No sign of buying ribs individually.
The ribs TailbackU and I are talking about are sold individually in the butcher case or in packs of 2 in the cold case.
This Gelson’s meat department is maybe 20’ long including the packaged section and the butcher case, so I checked both. No sign of the right product (no ribs of any kind in the butcher case) and, as I said, the guy I spoke with had no clue. When I go to WF I’ll start directly with a counter guy.
French Butcher on 3rd by Hauser
looks amazing (and expensive).
//edit
holy dear mother of god a 12oz NY Strip is $28.50. A whole 4 pound chicken is $40.
O_O
That said, the classes also look amazing. I’d love to sit in on a few rounds of the amateur cutting club.
Having walked out of there twice going “how the hell did i just spend that much” I know I won’t be going very much. And I don’t think they’ll survive with these prices being just blocks away from Marconda, Puritan poultry and Huntington meats. But everything is gorgeous in there and the family is the sweetest.
At the least walk out with a baguette, head-cheese and a few slices of smoked duck. Killer.
Almost miss the cute pies of Atticus. They didn’t make it. If a coffee shop didn’t make it in that location I don’t have hopes for a high end butcher.
@Midlife ask the butcher at Gelson’s if you can get those same ribs, but uncut. I am almost sure they run those short ribs through the bonesaw.
In fact, I would ask the butcher at Stater Bros for uncut short ribs. Or any market with a butcher really. Most places cut these ribs shorter, you can simply ask for uncut ones from the back refrigeration room.
I did that but he just shrugged. I assume he wasn’t the heading heading home guy and can call ahead next time.
As to Stater Bros… while this is the kind of cut they probably would do I have been disappointed with their meat quality in the past. Would you think that ‘choice’ is ‘choice’ wherever I get it?
Not all choice is created equal. USDA prime, choice or whatever only speak to marbling and not actual meat quality not flavor.
A Meyer Ranch prime steak will taste significantly better than a prime steak from Costco. But for me, I actually like choice or lower short ribs because prime is just too fatty for an already fatty cut of meat IMO. I have had a Certified Angus beef choice steak taste better than an American wagyu.
I had made Stater Bros short ribs a few times and they have always been very moist. I don’t even recall them being choice, it was whatever they normally sell. If you want better quality, perhaps try Butchery in Costa Mesa because they carry Creekstone Farms beef. The choice meat they carry is way better than the prime at Costco, but the price tag is quite high. I have never had a problem with Stater Bros short ribs but their steaks are not anything I would buy again.
I believe Stater Bros short ribs are the same purveyor as Costco, Excel brand.
I did this exact thing at Stater Bros. If you go back up this thread about 4-6 weeks I have pictures of the meat I smoked from Whole Foods vs SB. The meat from WF was better in terms of quality, taste, marbling, meat to bone ratio but obviously more expensive. If cost isn’t a huge concern I would strongly suggest WF.
I tried Albertsons and Ralph’s but never bought from either place - want thrilled with the cuts. I also tried AR Mart and H-Mart. The short ribs at AR Mart were more expensive than WF. Serious. H-Mart didn’t really have what I was looking for.
275° for 3.5 hours in foil, then added some sauce and finished uncovered at 325° for another 30 minutes to get some caramelization. Have to say that the short ribs I bought, pre-cooked in a package, at Costco a few weeks ago were a little better and actually cost a little bit less
The game continues
.
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Stater Bros.’ default grade was Choice for years after all the other major chains went Select. Sadly, Stater’s has now joined the rest of the herd (pun intended) and gone Select. This is fine for short ribs, but it’s a travesty for steaks, etc. Their Choice selections are now limited to a few rows of smaller steaks in their butcher’s case. Oddly, I still know people (my dear parents included) that rave about their meat. I don’t have the heart to shatter their illusion.
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The important thing is that you’re still playing. Thanks for the report!
What fell short in your opinoin? Flavor? Tenderness?
You may want to try a lower temp (225-250) and a longer cook time. Just my $0.02.
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what they’re really doing is raving about the price.
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Probably, but I also think that they’ve been going to Stater’s so long (since the 60’s), that they don’t really have a frame of reference, and they’re definitely not as picky as I am about their meat. They’ll get a bunch rib eyes on sale and freeze them, which only makes a marginal piece of meat worse. I get the frugality. It’s part of the reason that they live so comfortably now in their golden years, but as seldom as I eat steak anymore, I want it to be as tasty and tender as possible.
Flavor = obviously my fault. It was just OK.
Meat was a bit stringy, and the fat content was obvious on my palate and later in my system. I’m sure you’re right about the cook time, but they did come up to 208 internal temp. It’s interesting, though, that the meat-deprived bone-on ribs, I DO make the same way sometimes, taste just fine to me… at least the small amount of meat does. I’m assuming that the additional layers of meat and fat here change everything.
I know I’m the one who is on the ‘find great beef ribs’ train here, but it did strike me that the same $$$ could have bought me a REALLY nice ribeye or filet mignon. I think the long bones are part of the overall experience and attraction for me, so not having them is an issue by itself.
Bought some more beef ribs at Costco. Vacuum sealed each set of ribs and put them in the freezer. The wife is annoyed cuz it’s taking up too much space. I also bought a slab of pork belly and already have a brisket packer in the freezer. Haha.
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Can’t tell from the pic if these are ribs with substantial meat on top of the bones (as are those in Ns1’s pic from Gelson’s) not just in between them. Short ribs should, so I’ll ask if this was at a Biz Center or a regular Costco.
My local WF meat guy told me they’re going to have long bone-in short ribs today, so I’ll be swinging by. The price is $5.99 though.
These are the same short ribs that I bought last time. You can see from the pics I posted before that they had a significant amount of meat. This was at the Costco business center in City of Commerce
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Thanks. Makes me sorry that I gave away my vacuum sealer when we down-sized last year. I still haven’t made it to the Westminster Biz Center.