If you like beef, you have probably sometime heard about steaks going under names Prime Rib and New York Strip. The two of those are often mentioned nearly as though they’re the same, but that isn’t truth by far.
So what is the difference between Prime Rib and New York Strip? The biggest difference between Prime Rib and New York Strip is that these cuts of beef come from different primal cuts of beef.
That was just to put it very shortly, though, and there actually even is a logical reason why Prime Rib and New York Strip get often mentioned together. So let’s really get into it and find out where these two popular steaks differ, shall we?
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Main Differences Between Prime Rib vs New York Strip
The main differences between Prime Rib vs New York Strip are:
- Prime Rib and New York Strip get confused sometimes, because they taste and look similarly.
- Both of them are kind of expensive, too. But Prime Rib costs a little bit more – some even refer to New York Strip as “cheaper Prime Rib.”
- Prime Rib, however, comes from the rib section of the cow, while New York Strip from the short loin.
- Because of that, Prime Rib is much more fatty, which makes it, even though the similaraties, easily distinguishable from New York Strip for a trained eye.
| Prime Rib | New York Strip | |
| Part of meat | Prime Rib is located in the rib section of the cow. | New York Strip, on the other hand, comes from the short loin. |
| Type of cut | Prime rib roast is a cut found between the ribs 6 and 12. | New York Strip is a boneless cut from the middle of short loin. |
| Price | Prime Rib is considered to be one of the best parts of the cow, and therefore is really expensive. | And the same goes for New York Strip, even though it isn’t expensive as much. |
| Tenderness | Prime Rib is tender, but it isn’t the most important thing about its flavor. | New York Strip definitely isn’t tough, but it isn’t the most tender beef steak either. |
| Taste | The most crucial thing about Prime Rib’s rich taste is its fattiness. | New York Strip has an intense flavor, consisting mainly of a simple, boldly beef taste. |
| Preparation | Prime Rib is most often cooked as a whole and cut into smaller pieces after. | That is usually the case with New York Strip, too. |
Prime Rib: How It Differs From New York Strip?
Okay, so now you probably have a better picture of the basic differences between Prime Rib and New York Strip, but this still isn’t everything. To indeed understand this complex topic, we need to look separately at each of these steaks in-depth. So let’s start with Prime Rib!
What Cut of Beef Is Prime Rib?
Prime Rib is a cut from the primal rib of a cow, more specifically, a cut of beef found between the 6th and 12th rib.
What Does a Prime Rib Look Like?
Prime Rib is a simple-looking cut of beef without any characteristic shape. However, the looks of cooked Prime Rib are recognizable better – it is deep red and juicy and usually has a crust on the surface.
What Does Prime Rib Taste Like?
Prime Rib has an incredibly rich and juicy taste, mainly because of the extraordinary amount of fat it contains.
What Makes Prime Rib Stand Out?
Prime Rib is well-known; in fact, it can be called one of the most popular steaks out there. And believe it or not, that is mostly due to the fat.
Prime Rib Nutrition
But that doesn’t only contribute to its incredibly delightful flavor; it can also be seen in its nutrition values – 4oz of Prime Rib contains nearly 400 calories, with almost 300 hundred of those coming from the fat.
By the way, the fat makes something around 30 % of the weight of the whole meat!
Prime Rib Pricing
Its delicious taste also contributes to the fact that Prime Rib is quite expensive. Although the exact price obviously depends on many factors, you would be able to buy it for something around $17/lb on average.
Best Way to Cook and Serve Prime Rib
There are many ways to prepare Prime Rib, but the most popular one consists of slowly cooking the Prime Rib as a whole and only after that cutting it into individual portions.
After that, it is usually being served on its own only with some bread or potatoes so that the awesome flavor of the Prime Rib itself won’t get lost.
New York Strip: How It Differs From Prime Rib?
So now we’re done with Prime Rib, which means it’s time to look into the New York Strip! So what are we waiting for then?
What Cut of Beef Is New York Strip?
New York Strip is a cut from the short loin section of a cow consisting of a muscle called longissimus.
What Does a New York Strip Look Like?
Just like Primal Rib, New York Strip is simply a bunch of beef, shaped like a block. When cooked, it usually looks juicy and has a solid, black crust.
What Does New York Strip Taste Like?
New York Strip steak is, just like Prime Rib, a somehow tender steak full of rich flavor. But with New York Strip, the flavor is bolder, more beef like if you will. That’s because it isn’t as fatty.
What Makes New York Strip Stand Out?
And that actually is exactly what makes many people prefer the New York Strip over Prime Rib – because of less fat content, it simply tastes more like meat.
New York Strip Nutrition
Even though New York Strip isn’t as big of a calorie bomb as Prime Rib, you won’t get much better off with it. For example, 4oz of New York Strip contains something like 350 calories, with nearly 230 of them coming from the roughly 22 grams of fat found in this portion.
New York Strip Pricing
As we’ve already mentioned a couple of times, New York Strip isn’t a really cheap cut of beef, but it isn’t as expensive as Prime Rib either. So on average, you should be able to get it somewhere around $15/lb.
Best Way to Cook and Serve New York Strip
Unlike with Prime Rib, it isn’t too rare to cut still raw New York Strip into individual steaks and then grill/roast them on their own. Nevertheless, it is still often slowly cooked as a whole, too.
Then it is served in a similar way, without many additional flavors. That’s because New York Strip is, just like Prime Rib, flavourful enough on its own, and therefore doesn’t need tons of special care.
Prime Rib vs New York Strip: Which Is Better?
It isn’t easy to say whether Prime Rib is better than New York Strip or if the truth is the contrary. Why? Well, because it depends just and only on you.
To put it easily, we can say that both of these steaks are just like made for those who love their beef to have a rich taste but still be somehow tender.
Prime Rib will then suit more those who seek especially the fattiness, while New York Strip will be the better choice for people who simply love the taste of beef.
Alternatives to Prime Rib and New York Strip
Are you worried that you don’t belong to either of these groups? Do you think that those two steaks aren’t the best choice for you? Don’t worry; we’ve got some other recommendations for you as well!
Eye of Round Steak
Eye of Round Steak comes from the cow’s rear leg and is a piece of beef popular among many people. Unfortunately, its taste resembles the one of New York Strip a lot because it’s also baldly beefy. But since Eye of Round Steak isn’t as tender as New York Strip, it may be the perfect choice for those who like a good bite to chew on.
It is also important to mention that Eye of Round Steak is much cheaper than both New York Strip and Prime Rib, so if the reason you don’t like those two is their price, it may be the solution as well.
Tri-Tip
Tri-Tip is a cut of beef that you may know, for example, from chili con carne. It makes awesome steaks as well, though, and because of its high-fat content (which means similar rich taste), it could be a perfect cheaper alternative to Prime Rib.
Summary
Both Prime Rib and New York Strip are nowadays some of the most popular steaks. That means both of them are pretty tasty and expensive, but that doesn’t make them the same (even though some call New York Strip the “cheaper Prime Rib”) since they don’t even come from the same primal cut.
Nevertheless, those two steaks get confused often, and therefore we’ve not only explained the most significant differences between them but also taken a fast glance at their similarities.
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Image credits – Canva
