The proof at the top.
This was a 2 bone prime rib section. I frenched the bones, separated the ribs from the eye and spinalis, then tied back together. I then crammed it into a foodsaver bag I had made, bones pointing towards the opening of the bag. Tight fit, and both sides have that vac bag grid on them.
It went into a 6 hour bath at 135, being sensitive to wife's preferences, as prime rib is not her first choice. Tenderloin and wellingtons are her first choice, but Costco seems to have stopped selling the whole primal with side meat, and I couldn't bring myself to buy a pre-trimmed tenderloin at the price they were getting. NO!
Out of the bath, it went into the fridge for a week or so. I bought the thing the week before the holiday, and did not want it sitting around in the fridge as the butcher packed it. Much happier with it vac sealed and cooked for the week in the fridge.
I put it in a bath to reheat it, about an hour. This was insufficient. Which leads me learned lesson #1. I should have just vac packed it when I bought it, and cooked it on the day of service. Or, I should have booked three hours to reheat it in the bath. Or, I should have stuffed it into a 200* oven for several hours, though that seems like the least safe option food safety wise.
Out of the bath, I peeled some silverskin off the top, brushed it with a whipped egg white, and laid on a nice layer of Mrs. O'Leary's Cow Crust. I like to remix Meathead x Chefsteps x Sous Vide Resources, taking the best of each. Blasted in a 450 oven for maybe 10 minutes. This was perfect.
The other lesson I think I've learned, or experiment for the next time I want to drop prime rib money, I might do a second cut, up the fatty eye of the rib eye. Take out the iconic chunk of fat. I kind of like the gristle, but that fat isn't really doing anything and could be trimmed, meat glued back together, and tied.
The ribs are a nice presentation base, but I think next go I might get boneless, just for ease of use regarding stuffing in the bag.
I also found out they make pleated bags for vac sealers. They will accomodate much larger objects, like a full packer, or a larger prime rib. Nice.
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