice cold brewskis for 2 bucks and mixed drinks for 3bucks. Hard to go wrong with all that going on. Based on the comments we received, I think all my fellow Shriners went home very, very, happy.

[Huskee]

OK, so if your loss from rib cap removal (instead of bones) and fat trimmings was the same percentages as Meathead, you still had from .6-.7lbs per person raw weight. Still an impressive dinner and some full & happy guests!

[HorseDoctor]

Well done sir, well done! (medium rare done actually ) Great job anyway!

[smokinfatties]

Nicely done! Dr ROK . got a 16lb prime ribeye roast wet aging in the cryovac for xmas!

[Dr ROK]

Huskee, These were boneless, so the weight I mentioned did not include bones, just meat and fat. I did remove the rib cap. At least I think it was the rib cap. It separated from the rest of the roll pretty easily by pulling it as I cut along the line of separation. The cap had a lot of large veins of fat interspersed through out and i trimmed as much as I could out of it. One cap I cut into chunks and the other I just kinda folded it over on itself and tied it into a log. Both were dry brined and then vacuum sealed and in the freezer. I did not weigh my trimmings to see how much end weight I actually had after trimming everything down to the final rolls in the pics.

[Huskee]

Excellent follow-up! The common average is 1/2 lb raw weight of meat per person, not counting bone weight. Did you by chance weigh your bones & trimmings to know what your meat-only weight was?

In Meathead's Prime Rib article, he lists his details as starting with a bone-in 14.5 lber. He had 2.5 lbs bones, and a total of 3.25 lbs of fat & trimming, not counting the rib cap. I assume you left the rib cap on? Meathead's totals were about 40% loss after trimming bones & fat. If you had the same loss after trimming, you were down to around 23lbs meat, which would be about .6lbs per person. So you were right there in the range, if not a pinch heavy. Kudos to you for having such a great product that you still ran out! (Next time, more sides! Lol)

[Craigar]

Those look freaking awesome!!! Great job!

[Dr ROK]

Well for those of you interested, by the time the meal took place the number of rguests went from 25 up to 36. I went with a 21 lb and 18 lb HOM for a total of 39 pounds of untrimmed prime rib. I trimmed the fat cap and also removed the rib cap. After dry brining overnight, I used a triple batch of Oleary's Cow Crust mixed with water as the rub. Used BBQ Delight hickory pellets in my rectec mini and set at 230 degrees for two hours. The mini is in extreme smoke mode unless the temp goes above 250, so after two hours I rotated the rolls front to back and bumped the temp to 255 since I didn't want these to be overly smoked. It took one just under 4 hours and the other just over 4 hours to hit 130 degrees. At that point I removed them from the rectec, wrapped them in a sheet of foil (wasn't sealed at top, just used to catch juices) and put them on a rack in an electric roaster set for 135 degrees. They sat in the roaster for about 4 1/2 hours before serving. I didn't get any pics of the final product, but almost everybody that ate it commented on how it was the best prime rib they'd eaten, it was delicious, I forgot what good prime rib tasted like, or a comment similar to that. When all was said and done, I was one slice short, but since I was one of the participants in the meal, I just ate some of my wife's and daughter's slices. I would have had enough had I been a bit more frugal with my slicing, but I wanted everybody that was there to have a great slab of prime rib.

Rubbed and ready to go in the smoker.


Ready to be pulled off smoker.

[HorseDoctor]

Dr Rok I would go with 2- 12 to 14, you'll have plenty of leftovers and a little more flexibility with those ones that freak when they see red easier to handle for reverse sear and all plus very impressive side by side on a serving platter for presentation

Took the words right outta my mouth... Get 2 & your good-to-go! Have fun!

[Papa Bob]

Dr Rok I would go with 2- 12 to 14, you'll have plenty of leftovers and a little more flexibility with those ones that freak when they see red easier to handle for reverse sear and all plus very impressive side by side on a serving platter for presentation

[CeramicChef]

Dr ROK - I'd look at averaging something like 12 ounces per head. The reasoning behind this is the same most restaurants offer a "ladies" or petite cut. Many women won't/can't eat more than about 8-10 ounces of a really rich food like prime rib. Men, well, you know that guys will eat their weight I prime rib. plus, it sounds as if you've got quite the spread being served with the entre, so an average 12 ounces portion seems reasonable.

Based on those assumptions, I'd order something in the neighborhood of a 20 pound prime rib. That allows for some trim and a little left over.

Good luck, enjoy your party, and have some fun!

[Dr ROK]

FLBuckeye Going to be 50/50.

[Dr ROK]

skorepeo They won't have the bones on them. They will come in "cryovac" and I can choose from downs (#15 and under) or ups (#15 and over).

[Dr ROK]

smokinfatties Yes, it'll be the only meat, but we'll have baked potatoes, smoked beans, a tossed salad, and dessert.