Eye of Round

The meat itself lean, and doesn't need to be cooked to high temp. I like to cook it to 120, then foil it and put it in a cooler for an hour, then slice very thin with a slicer and serve on sandwiches with horseradish sauce. First, I trim off all the fat, though.

Round Eye is the part of the cow that would be called a ham if it was off of a pig. It is about a quarter of a standing round roast or steamship round roast. It is a classic "less tender cut" that makes it a good choice for BBQ when it is slow cooked and seasoned well. It is tough because it is a muscle of locomotion, and will not tolerate cooking temperatures over 280 degrees or it turns into shoe leather. I always use liberal amounts of Adolf's poked in deep with a bear claw. I cook them off just like brisket except that I use a mop or drape the thing with a layer or two of bacon. Remove the bacon when it looks done, and add more if you are less than half way through the cook. I figure that since it is leaner than brisket it needs a little added moisture to prevent drying out. The bacon is also great on the table after being slow cooked in a smoker. I have also been known to fix them cut in half so the thickness is not so great allowing for shorter cooking time. I also want to try Phil stuffed pork loin trick and shove a sausage through the center of one of these babies. It is good sliced thin on sandwiches or just by itself. I have even cut one up and served it like burnt ends.

I only buy these things when I have no other choice or they come with a half beef. To me it just does not have a full bodied beef flavor like a brisket or the rich juicy flavor of a rib roast. The round eye cut has nothing to do with a Rib-eye cut. They come from two different parts of the animal. The term "eye" was added when chain supermarkets opened and wanted a less expensive steak for their "less rich" customers. So they named it "round eye" in hopes that the "less rich" public would think it was tender like the more expensive rib-eye. Some "less honest" butchers would even put one rib-eye steak and one round eye steak in a single package and sell them as rib-eye, or worse yet package two round eyes priced as rib-eyes. Do not buy rib-eye unless it has the little fat eye in the center or you may be getting a less tender round eye.

The toughness is why I slice it really thin... it has decent flavor, and the horseradish helps, too. Slice it thin, and the chewiness isn't a problem.

Like Wayne said, that end of the steer gets a lot of excercise. I like to inject them with a liquid heavy on oil or melted butter, but I roast them around 350° until they are 135°, then I wrap in foil and cooler them for a while. You gotta slice against the grain and thin for the tenderness.

Holy smokes thirdeye, that is hard core.
Looks great.

Kevin said:

Holy smokes thirdeye, that is hard core.
Looks great.

Click to expand...

yep, definitely in the pink zone:wink:
Does look great.

Good looking roast thirdeye. I don't mind eating my meat a little chewy when it is sliced right. This looks great.

Thanks guys, I think more than anything, it's the injection and the slicing that helps me on those cuts.

Not to argue, but I like cooking at a lower temp to get it as evenly done across the cut as I can... I keep it in the 225 range. Here's a pic of the last one I did. It was rare from side to side, and tasted great.