Yet Another Prime Rib Post: What To Do With 4 Ribs?

[IFindZeroBadCooks]

I have this fairly small six-pound prime rib roast waiting for Christmas day. The plan is to follow Meathead's plan and separate into prime ribeye, rib cap, and ribs. Given how small the roast is, I was going to cook all three parts on the same day, and potentially even throw an extra steak on the grill if needed if it looks pretty slim after trimming. We have three adults this year, and one kid who may snack on some of it.

I have a pretty good idea of how to cook the prime rib and rib cap, as the recipe is straightforward for cooking the prime rib, and I will treat the rib cap like a steak. I will either sous vide both cuts at 129 then sear for finish, or smoke them until they reach temp and sear.

However, I'm used to cooking full slabs of baby back ribs, not a short collection of 4 beef ribs. I'd prefer to serve them as ribs versus make gravy. But I could be overestimating how much meat will be left after all the of the trimming, so maybe it won't be worth the effort.

Assuming I cook them as ribs, should I aim for something like 2-2-1? That seems like overkill for a half rack essentially. Thoughts?

[jfmorris]

I sacrificed one rib to the gravy pot, but saved and froze a slab of beef ribs 6 bones long. Meathead says to treat them just like baby back ribs, and links to his Last Meal Recipe when discussing what to do with the ribs on the recipe page for Prime Rib:

"There's plenty of meat between the bones and these beef baby backs can be cooked just like pork baby backs for a real treat."

My comment based on the amount of juice from the 7 bone roast that I cooked without the bones - if you can catch all those juices, gravy can in fact probably be bypassed. Or just make the gravy using the meaty trimmings only, plus some pre-made beef broth. Basically, amp up some Swanson or other such broth by boiling for 3 hours with the trimmings and veggies in the gravy recipe.

We mostly used the gravy I made for the mashed potatoes. Everyone loved the creamy horseradish dip, other than my wife, who hates horseradish. I used the recipe from this page for the dip:

https://snsgrills.com/pages/smoked-prime-rib

I've got the rib eye cap saved in the freezer and plan to cook it just like a flank steak for some future cook. Same with the slab of ribs.

[Troutman]

Either you do what Jim just said OR you carve those babies into giant tomahawk steaks !!! Oh yea BABY

[Mosca]

I don’t separate the eye from the cap, but that’s mostly because I think the eye is inferior and needs the cap to balance it out.

As far as the ribs… after everyone leaves, and I’m alone in my kitchen, I gnaw those suckers like I’m a caveman. Because the cap isn’t the best meat on the cow. That rib meat is the best meat on the cow.

[mgaretz]

I cut the ribs off and then tie them back on and cook the whole thing low and slow (225F) with a probe until it reaches your target temp. Then untie the ribs and set aside. For another meal I reheat the ribs under the broiler to crisp them up.

[IFindZeroBadCooks]

I considered that but I think MH’s comment about spices not cooking fully on the ribs makes sense to me. At least enough to not do it this way this time.

[mgaretz]

I season (spice) it after tying the ribs on so there's no spice between the rubs and the roast. Indeed, it often comes directly from the market this way (ribs cut and tied back on - they call it the Presidential cut).

[IFindZeroBadCooks]

Hmmm. No Presidential cut on my labels!

[IFindZeroBadCooks]

Thanks jfmorris . I did see MH’s comments on the ribs but wasn’t sure how much they would apply to a 4-rib set versus a 8 or 9 rib rack. I will proceed as they are a regular set of normal ribs and cook accordingly.

I guess we will also see on the rib cap and eye if separating is worth it given the size Mosca . I think I’ll break it all down anyway this time. And see if I learn anything for the larger 8 pounder.

Troutman . Not bad pics for sure, but I am really hoping to get good ribs here!

[IFindZeroBadCooks]

wrgilb how can I tell from the package where my ribs are from in terms of cut?

[wrgilb]

Look at the largest end, if the spinals and the eye looks large, it is from the chuck end. If you look at the small end and it has basically no spinals and looks like a New York steak, then that is the end towards the short loin. A lot of times stores cut the 4 bone from the chuck end and then the 3 bone is what is left going towards the short loin.

[jfmorris]

Yeah, if they really take 4-5 hours like baby back ribs, then you will want to start the ribs a couple hours earlier than the prime rib, and then do the steak as things finish up.

Maybe someone else who has cooked beef back ribs can comment though on how long they really take.

[wrgilb]

Here's APL's (Adam Perry Lang) method for beef back ribs. @325

1-1/4 hours on the grill naked, then wrap in foil with some diced onions, honey and a little water. Back on the grill for 1-1/4 hours, pull off the grill and rest in the foil for 15 minutes, unwrap and back on the grill for another 15 minutes to tighten up. Total time 3 hours. These are really good.

[IFindZeroBadCooks]

Similar to what I do except for the high temp at 325. Since I might have all three cuts on at the same time , I am probably going towards 250-275.

[wrgilb]

At those temps, you'll need to go longer on the ribs.

[IFindZeroBadCooks]

Yeah, I am going to put the ribs on first then the roast and rib cap later based on best estimates of cook times. I haven’t decided if everything is being SVed or all on the smoker yet.