As you may know if you ever read any of my blog posts I am EXTREMELY frugal when it comes to purchasing food.  I would rather use my money for things like vacations, fun little side trips with my family, parties, etc….  So, I try to only buy non-fresh items (meat, canned goods, beverages) on sale or on clearance.  That is where this eye of round roast comes in.  It was $3.99 a pound.  That is how much ground beef cost here, on sale.

I had to do some researching into how best to cook it.  The roast because of the part of the cow it is from tends to not be very fatty and tends to be tough.  I wanted to figure out how to best cook it so that it was tender and flavorful.  My research all said the same thing – high heat first, then long and low. I thought they were crazy.

Verdict:

Oh my YUM!  This recipe was great.  It took quite awhile to cook but once it hit 145 degrees – medium rare, our favorite, I took it out and let it rest.  Once I started cutting I knew I had made the right choice.  The entire family kept saying over and over how much they really liked this roast and would I make it again?  Of course I will!

I served this with a side of simple mashed potatoes, green beans and a side salad.

The leftovers made great sandwiches and can be chopped up to make tacos, hash or any other number of dishes!

For my mostly gluten-free son this worked perfectly because all my spices were gluten-free so I had no need to change the recipe for him!

Ingredients:

• 3-4 lb. Eye of Round Roast
•  1 1/2 – 2 TBSP large-bore ground black pepper
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp thyme
• 1/2 tsp onion powder

Directions:

1. Remove roast from refrigerator 20 minutes before cooking and allow to rest on the counter.
2. Preheat oven to 500 degrees. (Yes, really 500)
3. Pat the roast dry with paper towels.
4. Mix the spices together in a small bowl until well combined – adjust spice flavors to your liking.
5. Once roast is dry coat the roast with the spice mixture on all sides and ends.
6. Place roast in casserole dish, fat side up, and place in oven for 7 minutes.
7. Lower heat to 170 degrees after cooking for 7 minutes.  If you have a gas stove turn it as low as it will go.  Check on it once every hour for 2-3 hours.  Internal temperature for medium rare – 145. Mine was a 4 lb. roast and took almost 3 hours.
8. When desired temperature is reached remove from oven and tent with aluminum foil for 10 minutes.
9. Carve and serve.