- Oh, exciting, entertainment and dinner.
- You're doing it better than I do.
- (laughs) Thanks, Joe.
We're at House of Prime Rib
and we're making prime rib. (laughs)
- No kidding, we've done it.
(upbeat instrumental music)
This is the last of the delivery,
and we're checking, before we go into the aging room,
we check if it's all sealed.
This is Chef Jose.
He's been here many years.
- Let's do it, Jose.
- [Joe] Let's move it into the aging room.
- So these are gonna go into the dry-ager, right?
They've been essentially sort of wet-aging,
developing flavor.
- And it goes into the drying room.
- Awesome, let's do it.
- Okay, thanks boss.
- Ooh, look at this light.
It's like a club in here.
So the infrared lights stop the bacteria from growing.
How so, does it inhibit?
- When we work in there, we have to turn it off.
- Yes.
- Because it burns your eyes.
- Wow, incredible, what a production.
So now we're grabbing the ribs for the last round.
- Yes. - Yes, let's do it.
You think there's more than 300 in here?
- [Joe] Oh, 300. - Easily, 350?
These are hanging out here. - [Jose] A week.
- These are a week?
- [Jose] Yeah. - Okay, vamonos.
So we have our prime ribs for service tonight, right?
These have been aged.
They're about ready to go in the rock salt?
- Ready to go.
- Amazing.
- We put the rock salt because the enzyme changes
if you just have it in a regular oven,
because it's also a tenderizer.
When you put it in there,
and we submerge everything,
by doing so, you keep all the juices inside.
But I cannot tell you all the secrets.
- I don't want to know them.
- I have seen you knowing the restaurant business.
Sorry, I'm a little bit scared. (both laugh)
- No, I will take it.
I will take it.
So how much prime rib do you go through on average a night?
- Well, we go during the week at 368,
we're serving up to 400 dinners.
And on the holidays, during the week,
like last night, we served 600 dinners.
- Oh my gosh.
You are doing some numbers, Joe.
You used rock salt the entire time?
- Since 1949.
- Wow.
I wasn't even thought of or conceived yet. (laughs)
So are we dumping just regular rock salt?
- It's regular rock salt.
- Regular rock salt.
- And it's already moist.
It conducts the heat and seals it.
- Yes.
- Just all over?
- Yeah.
You need more salt.
You don't want to see any beef.
- So it should be completely submerged?
So this method of cooking this, did you develop this?
- Well, I took it already over, when they had it already.
You want to have the beef nice and moist.
- So what's the next step?
- Okay, now it goes into the oven.
- Okay.
- Alright, boss?
- Have the guys help you.
- I can lift it.
I'm very strong.
Last Sunday I lifted 265 pounds by myself.
Put me to work, Joe. (laughs)
So we put the prime in.
How long are they in at this temperature?
- That's a little bit of a secret.
Okay.
- Around two-and-a-half hours.
- Okay. (laughs)
High temp, low temp?
- Medium temp.
- Okay. (laughs)
Medium-ish.
- Here we are.
Let's have a drink.
- We got some time to spare, huh?
- Yes. - Excellent, let's do it.
Back to work. (both laugh)
The prime ribs are ready to come out?
- The prime rib's are ready.
- Let's do it.
Smells amazing.
Looks like a big bed of salt.
So we set a 20 minute timer.
- See there, it's all locked in.
- Yeah.
- There's no steam coming out.
We let it sit now.
- Yep.
- And then we break the salt.
- Okay.
- And we take it out.
- So prime ribs have come out of the oven,
they're in their little salt blankets
and we rest them for precisely how long?
I need to know.
- Should take a couple hours.
- Okay.
- Because then, like you know,
then the juices go back into the beef
- Kind of redistribute?
- And also it keeps on cooking.
- Hmm, makes sense.
- Because you know, like the salt right here,
it keeps on cooking.
- Right, it's still pretty warm.
So kind of high temp followed
by low temp, low temperature cooking.
- The best beef is, you know, lower the temperature.
- 100%.
Getting ready for service, right?
What's the next step, Chef?
- We're gonna crack the beef.
- Let's crack some beefs.
So you do them all the same, kind of on either side first?
- And then we remove this one from here right now.
- Wow, there's still steam coming off of them.
They're kind of slowly cooked, right?
I mean these pans, they look pretty special.
- They have to be special
because they're able to hold the beef
and the rock salt and they fit in the oven.
- Is this, it's a custom pan, or?
- Yes, a custom pan.
- Wow.
I'm excited to just get into the unveiling.
- No, you don't because you're going from the side.
- Yeah. I wouldn't come in here
and try to cut this beef in half, right?
- [Joe] No, no.
- Just kind of breaking up the sides of it.
It's an unveiling.
So that's done, right?
- I'll do the heavy lifting. (both laugh)
- Thanks Joe.
It's such an interesting concept.
Like not a lot actually happens in the moment, right?
It's a little bit opposite of a different style restaurant
where an order comes in and you're cooking in the moment.
