Prime rib and brisket are two names that are wildly popular in the world of beef, but they are also about as different as two popular cuts of beef can be. Brisket used to be seen as cheap and undeniable meat, relegated to smoking and barbecuing because that was one of the only good ways to cook it. Meanwhile prime rib has long been the stuff of fancy steakhouses and ritzy Las Vegas carving stations. And while brisket has soared in popularity because, well, barbecue brisket is delicious, it’s still not considered on the same level as prime rib. So what makes one cut of beef so much more sought-after than the other? Well a lot of it has to do with tenderness, and prime rib is just a far more tender cut than brisket.
A number of factors influence how tough a section of beef is, but the biggest factor is how much work that area of the cow gets before being slaughtered. Brisket is taken from the chest muscles between the bovine’s two front legs. This spot carries a lot of weight and moves a lot. All that work develops plenty of muscle whose fibers make brisket tougher than almost any beef cut, not just prime rib.
Prime rib is far more tender than brisket
If brisket is from one of the hardest working parts of the cow, prime rib is permanently out on vacation. Its location is right there in the name, coming from the rib primal of the cow. Being in the middle of the cow this section has very little work to do, which along with the nearby loin primal, produces the most tender cuts of beef you can get. Compared to the loin, which produces leaner cuts like Filet Mignon, the meat in the rib area is also very well marbled with fat. This makes prime rib tender to begin with, and very juicy when cooked. It’s no wonder that this area of the cow is the same section that produces other highly regarded and expensive cuts like ribeye.
But brisket’s toughness isn’t a permanent curse, as its soaring popularity can attest to, and given that it’s still relatively affordable you should never write it off. Slow cooking it, either by smoking or braising, will help break down all those pesky muscle fibers, and given enough time (quite a bit of time) your brisket can achieve truly fork tender results. Prime rib, well that’s a little easier. As long as you don’t overcook it, keep to medium or less, prime rib will produce some of the more tender and flavorful meat you can buy. There is a reason it got the name prime.
