less expensive prime rib roast to fix on christmas

[theconiglio]

so i'd love to prepare a prime rib christmas dinner this year. but my guests will total 14 people. a gelson's butcher says it'll cost me $16.99 per pound. i figure maybe 10 lbs of meat for a total cost of $170.

does anyone know where i might be able to get this meat for less but still good quality in the greater LA area?

thank you in advance.

[DanaB]

Try calling Taylor's Prime Meats in Sierra Madre. I got a prime rib roast there a couple of years ago and it was excellent. Don't recall the exact price (a 10 lb. roast was over $100), but I believe it was cheaper than Gelson's and very good quality.

Taylor's Meat [phone]

It's at the Howie's Ranch Market
14 E. Sierra Madre Blvd., Sierra Madre, CA 91024

[Flour Child]

My neighbor always gets her holiday roasts at Howe's Market. They sell prime beef. This week prime rib is $11.99/lb. Next week it will be on sale for $7.99/lb. The closest one to me is in Torrance on 190th, although I know they have several other locations in So. Cal. Trying calling the Torrance store for a location near you [phone] - sorry for some reason I couldn't pull up their website on Google.

[Jack Flash]

I think someone below mentioned How's markets. Leading up to Thanksgiving, they had prime rib roasts on sale at a very good price, under $10/lb, for true PRIME beef. It would not surprise me if they run a similar special again. Their weekly flier is posted on the Internet; see link below.

This is good quality prime beef. It's not the best in the world, but in my experience every bit as good as the prime one gets at Gelson's for a lot more dough.

You can buy your roast a few days before you want to cook it so it can dry age a bit in the refrigerator. Put it in some sort of container that will allow the flow of air. This will allow some of the moisture in the meat to evaporate, concentrating the flavors.

Link: http://www.howsmarkets.com/weeklyAds.htm

[David Kahn]

Great idea about the dry aging. Alton Brown (of Good Eats) suggests the very same thing.

Link: http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recip...

[Jack Flash]

That's where I got the tip! That episode aired right around Thanksgiving.

[marti]

Try your local Costco. Haven't checked price recently but they are usually considerably lower than Gelsons,etc. and the quality is very good.

[Flour Child]

Costco does, indeed, have decent meat. I have been there on both the 23rd and 24th of December and the mad rush for the beef roasts is scary! If you don't get there when they open, you run the risk of not getting one. If you get there when they open, you run the risk of being trampled!

[Panoz]

I got a bone-in standing rib roast (USDA Prime) at Marconda's Meats in LA Farmer's Market for Thanksgiving, the price was $8.99/lb. Ask for the wholesale case. You need to purchase the whole side (7 ribs). But they will cut it to order if necessary at no charge. You probably won't need to.

But as others have suggested, keep an eye out at How's. They often have prices for USDA Prime that no one else even comes close to.