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San Francisco’s House of Prime Rib is one of the most popular and successful restaurants in the city, selling 1,200 orders of dry-aged prime ribs every night and going through 360 ribs each week.
To serve this much meat, the team relies on the same techniques the restaurant has used since it opened in 1949, including submerging the prime rib in salt before it gets cooked.
Once the prime rib has been taken out of the dry-aging room, it gets completely submerged in rock salt; the goal is to not see any of the meat. This process helps retain its moisture. “You want to have the beef nice and moist,” says owner Joe Betz.
Once the salt is in place, the meat is put into the oven for around two and a half hours at a medium temperature. The salt helps trap the heat to better cook the prime rib. “It conducts the heat and seals it,” says Betz.
When the time is up, the team takes it out of the oven, and it rests for another couple of hours. Betz says this is so the juices can redistribute back into the beef and because the salt retains heat, the ribs continue cooking outside of the oven.
The team uses a large wooden oar to break up the salt beds, and once they’re cracked open, steam emerges from the ribs.
Watch the full video to see how House of Prime Rib carves and serves its ribs tableside for guests at the restaurant.
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Rock Salt Prime Rib
FAQ
Why cook prime rib with rock salt?
Should you salt a prime rib before cooking?
How do restaurants make prime rib so tender?
Do you use rock salt for prime rib?
We use rock salt for prime rib for the same reason we use it for other meats: it’s one of the best ways to ensure your meat is cooked to perfection. Whether you’re an old hand at using rock salt for prime rib or a newbie, chances are you’ve had a few questions about the topic.
Should you salt a rib roast before cooking?
Besides the bones making for a juicy prime rib, using salt on the standing rib roast makes for the most tender meat. You’ll want to salt it about four to five days before you cook it. The salt, when left on the meat for an extended period (from about an hour to days), seeps into the meat and provides for better seasoned, juicy meat.
Is rock salt good for roasting?
Rock salt is an imprecise cooking method and can be prone to temperature fluctuations, so you’ll want to use your thermometer to make sure you’re getting an accurate reading of your roast’s internal temperature. What Does Rock Salt Do to Meat?
What is rock salt & how do you use it?
Rock salt is just a fancy word for salt in its purest form. Its larger grains mean it takes longer to dissolve, so if you cover the roast in rock salt and then cook it, you get a crunchy crust on the outside of the meat that keeps all the juices in.