How To Order Prime Rib From Your Butcher So It's Super Easy To Prepare

Ordering from a butcher can be a little intimidating. Maybe you know you want prime rib, but there are so many questions, like how much do you need per person or what to avoid when buying prime rib? Fortunately, most butchers are passionate about their craft and more than willing to help you answer all this and more. They're also quite knowledgeable about the best ways to prepare prime rib (and other meat) before cooking and can even do it for you. To ensure the easiest possible at-home preparation, Tasting Table spoke with Jamie Waldron, owner and operator of Waldron Butchers in Hamilton, Ontario, for his tips on ordering prime rib. With his advice, you'll know exactly what to ask for.

"I learned many years ago that preparing a [prime rib] chef style (...) is the best way to prepare and serve the king of roasts," Waldron, clearly a prime rib lover himself, tells us. While you could theoretically prep your prime rib chef-style (also known as oven-prepared) at home, it's a fiddly process. Instead, ask your local butcher, who will be more than happy to do the work for you. But what goes into preparing prime rib chef style? "We simply remove the ribs from the main muscle, clean the bones, then tie them back on for presentation," Waldron reveals. An absolute cinch for a butcher, but maybe a little messy and complex for the rest of us.

Chef-style prime rib is incredibly easy to work with, which is one of the reasons it's a great choice for home cooks. As Waldron puts it, "It really changes nothing when you're preparing to cook the roast." So, you can use your usual Instant Pot prime rib recipe or prepare an impressive (but deceptively simple) slow roast for a big dinner party, all without having to make any alterations. Your meat will be tied with twine, but there's no need to worry about cooking it tied up. As you're getting it straight from a professional butcher, it'll be butcher's twine and therefore both food and heat safe.

The chef-style preparation really comes into its own when you're serving your prime rib. The finish is the most critical for the home cook," Waldron notes. What this means is that plating and eating your prime rib is easier when it has been prepared chef-style by your local butcher. "You simply cut the twine and remove the bones, [which] makes life so much simpler," Waldron adds. We couldn't agree more.

By ordering chef-style, your prime rib will look great — and so will you. No wrestling with a carving knife is needed, and no uneven portions or huge chunks of meat will be left on the bones. There will, however, be enough meat left over for "anyone wishing to chew away after dinner" to be happy, according to Waldron, so no one's losing out.