The Holiday Roast Beast - Beef

The most popular holiday roast locally is the Standing Rib, with the Tenderloin not far behind.   Read on for everything you ever wanted to know about choosing, seasoning and cooking a Standing Rib or Tenderloin Roast...

Tony's Crab Stuffed Tenderloin - call ahead to order.

Premium Choice Rib Eye Steak

First, the facts about choosing beef...

• Quality Grade:  The USDA inspects most beef to rate it's quality.  The highest grade is Prime, representing the top 2% or so of all American beef, and is rich, flavorful and juicy thanks to generous marbling (marbling is the thin lines of fat in the interior of the meat - the more the better!).  The next category is Premium Choice (AKA Top or High Choice), an industry term representing a combination of the top 10% or so of Choice beef mixed with Prime beef.  Regular / Low Choice is a very broad category with little to some marbling, and Select is not even worth talking about.  At Tony's we offer Prime and Premium Choice Beef.

Dry Aged Rib Roast

Extended Aging:  Quality beef benefits greatly by aging for 3-4 weeks under specific conditions, lower grade beef does not seem to benefit as much.  There are two styles of aging; wet aging works well, and dry aging works even better.  At Tony's we use a combination of wet and dry aging techniques.

Natural: To be graded as USDA Natural, meats cannot have anything added to them.  Pumping meats with flavoring solutions and increasing their weight by as much as 20% are common ways to improve low grade meats while reducing costs.

Trusted Butchers: The vast majority of beef in this country is of low grade and not aged, so everybody can't have 'The Best' as the ads suggest. Sadly, many retailers will simply tell you what you want to hear to make the sale, stick to a butcher you trust.



Beef At Tony's
We buy natural beef, responsibly raised by local ranchers.  We only buy Prime and Premium Choice Beef and age steaks and roasts for 3-4 weeks using a combination of wet and dry techniques.  I visited one of our ranchers, meet him in this video.



Standing Rib Roast
Most butchers and chefs agree, the Standing Rib is the ultimate beef roast.  The rib has generous marbling; thin lines of fat within the meat, which creates fabulous flavor and juiciness.  The best part of the Standing Rib is the Rib Eye, or the center of the roast - the rest is bones, fat and tough 'lifter' meat.  Make sure your butcher removes the 'lifter', 'feather bones', 'button bones' and excessive fat - essentially making the roast a Rib Eye with only the rib bones left - or remove the rib bones as well for a boneless rib eye (both available at Tony's).  Also, when the rib bones are removed, the fat wedge in the center of the roast can be removed, which some prefer.  Note: The Standing Rib is often called the Prime Rib, but don't confuse this with the beef's grade.  At Tony's we call a Prime Grade Standing Rib a "True Prime Rib".

Here's a quick video on how I am cooking my Standing Rib this year! 

Get the Recipe Here.

Beef Tenderloin Roast
The tenderloin is beef's most tender cut.  It's also known as the fillet mignon - and a center cut is called Chateaubriand.  This small muscle weighs only about 3-4 pounds and there are only two on each animal - making it beef's most expensive cut.  It comes completely encased in gristle and fat and takes some skill to clean correctly.  The tenderloin has an irregular shape - thick with three lobes on one end and a slender center that tapers down to a point on the other end.  If cooking whole, the thin 'tail' can be tied under.  Another great way to prepare this roast is double thick, tying them on top of each other 'flip-flopped' turns it into a pretty even roast - and the thicker weight is less likely to be overcooked.  All of this is discussed in the video, along with cooking tips.

There are many great cooking methods for tenderloin, here is how I cook mine.

Recipe: The Ultimate Tenderloin Roast

Best Seasonings for Beef
A great piece of beef deserves a great seasoning!  For Standing Rib, Tenderloin and other beef roasts, I recommend…

Euro Crust: Large chunks of sea salt, herbs and spices with just a hint of garlic - the perfect blend for beef, bison, game and lamb.  I specifically blended this seasoning for our families Christmas Standing Rib after a fall trip to France.  Sprinkle it on or blend with lots of minced garlic and olive oil to make a wet seasoning rub / marinade and spice crust.  Can also be crushed into a finer spice.






Tuscan Grill Rub: A chunky blend of coarse sea salt with a medley of Tuscan herbs and peppers, particularly good for encrusting meats and seafood, in sauces, casseroles and even on eggs.  I blended this to recreate the tastes of Tuscany after my second trip to cooking school in Italy.  Also great blended with lots of garlic and olive oil to make a wet rub and spice crust.  Can also be crushed into a finer spice.

 

Z Blend:  An intriguing, complex blend of sea salt, herbs, aromatics and whole spices with a Northern European flair.  Hints of caraway and dill make this very special blend memorable.  Balanced, chunky and unique, it makes a great crust on beef roasts and steaks, but is also amazing on pork and poultry.






Tony’s Prime Rib & Tenderloin: A garlicy seasoning blend with herbal overtones - particularly good with beef, and also delicious on pork and chicken.


Tony’s Porterhouse & Roast: A zesty blend with plenty of paprika and herbs, particularly good with beef roasts, steaks and burgers - one of our first custom blends and still one of the most popular. 
 

Tony’s Steak and Roast: A fine, particularly balanced seasoning blend with a warm and almost smoky flavor and just a hint of garlic.  Great on beef steaks, roasts, burgers and even pork. 
 

About the author: Chef Mick (Michaelangelo) Rosacci is the Corporate Chef and co-owner of Tony’s Markets in the Denver Metro area. Mick also teaches cooking on Denver’s Channel 7 News and Dig In, a local gardening show on FOX. For more recipes, visit www.TonysMarket.com and/or join Tony’s Culinary Club.