# Eye of Round. How do you cook it?



## Rocklobster (Feb 7, 2011)

Hey everybody! One of my local supermarkets always has whole eye of round roasts on sale, so I always have lots in my freezer. One characteristic it has is that it is so lean that no matter what I do with it, it is still fairly dry. I usually cook it bourguignone, stew, slice it thinly for fajitas. How do you cook it? I would like to hear how you deal with its dryness and toughness.


----------



## Zhizara (Feb 7, 2011)

I braise it until a twist of a fork shreds it.  Last time I added Liquid Smoke and 3/4 C sherry to the liquid.  Yummy.


----------



## Andy M. (Feb 7, 2011)

i don't care for this cut at all.  There are better cuts of beef for any use you may make of the eye round.  Chuck braises better, loin/sirloin roasts better, etc.


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North (Feb 7, 2011)

To make it less dry, you can poke slits into it with a sharp and pointy knife.  Into these slits, add lardoons of either side pork (with the rhine taken off) or bacon.

A trick I've done is to cut a quarter inch into the roast, and then slide knife sideways, always cutting toward the center, turning the round roast into a flat slab of meat, a quarter inch thick.  Then, spread your favorite dressing or coating on the meat, be it duxcells, or bread stuffing, or peppers and cheese, whatever you want.  Jelly roll the filling inside the roast and tie it in shape with clean, cotton string, or butcher's twine.  Cook to you favorite degree of doneness.  I like mine medium rare for this application.

Another great application is to chop the steak into tiny bits with a sharp knife.  Season with salt, and maybe pepper.  Add a raw egg and shape into patties.  Fry until done through.

Again, you can chop the round and add a bit of cornstarch in stead of the egg.  Shape into patties and cook medium rare.  Serve on a great bun.

Grind and make into sloppy joes.

Slice very thin and place a little ground beef between the slices.  Place the meat (sandwiches) between sheets of plastic wrap and press thin to make sizzle-steaks.

Slice very thin and braise until tender.  Make a gravy out the juices, with the meat immersed.  Add your wine and seasonings, and thicken with a roux, or a cornstarch slurry.  Use for hot open faced beef sandwiches, or over rice, or smashed spuds.

Hope the ideas help.

Seeeeeeya; Goodweed of the North


----------



## Rocklobster (Feb 7, 2011)

Andy M. said:


> i don't care for this cut at all. There are better cuts of beef for any use you may make of the eye round. Chuck braises better, loin/sirloin roasts better, etc.


 Of course, Andy. But, it goes on at a very good bargain and I love bargains. 1.99 a lb. is about as cheap as you are going to get beef in these parts. Plus, my family likes leaner meats so I am going to use it. That is why I am tapping into the infinite wisdom that is called Discuss Cooking.


----------



## Rocklobster (Feb 7, 2011)

Goodweed of the North said:


> To make it less dry,
> Hope the ideas help.
> 
> Seeeeeeya; Goodweed of the North


 
Thanks G! Food for thought!


----------



## Rocklobster (Feb 7, 2011)

Zhizara said:


> I braise it until a twist of a fork shreds it. Last time I added Liquid Smoke and 3/4 C sherry to the liquid. Yummy.


 Thanks, Z. I haven't used Sherry at home for a while. Gonna pick up a bottle on my way home from work tomorrow.


----------



## CookLikeJulia (Feb 7, 2011)

I can't think of much better than making it a fajita or maybe it can be made of a bacon?


----------



## Constance (Feb 7, 2011)

If you have a crock pot, that's a great way to cook it. Otherwise, low, moist and slow in the oven or Dutch Oven. It's good for soup or stew.


----------



## Caslon (Feb 7, 2011)

Rocklobster said:


> Hey everybody! One of my local supermarkets always has whole eye of round roasts on sale, so I always have lots in my freezer. One characteristic it has is that it is so lean that no matter what I do with it, it is still fairly dry. I usually cook it bourguignone, stew, slice it thinly for fajitas. How do you cook it? I would like to hear how you deal with its dryness and toughness.




Thanks for posting about one of my favorites.
I cook eye-round roasts every 3 months or so.  I only cook top round or eye round roasts. Yes, they don't have a lot of fat inside. I cook them at 325F. I just salt and pepper it and use a simple vinegar and oil basting beforehand.  I found the cooking time for this type roast is key.  The way it cooks is from the outside in (duh), so you want a roast that, when sliced, will have a fairly good circle of rareness emanating out from the center.  I suggest going less then the recommended time for medium rare, especially for smaller rib eye or top round roasts.

