I have checked with Sams, they sell prime rib de-boned, but not tied. They told me it sells for $8.93 per pound an comes in roast of 5-7lbs.

I have been reviewing recipes, found two I like, one calls for the prime rib to be tied, but it doesn't say how.

Could you please tell me how prime rib is supposed to be tied and about how many pounds am I looking at needing?

Tied is either tied into a cylinder for very even cooking, or boned and then the bones tied back on for flavor and roasting convenience. Quite different, called the same.

About how many would you allow a 13lb. cooked roast, boneless, to serve?

It is cooked rare, so I would bring it up to temp and cook to medium, I don't think I would have much loss. Am I way off?

Do It in a Flash
Food can be cooked either �a la minute,� literally meaning �to the minute,� or to order; or food can be made ahead of time and then reheated for service. The latter technique, known as �flashing,� is a used everyday by restaurant chefs and caterers so that they can serve large quantities of hot food without having to time the cooking of it all at the last minute. The principle of flashing is to reheat room temperature or slightly warm food in a very hot oven for a short period of time. This enables food to reach its desired temperature while preventing further cooking. Foods can be flashed from 425 to 475 degrees F, anywhere from 2-10 minutes.

Stews and thick casseroles cannot be flashed from room temperature because of their density. Whole birds and roasts also will not flash well for the same reason. However, if a precooked bird is broken down and placed on a sheet pan, it can be flashed easily. Since flashing is hot and quick, the food should be in individual portions or slices, or in a thin layer. If the food is supposed to be moist and juicy, like meat and poultry, cover it with pan juices and then tin foil when flashing so that the high temperature does not dry out the product.

I put it in the oven the morning of, with the sauce it came with and some au jus from a packet. I didn't want to chance it drying out.

I pulled it from the oven, let it sit, and sliced it. I drained the pan and put the slices back in there.

I took the package au jus and added some seasoning- garlic, pepper, paprika,etc and some horseradish! YUM! I cooked it and poured it over the prime rib...it was a hit.

I never actually got to try any myself, but I got rave reveiws!

Just because I have copied so much info for my own restaurant handbook from this site, I am going to pass on a free one to your readers...

I have been roasting 30 to 50 prime ribs a week for the last 3 years. It is not uncommon for me to do 40 in an evening for events.

My customers are in love with this method, and some will drive 300 miles to come for dinner.

Everyone has their own ideas, so I thought I would toss mine in the mix, since folks seem to have gone crazy for it.

Ideally, Prime rib should be moist, warm, tender and should have a variety of cuts from well done end pieces to the rare center.

DONT LET IT GET DRY...DONT OVER COOK IT..DONT SERVE IT TOO COLD.

I ALWAYS have a searing pan of au jus next to the carving station, this ends the constant tug of war between the rare lovers and the well done lovers. Keep some tongs near by and sear off the prime if the customer winces at the rare meat. Only this way will everyone get just what they want.

Know going in, you cannot win this battle as a chef. Rare lovers will ALWAYS cry when there is none left, and even a hint of blood will make the welldone lovers call you names like vampire.

Listen not to this battle, for the war is won on flavor...

ALWAYS, cook the center of the Primes to rare (around 123 degrees)and you will have a range of cuts to choose from. You cannot go BACK from well done to rare...so dont overcook this fine cut of meat or you will get wrath and hatred from those who know...

OK....here goes...

I first, heavily season the outside of large, boneless rib roasts with my own pepper salt and assorted spice mix including a montreal steak seasoning like blend.

Then I sear them on a flat top griddle. This is done by rolling them on a very hot griddle, using a garlic and sesame oil griddle lube. Make the griddle hot and wet enough to HEAR it sizzle.

Then, once they are seared off, I wrap them in 9 to 12 layers of plastic wrap..very tight all around. I pop 4 holes in the very top with my thermometer.

Then, I bake them off in a convection oven slowly at about 250 (or 300 degrees if Im in a hurry), until the center temp reaches 112 to 114 degrees.

I pull them out, and let them residual cook for a few minutes out of the oven before I unwrap them.

Remember, the convection oven method seems to add about 12 to 15 degrees after you pull it out... The interior temp is usually about 126 when I am done, making the center rare and the spread from rare to well fairly even from the center to the ends...This provides a little something for everyone.

The juice from the roast is held in by the plastic wrap, and keeps the meat from getting dry (a common complaint). The searing gives the roasted flavor the outside needs for the crispy flavor you want, and the meat ends up being so tender this way, you can cut it with a fork.

This is different from a roasting bag, because there is no "steaming" space between the roast and the plastic. Wrap the meat tight and keep a towel around cause everyone will be kissin your cheek and thanking you for such an awesome roast.

Substrate laminates like saran outgas at different temperatures, but most begin to lose integrity at temps over 325 degrees. This is when outgassing is most likely to occur. These Higher temps can cause the interior molecular structure to expand, releasing a range of things you don't want on your food.

Since we are slow cooking at low temps over long periods, such Fenyls and the like are not released from the substrates, as no degredation of the product is noted.

There are no bondings or meltings occurring at these low temperatures. No flavor transeferrence is noted.

Unless it is a very small oven, with two racks you should hold all the beef. Just be SURE to preheat thoroughly (I would say, even 30 minutes) and know that the meat will roast best if the oven has been recently cleaned.

Also, is it true the rib roast needs to be brought to room temperature in order to cook evenly?

See the chart on the beef roasting page for temp discussion. For non-convection ovens, add 25 degrees and figure to start checking internal temp at the predicted cooking time, but know it may take an extra half hour. If you go over about 125 internal temp, it will basically go to medium.

2. I am buying 9 rib eyes, each averaging 15 lbs.

3. Dinner (for 225) is served at 6 pm.

My questions:
Can I use full-size commercial sheet pans for the roasting?
For slow oven method (250 degrees) with 3 rib eyes in each oven, what would be my total cooking and resting time and at what temp should I pull for med rare?

For 450 degrees for 20 minutes, then 325 degrees for the remaining cooking time, what would be my total cooking and resting time and at what temp should I pull for med rare?

Also, for presentation purposes, I was wondering if I could cut the rib eyes in half down the length of each (after trimming and before cooking)so they look more like a whole tenderloin?

Get one meat thermometer for each oven. No point in wasting good meat.

Usually these come with reheating instructions, and usually it is 5-8 minutes per pound at 325-350. This will not recook. If you do this, you want to finish eating it within 72 hours (I'm betting this is not a problem) and not freeze any portion that has been reheated.

Use the beef roasting page. Cook low and slow to minimize shrinkage and get a beautiful medium rare all the way through. Preheat the oven at least 1/2 hour- it really makes a difference with this roast. Let stand a good 20-30 minutes after cooking, before slicing.