Tips on Prime Rib of Beef

[Doug Lax]

It would be great to see pics of that ! especially the Sous-Vide !

[jwhite613]

We lightly spritz all sides of the prime rib with olive oil then liberally apply garlic powder on all sides. Then cook (in oven) the first 20 minutes at 425-450. Then we reduce to 300-325 until rare-med rare. We usually have this on New Years Eve or New Years Day.

[Amfibius]

Hi Douglax, I checked through my pictures folder and could not come up with any pics of me using the SV setup to cook steak ... sorry! But, as mentioned in my earlier post, I use a 2 stage process to cook my steak. If you were to use high heat to cook steak, you would cook too much grey into the meat - to get the center to medium rare, there would be too much well done just under the surface. I therefore use a low heat method to achieve the done-ness that I want, then follow it up with a hellish inferno to finish the surface.

The low heat method I use is either sous-vide or slow roasting. Either way, careful control of the heat and monitoring of the meat with a thermometer is essential. 50C is rare, 55C is medium rare, 60C is medium, and 65C is well done. Here are a few pics of a slow roasting steak:

_MG_5851.jpg

The steak is oiled up with garlic infused EVOO, then placed on a rack with white wine, thyme and rosemary below. It goes into an oven set at 70C. At this temperature, it will take 3-4 hours to reach 55C. Sometimes it can happen faster, so it is important to start measuring the temp after an hour to see what's happening.

_MG_5854.jpg

... this is what the steak looks like after slow roasting. At this stage, I let it rest until the temp drops down to 40C. Note that there is a flavour difference between slow roast and sous-vide. Slow roast tastes far more beefy and intense, but the meat is dryer. Weighing the meat before and after the slow roast confirms that you get more moisture loss with slow roast. Sous-vide is much more tender and more juicy, but tastes less beefy.

_MG_5856.jpg

The next stage is a high heat method to develop the crust. Conditions that favour Maillard reactions are: high heat (above 120C), presence of a reducing sugar, presence of amino acids, and base (pH > 7) conditions. You can encourage the reaction by adding protein (here, I used butter), by adding sugar (I sprinkled some caster sugar on the steak), and by causing base conditions (I used baking soda - NaHCO3).

Here, I panfried the steak to develop the crust, but you can also use a grill or a blowtorch.

_MG_5861.jpg

This is what the steak looks like, served up with some blue cheese wrapped in spinach leaves

P9100397.jpg

Here is another prime rib, from another dinner party. Note how the meat is evenly pink from surface to surface with very little grey below the surface. This one was sous-vided followed by a high heat grill on the BBQ.

BTW, many cooks will fall either into the early salter or late salter camp - i.e. salt before cooking vs. salt after cooking. I must confess I am an early salter. If you salt early enough, it draws fluid out. But if you leave it, the salt goes back in, drawing the moisture back with it. The salt within the meat causes chemical changes that tenderize the meat. Furthermore, the salt helps the meat hold on to the moisture. And, as a prominent chef once said - if you salt early, the food tastes seasoned. Salt late, the food tastes salted.

[Doug Lax]

Originally Posted by Amfibius

Hi Douglax, I checked through my pictures folder and could not come up with any pics of me using the SV setup to cook steak ... sorry! But, as mentioned in my earlier post, I use a 2 stage process to cook my steak. If you were to use high heat to cook steak, you would cook too much grey into the meat - to get the center to medium rare, there would be too much well done just under the surface. I therefore use a low heat method to achieve the done-ness that I want, then follow it up with a hellish inferno to finish the surface.

The low heat method I use is either sous-vide or slow roasting. Either way, careful control of the heat and monitoring of the meat with a thermometer is essential. 50C is rare, 55C is medium rare, 60C is medium, and 65C is well done. Here are a few pics of a slow roasting steak:

Attachment 13266




Thanks a lot Am
The steak is oiled up with garlic infused EVOO, then placed on a rack with white wine, thyme and rosemary below. It goes into an oven set at 70C. At this temperature, it will take 3-4 hours to reach 55C. Sometimes it can happen faster, so it is important to start measuring the temp after an hour to see what's happening.

Attachment 13267

... this is what the steak looks like after slow roasting. At this stage, I let it rest until the temp drops down to 40C. Note that there is a flavour difference between slow roast and sous-vide. Slow roast tastes far more beefy and intense, but the meat is dryer. Weighing the meat before and after the slow roast confirms that you get more moisture loss with slow roast. Sous-vide is much more tender and more juicy, but tastes less beefy.

Attachment 13268

The next stage is a high heat method to develop the crust. Conditions that favour Maillard reactions are: high heat (above 120C), presence of a reducing sugar, presence of amino acids, and base (pH > 7) conditions. You can encourage the reaction by adding protein (here, I used butter), by adding sugar (I sprinkled some caster sugar on the steak), and by causing base conditions (I used baking soda - NaHCO3).

Here, I panfried the steak to develop the crust, but you can also use a grill or a blowtorch.

Attachment 13269

This is what the steak looks like, served up with some blue cheese wrapped in spinach leaves

Attachment 13270

Here is another prime rib, from another dinner party. Note how the meat is evenly pink from surface to surface with very little grey below the surface. This one was sous-vided followed by a high heat grill on the BBQ.

BTW, many cooks will fall either into the early salter or late salter camp - i.e. salt before cooking vs. salt after cooking. I must confess I am an early salter. If you salt early enough, it draws fluid out. But if you leave it, the salt goes back in, drawing the moisture back with it. The salt within the meat causes chemical changes that tenderize the meat. Furthermore, the salt helps the meat hold on to the moisture. And, as a prominent chef once said - if you salt early, the food tastes seasoned. Salt late, the food tastes salted.

Thanks a lot Amfibius! You are a wealth of knowledge! I salt first too and cook in a cast iron skillet !

[Ritmo]

Well, my wife is out of town this weekend so for dinner:

- grilled filet mignon (12oz)
- grilled vegetables
- steak fries
- 2005 Faust - wonderful red from Quintessa in Napa...

Oh, and tons of music tonight...

Mike

[chessman]

Mike, Mike, Mike ... ... some things you have to remember to forget - like reporting the awesome menu when your wife is away.

[Ritmo]

Randy,

You are so right...

Now, for tomorrow:

- grilled sockeye salmon
- grilled asparagus
- garlic mashed "taters"
- and, Chassagne Montrachet...

Oh, and, more music...

Goodness, I hope you guys are not going to give me up!

Mike

[chessman]

Originally Posted by Ritmo

Randy,

Goodness, I hope you guys are not going to give me up!

Mike

What happens on the grill stays on the grill.

[Ritmo]

Randy,

You are so right. Oh, I also have a couple games on as well. While I miss my better half, this is not a bad deal!

Mike

[Toccata]

Am I the only one who likes prime rib medium well to well done? (I prefer the end cut overall.) The thought of eating bloody, medium rare meat makes me ill!