Here's How We Know Outback Steakhouse Cooks Prime Rib Just Right

While some people consider it taboo for a good steak to be anything more than medium doneness, there are plenty of folks out there who can't stand to see even a smidgen of pink in their meat. Imagine the surprise, then, of customers who sit down for lunch or dinner at Outback Steakhouse and see a rather extremely pink-looking medium-rare prime rib placed down in front of them. Sure, this might cause some alarm bells to go off, even for a medium-rare prime rib, but we know that Outback Steakhouse cooks its prime ribs just right because the restaurant cooks them in an oven, not a grill.

Prime rib at Outback Steakhouse isn't seared or grilled like other steaks, but instead slowly oven-roasted for four hours as a single hunk of meat and hand-carved to the desired size once finished cooking. Thanks to our exclusive interview with Chef Brett Reichler, we know that cooking prime rib low and slow is the best way to extract flavor from the meat, among other tips for making the absolute best prime rib. "The entire portion will be hot, even the pinkest part, because it has been oven-cooked," a former server explained on Reddit, urging other customers that seeing coloration on Outback's prime rib is normal. Secondly, prime rib is a cut of meat known for its fat and intense marbling, which prompts chefs to keep the meat away from well-done so as not to melt all that goodness away.

Outback Steakhouse's classic prime rib is herb-encrusted and served with an au jus, loaded baked potato, and the customer's choice of an additional side. The prime rib has changed recently, much to the disappointment of customers, and is now only available Friday through Sunday at participating locations (though here's an explanation why some restaurants only offer prime rib on certain days). At one point, customers could order the prime rib "Outback Style," which entailed a boatload of extra spices and seasonings, as well as an extra stint on the grill, which took away that signature pink color. More recent Outback menus seem to have removed that option, only allowing customers to order prime rib the "classic" way.

The dark reds and pinks of an Outback prime rib don't necessarily mean the meat is undercooked, because according to FSIS, "A consumer would not be able to determine if a roast that was pink in the center had reached the safe temperature of 145 degrees Fahrenheit without a food thermometer." Despite the pinkness, Outback's prime rib tends to be a hit with customers, even making the list of 7 restaurant chains with the best prime rib. "Steak and prime rib [are] two totally different animals," one fan defended of the pink prime rib on an Outback Steakhouse Facebook post, while another customer on Reddit said that "People may sometimes hate on Outback, but I've never had a bad piece of prime rib there."