I know the 3 bone beef ribs are super expensive and you need to probably ask the butcher or order them online, but where do any of you even find the 4 bone plates? I'm in northern Illinois and had trouble finding them even before this whole shortage thing. Any help appreciated. Thanks!
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Costco generally has them. I have also had success asking the supermarket meat guy when they are putting out the smaller cut shorties for braising if they have any whole racks in the back. -
Brookshires, HEB, Fresh, even see some anemic ones in WallyWorld...Then again I'm in Texas.Comment
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Those (4 bone) are all I've ever seen in person. Most grocery butchers have them, in back, if they have them packaged individually or cut into shorties for the customers. We have a few specialty butchers around town that also have them, in back. Just ask...
I'll usually buy a whole cryovac, which used to contain four x 4 bone plates. It has been a while though, as I've been working on my Brisket recipe almost exclusively for a couple of years. I bought some back in January, and they came in a two plate cryovac.
I used to get a pretty healthy discount for buying in cryovac, since the butcher didn't have to trim fat, or cut bones. That is no longer the case either. If they do that to you, I recommend having them cut them how you want them and make them work for your dollar.
I prefer the two Big bones cut off from the smaller, and left together. The smaller bones I prefer to debone altogether, like stew meat. They just don't present as well on the bone, as there is usually a large vein of fat diagonally across the center of them, all the way to the bone.... so after trimming the fat, they are shiners with just a small bit of meat on the end.
Next time, if they won't cut me a break, I may try having them cutting me the two big bones like I want, and just let them keep the shiners for burger or whatnot. At the retail price of these, added to the amount of bone weight percentage, there is no reason for one to buy ribs that are more fat than meat.
Of course, I might just need to find another butcher, since the manager at my preferred one apparently has moved on to bigger and better things.
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I find them usually with plenty of meat on the bone, 4 still in a cryopack. Cost $3 a lb or less unless they are prime. Where did you get yours? -
texastweeter Reasor's is a local grocer, and was my preferred butcher. Whole foods, Perry's Meat Market, Harvard Meats. In a four bone rack, I have NEVER had the two smallest bones not have the vein of fat that runs diagonally, all the way to the bone, with little triangles of meat left on the corners. Here, they have always been about $6/lb, (often over $7) for choice or CAB. Figure fat, bone and we all know how much short ribs shrink... very expensive. At 3/lb, I would stock a freezer full. -
I do, along with briskets, pork ribs, turkeys, chickens, pork shoulders, salmon, leg of lamb, hams, I could go on and on. Then I have my ageing fridge full too. Great meat is not in short supply where I live. Cheap too, thank God!
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In my neck of the woods you can find Beef Plate Ribs at Costco (4 Bone) or at Restraunt Depot.Me personally and that means nothing the 3 Bone plates just seem to taste better. More like brisket to me. The 4 Bone plates are equally as awesome but taste more like a roast to me. Maybe I am doing something wrong not sure.
(3 or 4 Bone) both are labeled as NAMP 123.Last edited by tiewunon; June 19, 2020, 03:56 AM.Comment
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Have a couple plates going right now with a damnation rub over mesquite. Hot sauce as a binder.Comment
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The 4 bone plates are pretty easy to find here at Costco and local butcher shops so I smoke them often in normal times. Not so much lately though. Have not seen any in months at Costco. The 3 bone plates I need to get via a friend that owns a pub. He orders them for me from his restaurant meat vendor. And the are very expensive so I get them a couple times a year as a treat.Comment
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I agree with comments above, we here in Texas are blessed with an abundance of beef. Short rib chuck plates can be gotten at Costco, Whole Foods, other grocers and local meat cutters (aka butchers). I also agree with other comments above, that most of the cryovaced ribs produced are from the chuck area starting with the second rib of the cow. Generally sold in 4 rib sections you encounter a large fat layer at about rib #3 which renders that rib almost worthless. It's difficult to detect because the packaging is generally opaque. If you can get them to open it up and grab the first two rib section you are better off.
So having said that, I have shied away from buying them unless they cut them as individual ribs and I can see them up close. I also like to source the larger "dino" rib plates that come from the rib section further down the rib cage of the cow (ribs 6-7-8). The meat is a bit thinner but the fat isn't as abundant.
Last year I sourced what seemed to be the largest plates I could find from Porter Road. They were actually cut from the entire 7 bone rib section, ribs 6-12. I further elaborate in a posting on the cook;
https://pitmaster.amazingribs.com/fo...9389-dino-ribs
What I encountered was one reason why you need to shy away from anything cut from ribs 9-12. What happens anatomically in the cow is you have two muscle groups overlying one another (serratus ventalis and latissimus dorsi) with a huge layer of fat running parallel with the ribs in that area. What happens when you cook that section is it begins to separate and you're left with a lot of fat being sandwiched by two pieces of meat, not very desirable and difficult to eat....
The bottom line to all this is to educate yourself as to what exactly you are buying. Generally you're best trying to source the 4 rib chuck rib plates or plates cut from the rib section around ribs 6-8 only. I would encourage talking to Snake River Farms or the good folks at Porter Road and pay a little extra. I did have a talk with Porter Road about the fat content after doing my cook and research and they have since discontinued selling whole rib sections due to the complaints about fat content.
They are about to re-introduce a new 3 ribs section cut (presumably ribs 6-8) which they are sending to yours truly to try out and do a review here on AR. Be looking for that in the coming weeks. Good luck in the meantime to the OP, hope you find your shorties, they are delicious !!!
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None at any of our local COSTCOs, so now I jealous...Comment
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I have to ask for them at my local grocer here in my neck of the woods. They bring out a cropac with 2 chuck plates - I have them open it and let me pick the one I like best. Next time I’ll have them cut the 2 best bones off of each as there are always 1-2 ribs covered with a chunk of fat (as others have already stated). I cut them into two bone sections anyway, so might as well have the butcher do it for you and get the best ends of the plates.Comment
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I picked up a nice 4 bone rack of dino ribs at HEB two weeks ago - They were labeled as DinoRibs. The meat appears nice and thick and the marbling when viewed from the side is amazing. I'll know once I go to cook them if they have the big piece of fat over two of the ribs, right now they are in the freezer. They had one 4 bone rack that was huge but the meat seemed thin - it was over $60.00. I passed and got the smaller one with thicker meat for $46.00.
One other thing I saw at HEB - the biggest brisket I've ever seen: 26+ lbs. This wasn't a clod, just a brisket. This brought up two questions: how freakin' big was that steer and, since steers have two briskets, where was the other one? I didn't buy it but I would have if it was a week earlier when me and my friend cooked brisket for 100 people. It was $99.Comment
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I am picking these up today. I usually check Costco. if they are out, then I will shoot over to my local guy that usually has them for me.
I am making them by request for fathers day tomorrow!
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