Out of all the things you can make for Christmas dinner, ham, turkey, lamb, etc, my favorite is always a good hunk of beef.
Whether that be beef tenderloin or a standing rib roast, these are what I look forward to placing in the oven the most on Christmas day.
How about you? Are you a standing rib roaster?
Today we wanted to come with you with our annual guide to help you select the best roast at Costco to serve to your family and friends on Christmas day.
Standing rib roast price for 2018 is $9.69 per pound.
How Much Do Beef Roasts Cost at Costco?
Here is the list of price of hunks of beef you can roast for your Christmas dinner. Since I am out in California for Christmas this year, these prices are from the store in Garden Grove, California.
[table]
Beef Cut, Price
Choice Standing Rib Bone-In, $9.69/lb
Choice Ribeye Roast Boneless, $9.19/lb
Seasoned Standing Rib Roast, $10.69/lb
Prime Ribeye Roast, $16.99/lb
Choice Peeled Beef Tenderloin, $19.99/lb
[/table]
The prices are close to last season with some being less than $1 per pound higher. Check out last year's post for a comparison.
I found that my Costco last year, had more Prime whole cuts of beef. Such as whole boneless Prime Ribeyes for $11.49/lb and Prime Whole New York Strip for $8.39/lb. Maybe the selection is different at the store I went to in California as compared to my normal store in Michigan.
Let me go into some of the most frequently asked questions i get about roasts at Costco.
How Many Ribs are in the Standing Rib Roast?
For the most part I saw 3-4 ribs per roast.
How Much Does a 3-Rib Standing Rib Roast Cost?
The average 3-rib roast weights between 6-7 pounds. So at $.699 per pound, we are talking around $58-$68.
Can You Buy a 20 Pound Standing Rib Roast?
Wow that is a big size. Most of the rib roasts at Costco are in the 7-10 pound range. You may be able to ask for a large chunk. But I would recommend going with 2 10lbs instead. It's easier and faster to cook two at the size, than one at the other. It's really hard to get the inferior perfectly cooked throughout with a larger roast. My advice, don't go big, go small, but get two.
Among the hunks o'beef you will find some that has already been seasoned. Read below to while I always pass on this convenience..
Can You Buy an Already Seasoned Rib Roast?
The answer is yes.
Do you really want to? I would say no.
The reason why I am not a fan of the already seasoned is because you are paying more money for the seasoning to be done for you. That simply doesn't make sense. Yes it's convenient. but it's really not that hard to put on your own, custom rub, using the best spices or herbs you can find. Be a control freak!
I would pass every time on an already seasoned roast unless your there Christmas Eve and everything else is sold out.
Can You Get Prime Rib at Costco?
When it comes to the combination of the words "prime" and "rib" a lot of confusion can be had. Let me try to clear it up for you
A Standing Rib Roast is also called Prime Rib, although it it is not USDA Prime Beef for sure. The term "Prime Rib" was coined before the USDA grades (Prime, Choice, Select) came into existence. If you are looking for "the prime rib" you might get a restaurant you would be good to get a standing rib roast. If you want USDA Prime grade beef, then you to need to buy beef that is rated Prime, like the Ribeye Roast for $16.99/lb.
[irp posts="22379" name="The Essential Tool for Cooking the Best Meat"]
Can You Get an Angus Beef Roast at Costco?
None of the roasts I have seen at Costco have been labeled Angus beef or black Angus. That is not something that would be missed on the labeling. I can't recall ever seeing beef labeled Angus at Costco. Feel free to correct me if I am wrong. As of now, the answer is no.
So tender you can cut it with a butter knife.
How Much Does Beef Tenderloin Cost at Costco?
At this Costco, I only found Choice Peeled Beef Tenderloin going for $19.99/lb.
In past years, I have seen other tenderloin options. Like a trimmed Prime tenderloin going for $26.99/lb and Untrimmed Choice Tenderloin for $11.99/lb.
I prefer to get the untrimmed if I am going to find tenderloin, I don't like paying someone else extra money to do the work that I can do myself. If your Costco is like the one I went to California you may not have that option.
Something to keep in mind when buying a trimmed beef tenderloin is that you are getting 100% usable meat. It's not like when you buy bone-in meat and you are paying for the weight of the bone, which you don't eat. Some of the lacking a better word "stuff" that you trim off a tenderloin is too tough to eat, so it is waste. Not enough to make a trimmed tenderloin a better deal at all.
What to Tools to Use for Cooking Beef?
As a final word of advice, I always recommend that whenever you are roasting beef, that you use a probe thermometer. These take the guess work out of to when your meat is perfectly done the way you want it. After all unless you have some sort of x-ray vision that lets you see the color of the meat inside, there is no sure fire way to know it's done unless you take it's temperature.
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