Rib-Eye Steaks...

Rib-Eye Steaks can be boneless or with a bone in. The Bone-in rib
steak is called the Entrecote and the boneless cut is called the
Rib-Eye Steak. Both of these steaks come from the rib section of
the cow. The most common rib-eye steaks seem to be the boneless
rib-eye.

The Boneless Rib-Eye Steak comes from the rib-eye muscle that
runs from the rib, top loin and top sirloin, just inside the
ribs. Therefore, the Rib-Eye Steak is one of the most tender,
flavorful and desirable steaks we have all come to love. The
Rib-Eye Steak is the boneless cut of beef from the rib section,
between the short loin and the chuck. You have a couple of
choices on getting your Rib-Eyes. You can buy either a full (10
to 12 pound) or half (6 pound) rib eye roast and cut your own
Rib-Eyes from there. You can then choose the thickness of your
steaks and can package them in one or two steaks per the package
as you wish. You will also save a bunch of money doing this. I
see specials all of the time for full rib eye roast for like $4
to $5 a pound and they usually will cut and wrap your whole rib
eye roast to your own specifications. You should get somewhere
between 10 and 12 steaks from the full rib-eye roast and like 5
to 6 steaks from a half rib-eye roast. These steaks will weigh in
the neighborhood of 1 pound to 1 1/8 pound each.

The best Rib-eye for grilling to rare or medium-rare is a USDA
Prime or Choice grade, cut to between 1 ½ inches and 2 inches
thick. Don't cut them any thinner than 1 ½ inches as they will
lose their shape when cooked to medium. When I talk Prime and
Choice grades here I am talking about a USDA graded piece of
meat. Prime is the highest grade of the eight grades and Choice
being the second highest grade. Prime meat will contain a
fantastic marbling to it and will have a better taste since the
marbling is evenly distributed in the meat itself. Choice grade
is not bad stuff either. Just a step below the Prime grade. The
next and most common grade carried by most meat shops and
supermarkets is the Select grade. Again, not bad but when you
want the very best go for the Prime graded meat. It cooks a
little quicker and it will have a fantastic taste and will stay
more moist during cooking.

Beef is graded during the aging process by USDA inspectors. The
piece of meat they usually grade a cow by is the rib-eye roast.
Then the animal is given this grading. I mentioned above there
are 8 grades of beef. We see only 3 as consumers. The lowest
grade is Select, then Choice, and then Prime. This grading has to
do with the marbling of the meat and how well the marble is
distributed over the cut of meat. You should see this marked on
the package or in advertising of the meat being sold. If you
don't see it you should ask the butcher what grade the meat is.
Another way for you to identify the 3 grades is markings on the
bag. You will see it spelled out in the USDA labeling and can
also be identified by the color of the label stamped on the meat.
Black stamping is Select grade meat, Blue stamping is Choice
grade, and Red is for Prime meat. This can help you identify what
grade of meat you are getting.

In my opinion, rib-eyes are the best steak to grill. But do not
overcook these beauties, I like to cook mine to rare or medium
rare only. Hey and it can be smoked as a whole rib-roast and then
cut to the desired thickness you want to serve.

Let me say one thing here, you will see many restaurants in the
US advertising prime rib. It is a label to associate the meat as
a prime rib instead of a rib-eye. It is more than likely not
graded Prime but is just been labeled this over time and we have
all come to call the rib-eye roast a prime rib.

OK now the bone-in rib steak known as entrecote. Don't confuse
this with the boneless rib-eye steak. The bone in rib steak is
cut from the rib roast. The rib steak has more fat than does the
rib-eye and it does have a bone. It is cut a bone-in steak cut
from the rib roast.

NOW - Get the grill hot. These steaks can be cooked perfectly
using a charcoal grill or a gas grill. Remember, grilling is
cooking meat fast directly over a hot fire. Smoking, is the
method of cooking meat over indirect heat at low temperatures.
Steaks are made for the grill not for the smoker.