Food - Drink
How Prime Rib Won Over The Holiday Table
By AMANDA BRETZ
The holidays often come with lots of delicious food and many serve prime rib during the time around the winter celebrations between Christmas and New Year's Eve. The term prime rib originates from a particular meat cut that comes from a cow's primal rib area and is usually served as a roast, but how did this piece become the meat of choice for the holidays?
Many believe that prime rib became a popular cut to serve for Christmas around the time of the Industrial Revolution when the standards around butchering meat improved, which allowed a greater amount of families access to more cuts of beef. Another reason it became popular is because, prior to the 1940s, it was considered an economical option for a holiday meal.
Due to the fact that they were only available during special turkey shoots, and because home freezers and mass production of poultry didn't become common until the 1950s, turkeys were once a luxury enjoyed only by a small section of the elite. Thus, you now know how prime rib got to be the beef cut served during the holidays.