A great way to save money on beef is cooking cheaper cuts like eye of the round roast. The challenge is making them super tender.
Not anymore.
Last year in order to save money we ordered an 1/8th of a grass fed organic cow from Alderspring Ranch. When you order in bulk like that you get all different cuts of meats, many of which I was unsure how to prepare.
Enter: Eye of the Round Roast.
I’d made roasts in my slow cooker before so I figured that’d be the best way to prepare this particular cut.
After researching online, I learned this is one of the toughest, leanest, (and usually cheapest) cuts of beef. Although slow cookers have a knack for making tougher cuts more tender, I had a little doubt as to whether that’d be the best option for cooking it.
Back to researching online to see what I might do with my Sous Vide Supreme for an eye of the round roast of beef. After reading a few different articles, I’m sharing what I ended up doing (and will always do for eye of the round roast going forward).
This meat, with the reputation for being as tough and chewy as stale bubble gum, was one of the most tender pieces of meat we’ve ever had. Literally, it was tenderloin tender after using the Sous Vide to cook our Eye of the Round Roast. However, I’m not surprised since that is a prime reason for using a Sous Vide to cook meats. Not only will you never overcook your precious meat, but you will save money, because you can buy the cheaper cuts of meat, and still enjoy them without wearing out your jaw.
See? You can save money on meat and use that saved money to buy a sous vide.
As mentioned earlier, the eye of the round roast is very lean… but still nutritious. Apart from the normal red beef nutrients, it’s also filled with lots of connective tissue (primarily collagen) which makes it tough to chew (normally). But, with the long and gentle cooking time using a sous vide, the eye of the round roast’s collagen is broken down into delicious and succulent gelatin.
Although I prefer fattier cuts of beef on a regular basis, the price of this cut means it can make a regular appearance in our house, without spending a lot of money. I’ll simply add fat by slathering butter on top or a homemade hollandaise sauce.
Our family of 2 adults and one child used this cut of eye of the round for two whole meals.
The first night we sliced it and poured a delicious reduced broth sauce over top (with butter), alongside vegetables. (Read my epic post on making your own broth.) The next night I diced it and served it over huge garden salads with a wonderful homemade vinaigrette. So, not only was this cut of meat inexpensive, but it also served as two big dinners.
Tender Eye of the Round Roast (Sous Vide)
- 3 pounds-ish eye of the round roast
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon salt (I use this brand for seasoning meats like this)
- 2 to 4 tablespoons butter (for searing flavor and color after cooking sous vide)
Stir the salt and pepper together in a bowl. Generously sprinkle the mixture all over the meat.
Next, place the grass fed eye of the round roast in a vacuum seal bag and add the olive oil.
Seal the bag with your Food Saver, Chamber Vacuum Sealer, or whichever vacuum seal system you own.
Place in the Sous Vide (I set my temperature at 136 degrees F) and allow it to cook for 26-30 hours.
After cooking, take the eye of the round roast out of the bag, and dry it with a paper towel.
Using a hot skillet, add the butter and wait a moment.
Then, sear all sides of the eye of the round roast while basting it with the butter. I sear about 1 minute on each side.
Finally, slice your eye of the round roast and serve.