Tasty Recipe for Cooking Prime Rib

This appealing grassfed steak prepared with mushrooms and Marsala may be the best recipe for cooking prime rib because of its flavor, tenderness, juiciness and health benefits.

Best Recipe for Cooking Prime Rib

Ingredients:

2 beef tenderloin steaks, preferably grassfed, about 4 oz each
3 tsp butter, preferably grassfed butter
½ pound mushrooms, sliced
Salt and freshly ground peppercorns
3 tablespoons Marsala
Watercress sprigs for color

Procedure:

In a large skillet melt 2 teaspoons butter over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms, stir often. Cook until mushrooms are browned, about 6-8 minutes. Remove mushrooms.

Add the third teaspoon of butter and melt in pan. Add steaks and cook about 2 minutes (until browned) on each side. DO NOT OVERCOOK; overcooking destroys both nutrients and flavor. Place steaks on serving platter, season with salt and pepper, and cover with mushrooms.

Add Marsala to pan drippings. Bring to boil. Stir and loosen browned bits. Pour Marsala mixture over steaks and mushrooms and garnish with watercress if desired.

Serves 2 with what may be the best recipe for cooking prime rib ever!

For the housewife or chef who really wants to understand why this recipe for cooking prime rib is one of the best, here are several questions.

How is beef graded?
Grades are based largely on the amount of marbling in the meat and the age of the animal. Marbling is the flecks and streaks of white fat you find distributed throughout the meat. Age also plays an important part in grading. Some people think beef is best in flavor and texture when cattle are between 18 and 24 months old, so the current USDA grading system favors younger animals. (In France, however, animals about 5 years old are often preferred because the meat is tastier.)

What is Prime Grade?

There are eight distinct grades of beef recognized by the USDA. In order of descending quality they are:
• Prime
• Choice
• Select
• Standard
• Commercial
• Utility
• Cutter
• Canner

Supermarkets generally carry only Choice or Select grades, although a few high-end or specialty shops may carry Prime. Lower quality cuts end up in sausages and wieners, etc.

USDA Prime beef

This is the grade of beef that contains the greatest degree of marbling. It is generally sold to finer restaurants. It is significantly higher in price because less than 3% of the beef graded is Prime.Prime grade beef is considered by some the ultimate in tenderness, juiciness, and flavor.

USDA Choice Beef

Choice grade beef has less marbling than Prime, but is still of very high quality. This is the most popular grade of beef and costs less than Prime. Just over half of the beef graded each year earns a grade of Choice. Choice cuts are still tender and juicy.

USDA Select beef

This is generally a lower priced grade of beef with less marbling than Choice. Select cuts of beef may vary in tenderness and juiciness. Select has the least amount of marbling, making it leaner than the other two top grades. About a third of beef graded falls into this category. The USDA doesn’t have a separate category for grassfed beef. In fact, the grade system downgrades grassfed meat because it is less fatty and takes longer to produce. The USDA also downgrades grassfed meat because has yellow-hued fat (on account of the higher health-giving beta-carotene content) than grain-fed beef, which has a whitish fat.

"Can grassfed beef be graded Prime?"
Yes, but it will take well chosen genetics and lush pastures.

Do you want your conventional meat to reach USDA Prime grade?
The answer is Yes, if you want to gain weight. The answer is No, if you want to eat healthy or lose weight. (Even the USDA grading system is promoting obesity! Remember, Prime grade has the most fat.)

Do you want grassfed beef to be graded prime?
Yes, if you wish. The fat in grassfed beef, such as in this recipe for cooking prime rib, is loaded with omega 3 fatty acids (healthy fats) and CLA, a cancer-fighting substance. Grassfed meat is healthy meat!

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