For newly cooked roasts of this type, I usually have a traditional roast beef dinner.  The next day, I use my ancient Krupps foldable meat slicer and shave the roast into thin slices for one of my favorite meals, Au Jus dip, beef slices piled onto warmed french rolls, coleslaw and french fries. One of my faves.

Once thinly sliced, I semi freeze the rest and vacuum seal them in Reynolds EZ Vac bags and freezer them for future au jus dinners.


----------



## Josie1945 (Feb 7, 2011)

Rocklobster said:


> Hey everybody! One of my local supermarkets always has whole eye of round roasts on sale, so I always have lots in my freezer. One characteristic it has is that it is so lean that no matter what I do with it, it is still fairly dry. I usually cook it bourguignone, stew, slice it thinly for fajitas. How do you cook it? I would like to hear how you deal with its dryness and toughness.


 
I use eye of round to make corned beef and pastrami.

Josie


----------



## DaveSoMD (Feb 8, 2011)

One of my local markets runs the same type of sales on eye or round.  I roast it and then thin slice it using my meat slicer for hot or cold sandwiches or for beef salad.  If I do use it as a  "roast" for dinner I make sure there is LOTS of gravy.


----------



## BigAL (Feb 8, 2011)

I've done them on the smoker before, at about 225-250*.  Take to med rare to med.  I just used an alum foil pan filled w/carrots, onions and celery and some beef stock then used the juice for au jus.  

Sliced thin and it was great for french dips.  Not a fav cut of ours but I'm like you, OP, give me a cheap cut or a cheap price and I'm happy.


----------



## CraigC (Feb 8, 2011)

This is the roast we use for carpaccio. I personally think tenderloin is over rated, not to mention over priced. Thin sliced, marinated and serverd over a bed of baby arugula with shaved parm over top. It is the center piece of an antipasti meal.

Craig


----------



## Rocklobster (Feb 8, 2011)

Some great ideas. 
I have experimented with leaving them age in the refrigerator. I have left a portion unwrapped on a plate for days, checking it for smell. I found that they tend to get more tender after 4 or 5 days unwrapped.  The get a nice dark colour to them. I mean, why not? Two bucks worth. It works.


----------



## Kayelle (Feb 8, 2011)

Rock, speaking of Sherry, you could make my favorite crock pot recipe.....

*Sherry Beef

*Bite size pieces of beef, about 3 lbs.
1 lb. fresh mushrooms cut in half
1 packet of Lipton onion soup mix
1 can of Cream of Mushroom soup
1 cup of dry Sherry

Mix all in a crock pot and cook on low for 6-8 hrs.
Thicken pot liquid with instant mashed potato buds.

Serve on buttered wide noodles, or mashed potatoes.

This was my kids favorite meal growing up.  The house smells wonderful.


----------



## Barbara L (Feb 8, 2011)

Kayelle said:


> Rock, speaking of Sherry, you could make my favorite crock pot recipe.....
> 
> *Sherry Beef
> 
> ...


This sounds good! I am doing my big grocery shopping tomorrow and was planning on getting Sherry for chicken, so I will plan on this as well. 

Barbara


----------



## Rocklobster (Feb 8, 2011)

Kayelle said:


> Rock, speaking of Sherry, you could make my favorite crock pot recipe.....
> 
> *Sherry Beef*
> 
> ...


 Nice one! One for the to-do list.


----------



## Zhizara (Feb 8, 2011)

Kayelle said:


> Rock, speaking of Sherry, you could make my favorite crock pot recipe.....
> 
> *Sherry Beef
> 
> ...



This sounds really good.  Is there any reason I couldn't make this on the stove top?


----------



## msmofet (Feb 8, 2011)

Eye Round is the *ONLY* cut I use for roast beef. It is always flavorful and juicy for me.


----------



## Kayelle (Feb 8, 2011)

> This sounds really good.  Is there any reason I couldn't make this on the stove top?


No reason why not, Z.  Just simmer it very low.  I've done it in a low oven too. 

I rarely use my crock pot anymore, but when I was a young busy mom, it sure was handy.


----------



## Zhizara (Feb 9, 2011)

Thanks, I thought so too.  I printed out a copy I usually have everything on hand except for the beef, and I'm overdue for a roast I can cut up for stew.  Braising might just be the way to go too.  

I'm looking forward to having a nice smelling apartment all day.


----------

