Since getting into cooking more, I’ve wanted a Harry and David Prime Rib. It’s hard to want to splurge on a $279 meat that you run the risk of messing up. For Valentine’s Day, my spouse and I decided to splurge and buy one to cook. Our Valentine’s Day Gifts to each other, and we mess up; there was no one to blame but ourselves. We are fairly low key anyway so if we messed up and it was edible, we would probably still eat it.
I’ve cooked the prime rib before, so I wondered if this Harry and David Prime Rib would be “that much better” than a regular prime rib. It’s about 4X the cost. I already like Harry and David pears and they are a splurge of mine, so I was looking forward to seeing how the prime rib stacked up.
Well, let’s check out the Harry and David Prime Rib Review!
About the Harry and David Prime Rib:
There are several options from Harry and David, but we decided to get the prime rib option we could cook ourselves and have leftovers. There is also an even more expensive “bone-in option” but figured the bone out would be a good option for us.
According to the Harry and David website, this Prime Rib is “typically found only in the finest restaurants.” It’s a Stockyard boneless Prime Rib Roast is cut from USDA-certified Prime beef. It’s even been for 21-30 days and weighs around 8 pounds. Without the bone, that is a lot of meat!
To be honest, this was probably the fanciest thing we’ve ever ordered. At $279.99, it better be! They even have a bone-in option that is $379.99. Bone-in is supposed to be more flavorful.
My Experience:
Ordering the Harry and David Prime Rib is fairly straightforward. You can choose the precooked or the uncooked. We choose the uncooked. They give you a four-day window frame to receive your roast. Ours arrived midday on the last day. I would have loved to cook it a few days earlier but what can you do…
It came over dry ice. It is definitely not cookable the day it comes (unless you want to cook a frozen prime rib and hope for the best). If you cook it the day it comes, it will take a lot longer and then you run the risk of it not cooking right. Anticipate cooking it at least a day later.
But after a day of thawing, it was ready to cook. We received the Harry and David Prime Rib on a Wednesday and cooked it about 24 hours later on Thursday.
Cooking our Harry and David Prime Rib Roast:
I was intimidated in cooking a nearly $300 piece of meat…I mean, who really wouldn’t be. I’m the type of person that if it’s “safe to eat,” I probably still would. Thankfully my spouse is the same way, but I didn’t want to ruin it.
As I learned the first time I cooked prime rib, it’s actually not hard to cook at all. Last time I cooked a smaller one in the crockpot. This time I roasted and skipped all of the extra seasonings since Harry and David Prime Rib has already been aged. I did add carrots and potatoes because I like them. It took roughly 2 and a half hours to prepare, cook and cut.
Roasted Prime Rib Recipe
Equipment
- Roasting pan
Ingredients
- 8 lb Prime Rib
- 1 tbsp Salt (to taste)
- 1 bag carrots
- 1 bag fingerling potatoes
Instructions
- Remove Prime Rib the day you plan to cook it. The best way to cook is at room temperature.
- If you desire, salt in the morning about 3-4 hours before cooking. Do you need to salt? No. Will it make it more flavorful? Yes.
- Preheat oven to 500°F. (or the hottest temperature your oven will go)
- Place carrots and potatoes into a roasting pan, followed by the prime rib fat side up.
- Cook Prime Rib for 15 minutes at 500 degrees.
- After 15 minutes redice the temperature to 325°F. Cook for 11-12 minutes per pound of roast. (more directions below). You want the internal temperature to be at least 115 Degrees F before removing from the oven.
- Once cooked, removed from the oven and allow the roast to sit for 15-20 minutes before cutting.
- Cut and serve!
Prime Rib Tips:
- It’s always better to take the prime rib out early. You can always cook it longer, but you cannot go back once it’s overcooked. If you have a guest that prefers well done, the ends are typically well done even when the middle continues to be medium or rare.
- For Rare: Generally, you want to remove around 115 degrees. The average prime rib needs to be cooked 11-12 minutes per pound.
- For Medium: You want to remove around 125 degrees. The average prime rib needs around 13-15 minutes per pound.
- I recently learned that after you cook you should allow any meat to “rest”. Resting for 15-20 minutes improves the textures. The meat also continues to cook when you rest.
Harry and David Prime Rib Roast Conclusion…So is the Harry and David Prime Rib Roast Worth It?
Was it worth it!? Was spending nearly $300 on a Harry and David Prime Rib worth it? Honestly, I’m not sure. Don’t get me wrong, it was a GREAT prime rib but I didn’t feel as though I was eating the most expensive meal I’ve ever cooked. Next time, I might try the precooked Prime Rib. That being said, we did have leftovers for several meals so my best guess is it ended up being about $75 per meal.
I would probably order it again if I was serving family for the holidays and wanted a fun meat that isn’t turkey, chicken, or steak. If you want to impress someone or treat yourself to a fun prime rib, I suggest the Harry and David Prime Rib. Unless you overcook it, it’s hard to “mess up” a prime rib and you’ll look fancy to anyone you are trying to impress.
You can see more recipes here.
Questions for you:
Have you ever gotten anything from Harry and David?
What is your favorite meal?