Eye of Round Roast

A few months ago, I found a two-pound roast for a good price at the market.  I bought it and stuck it in the freezer for Christmas.  Yes, Round can be tough.  It's what the butcher usually cubes up into stew meat.  As long as Christmas dinner was going to be just me, I figured it would be ok if it came out overly chewy.

Then I had oral surgery a week before Christmas and almost scrapped the idea.  Spaghetti bolognese is much easier to chew.  But after several days of Ensure and Chef Boyardee, I was ready to tackle anything that did not come out of a can.

The trick to roasting any tough cut of meat is to blast it, then lower the temperature to just around what it would get if simmered.  Like searing a pot roast before adding the broth.  It's going to take longer than it would to roast a more tender cut, but the results will be edible.

I'm following the method of A Family Feast.  I say method because their recipe allows for different sizes of roasts.  Theirs was four pounds, but the recipe works just as well for my smaller cut because it relies on temperature instead of time.  I just cut the amount of rub in half.

2 lb eye of round roast
2 Tb olive oil
2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp cracked pepper
*1/2 Tb minced garlic
*1/2 tsp dried thyme or 2 tsp fresh, chopped
1/2 Tb Dijon mustard

1.  The night before or at least 6 hours in advance, prepare roast.  If your roast has the fat cap, slash it into 1" squares so the meat can self-baste.  In a mortar and pestle, smash together salt, pepper, and garlic.  Or, in my case, bowl and pestle because my mortar is chai flavored at the moment and I didn't want to start over.  Once a paste is achieved, crush in thyme, 1 Tb oil, and mustard.  I only had French's mustard, and used 1 tsp of that and 1/2 tsp of yellow mustard seeds.

2.  Smear paste over top of roast.  Place in a plastic bag and return to the fridge to do its osmosis thing for a minimum of 6 hours and up to 24.  Let sit on the counter for half an hour to come up to room temperature a little.  This will help with even cooking.

3.  Preheat oven to 500º.  Remove roast from bag and place on a rack in a roasting pan or rimmed baking sheet.  Line pan with foil for easier cleanup.  Smear with other tablespoon of oil and roast for 20 minutes, just until outside is crackly and browning.

4.  Remove roast from oven and turn it down to 225º.  Return roast to oven and stick a temperature probe in it if you have one.  I'm pretty sure this is the first time I've used mine.  If you don't have a probe thermometer, check the roast every 15 minutes until it gets to 100º, then every 8 or so.  Roast at the new lower temperature until the probe reaches 120º for medium-rare.  My roast took about 40 minutes to reach that temperature, but it will differ based on thickness, size, and your oven.  Also, when I rechecked the temperature with my regular food thermometer, it was 128º, so calibration could be an issue.

5.  Allow roast to rest 30 minutes before carving, and cut against the grain.  I recommend thin slices.  There was a steak knife on the table, but I didn't use it.  If desired, this is a good time to make gravy.

Gravy

Pan drippings
1 Tb butter
1 Tb flour
2 Tb red wine, like Merlot
1 C beef broth
salt and pepper to taste

1.  Pour any pan drippings from the roast into a small saucepan over medium heat.  Melt butter with them.

2.  Pour in wine to deglaze and let it cook off.  Add flour and cook into a paste.

3.  Gradually add broth, allowing sauce to thicken between additions.  Bring to a low boil, to make sure all the flour is cooked.  Taste and add salt and pepper as needed.  This will depend on personal tastes and what brand of broth you used.  I didn't add any.

4.  Spoon over beef slices and serve.

Serves 4-6, or more if it's a larger roast

Difficulty rating  :)