- Everything is prep work
- Which is I imagine why you can do so much volume.
You said you have 600 people to serve tonight, right?
- [Joe] But from that moment, you also continue supplying.
- Thanks for having me.
- Yes, and I would like to hire you, but I can't afford you.
- (laughs) You can pay me in food.
- Right now everything's in the warmer.
Francisco?
- Oh, our man, the chef.
- And we take it out right now and trim it.
From there it goes in the cart.
- Nice to meet you, Chef Francisco.
- You know, sometimes it's kind of scary to carve
cause you have to be careful with the fingers.
- (laughs) You still have all your fingers?
- Yeah, a little bit.
- A little bit? (laughs)
So what are we doing here?
Just taking off the fat, essentially?
- [Francisco] Trim the fat, yeah.
- You've done, how many do you think in your lifetime?
- I will say a million.
- At least, right? - Yeah. (laughs)
- I mean, you're cutting this with such precision.
You're on an operating table.
- You see how, how quick you can do it.
- So what are you looking for here?
Silver skin? - [Francisco] Yeah.
- Just exposing that kind of rosy...
- Yeah. - Beautiful
Whatever, really the salt didn't touch, perfect.
It's perfectly rested throughout the entire prime rib.
- So they stay straight up.
- Yes.
- So you have to cut right there.
- Iconic.
It's my first time using a knife, so hopefully it is.
It's true.
Doing it properly, yeah, exactly.
We'll see.
- [Joe] The way she explained it to me, how it's cooked.
Trust me, she knows what she's doing.
- What do you think, Chef Francisco?
Just the fat right?
- [Francisco] Yes, really good.
- That's not a bad training curve, two days.
Put her on the line, folks.
- [Joe] We're talking about 50 of them a night
and in the holidays about 90.
- I mean, it's a really amazing idea
for the concept, because you take one thing, right?
And you focus all the energy and the intention
and you do it well and then you build around it.
- Like I always said, you know, we do one thing
but we do it very well.
- Yes.
- Right now it's standing still
- Exciting, entertainment and dinner.
- Yeah, that's a part of it.
- I love it.
Let's do it.
Is this the cart sort of ready to go out to the table?
- Mmm-hmm, it's ready to go to the table.
- Okay, cool.
- And we need more ribs in there
to be able to carve it.
Because right now, for example, if you carve it
it would be too wobbly.
- Oh yeah.
- So you really need some other one there.
Also when you cut, you don't wanna go just back and forth.
- Yes.
- [Joe] Because you'll rip the beef.
It has to be sliced.
So when you see that knife has to be sharp
- Prime rib, we'll be back.
We're gonna go get more of your little friends.
So we're gonna stock this with prime rib
and then slice, right?
- We're gonna get two more ribs in there.
- Two more.
- Two more, and then we do it.
Let's do it.
- So we're gonna start loading the carts.
- Okay, yes, Jose, let's do it.
So gravy goes in the back?
- Yes.
- So the only thing missing really is the beef, right?
- Yeah, we have to go get the beef.
- We have to get the beef.
We're building around the prime rib.
It's a classic dinner establishment.
And it's not only just the dining experience
but I imagine there's a lot
of tableside entertainment as well.
- [Joe] It's a show.
- So cart is complete.
Gentlemen have helped set this up.
And now the next stage is really
to take this tableside, correct?
- Right, to tableside, and then the show goes on.
- Let's do it.
Get your prime rib here.
Prime rib.
You get a prime rib, you get a prime rib,
you get a prime rib, you get a prime rib!
(triumphant fanfare plays) Voila.
Welcome, welcome to House of Prime Rib.
Thank you for coming to my restaurant.
And for your prime rib this evening.
- I want medium rare.
- Medium rare, excellent.
- Whatever you recommend.
- Yes sir.
We have our famous carver here.
The best in the game, Mr. Jose.
We'll have a medium rare and a medium with all the sides.
So here we have our house cut
with mashed potatoes and creamed spinach.
Beautiful, thank you.
Bon appetit.
- Bon appetit.
(spirited instrumental music)
Oh my goodness.
Incredible.
Is 600 guests like an average night for you?
- Weekdays, yes.
Weekends are busy.
- Six hundred's not busy. (laughs)
- We are very spoiled.
- 600 guests tonight, and that amount of volume
but the attention to detail and the flavor,
it is not sacrificed, right?
Everything is still with integrity
and value for the guests.
That is, it's phenomenal.
- When you wanna come in, you wanna be entertained.
I always say it's almost like a movie.
The difference in here, we celebrate
and people come in over and over and over again.
And so that's the secret to our place.
It's not us, it's the customer who makes us.
- It's a beautiful relationship, right?
You're offering a moment
in time for respite and nourishment.
It's really beautiful.
- Thank you.
- Yeah, thank you.
- [Joe] Is anybody willing to help us eat?
- [Host] (laughs) Please?
(funky instrumental music)