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Inexpensive Roast


chennemann

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I was reading on cooks illustrated how to make a good inexpensive roast.

The Solution: First step: selecting the best cut for our roast. Our favorite, the eye-round, has good flavor and tenderness and a uniform shape that guarantees even cooking. Next step: choosing between the two classic methods for roasting meat—high and fast or low and slow. Low temperature was the way to go. Keeping the meat's internal temperature below 122 degrees as long as possible allowed the meat's enzymes to act as natural tenderizers, breaking down its tough connective tissue (this action stops at 122 degrees). Since most ovens don't heat below 200 degrees, we needed to devise a special method to lengthen this tenderizing period. We roasted the meat at 225 degrees (after searing it to give the meat a crusty exterior) and shut off the oven when the roast reached 115 degrees. The meat stayed below 122 degrees an extra 30 minutes, allowing the enzymes to continue their work before the temperature reached 130 degrees for medium-rare. Final step: seasoning. Salting the meat a full 24 hours before roasting made it even more tender and seasoned the roast throughout.

How long is it safe to cook it at 122 degrees? I would still finish it off at 130 degrees.

How long would it take to make it tender. It sounds like they were happy with a half an hour. Would it still be good if I did it for 2-3 hours, then 130 degrees for 2 hours? I am going to make this for a potluck and I am hoping that I can make it tender enough so everyone is happy.

Thanks,

Chuck

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I was reading on cooks illustrated how to make a good inexpensive roast.   

The Solution: First step: selecting the best cut for our roast. Our favorite, the eye-round, has good flavor and tenderness and a uniform shape that guarantees even cooking. Next step: choosing between the two classic methods for roasting meat—high and fast or low and slow. Low temperature was the way to go. Keeping the meat's internal temperature below 122 degrees as long as possible allowed the meat's enzymes to act as natural tenderizers, breaking down its tough connective tissue (this action stops at 122 degrees). Since most ovens don't heat below 200 degrees, we needed to devise a special method to lengthen this tenderizing period. We roasted the meat at 225 degrees (after searing it to give the meat a crusty exterior) and shut off the oven when the roast reached 115 degrees. The meat stayed below 122 degrees an extra 30 minutes, allowing the enzymes to continue their work before the temperature reached 130 degrees for medium-rare. Final step: seasoning. Salting the meat a full 24 hours before roasting made it even more tender and seasoned the roast throughout.

How long is it safe to cook it at 122 degrees?  I would still finish it off at 130 degrees.

How long would it take to make it tender.  It sounds like they were happy with a half an hour.  Would it still be good if I did it for 2-3 hours, then 130 degrees for 2 hours?  I am going to make this for a potluck and I am hoping that I can make it tender enough so everyone is happy.

Thanks,

Chuck

I just did this exact recipe from Cook's Illustrated. I ended up with perhaps the best eye of round I have ever had. HOWEVER, no matter what you do with this roast it lacks flavour! Mine was cooked on the rare side of medium-rare and is reasonably tender but about the only flavour that comes through is from the salt used in the inital dry brine. It lost almost no juice during the roasting, a single drop was on the baking sheet. I let it rest under a cover for almost 30 minutes and when I cut into it, then the juices flowed. We ate it and it was OK but good beef? Nah! And I started with premium priced Black Angus eye of round. Truly, truly I don't think this roast can be rescued as a roast - but that's just my opinion. I will post a photo of the carved roast shortly.

gallery_6903_111_32290.jpg

Edited to add photo.

Edited by Anna N (log)

Anna Nielsen aka "Anna N"

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"Cooking is about doing the best with what you have . . . and succeeding." John Thorne

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  • 2 months later...

I followed the CI recipe, salting the eye of round and refrigerating overnight, then rubbing it with pepper and searing it very thoroughly on all sides before roasting at 250, which is the lowest setting on my oven. It came out very good. Don't overdo it with the salt, though. I used 2 heaping tablespoons of kosher salt on a large eye of round and it was too salty.

I roasted it on a rack in a 12" frying pan, which preserved the crust on the bottom.

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Sirloin tip roast. I rub it with salt and freshly cracked black pepper the night before and cook it at 250 until it reaches an internal of 130. It has a very good beef flavor.

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