Perfect Eye of Round Roast

NOTE: An updated version of this recipe appears in my cookbook, The Ancestral Table.

Eye of round is a pretty intimidating piece of beef. It’s an extremely lean cut taken from the hindquarters of the cow, which gets a lot of exercise. To be honest, I usually just use the eye of round roast to make jerky (along with london broil, which is also from the same area of the cow) because making steaks and roasts with this part of the cow is usually always a gamble.

The other day I stumbled upon a recipe that seemed both crazy and intriguing; you roast the meat at a high temperature for a while, and then you turn off the oven and leave it in there for 2 1/2 hours. The end result is something like prime rib – a dark, crusty outside with a juicy, pink, tender inside. Honestly, it makes this fairly inexpensive cut of meat taste about 100x better than what you paid for. I may never cook an eye of round roast any other way for the rest of my life!


adapted from All Recipes

You’ll Need:
Eye of Round Roast (2-8 lbs. preferred, we used a 3 lb. roast)
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp black pepper (coarse-ground preferred)
1/2 tsp dried thyme
4-6 cloves garlic, chopped finely

Mix together your seasonings and set them aside.

Take out your roast, rinse it and pat dry with paper towels. Rub the seasonings all over the roast, and let it sit out on the kitchen counter for 30 minutes. This allows the roast to reach room temperature, plus it lets the seasonings settle onto the roast. Preheat your oven to 500 degrees.

Place the roast in a roasting pan or dutch oven and put it in the oven, fatty side up. Roast at 500 degrees, uncovered, for 7 minutes per pound. Our roast was a little over three pounds, so I cooked it for 25 minutes.

Now comes the part that goes against everything I’ve ever done in the kitchen – turn off the oven completely and leave the roast in there for 2 1/2 hours. Don’t open the oven door at all during this time! Go watch a movie or something.

After 2 1/2 hours, take the roast out and check its internal temp with an instant read thermometer. The temperature should be between 130-150 degrees. Put the finished roast on a plate and cover it with tin foil, and allow it to rest for 10 minutes.

Carve it into 1/2″ slices and enjoy!

As a quick reference, here are the standard temperature/doneness levels for roasts:

120°F to 125°F, (49°C to 52°C) = Rare
130°F to 140°F (55°C to 60°C) = Medium Rare
145°F to 150°F (63°C to 66°C) = Medium

Update: based on the huge amount of great feedback in the comments below, here are some tips:

– Gas ovens sometimes don’t retain heat well, so to be safe, during the 2.5-hour “off” period, maybe keep your heat at the oven’s lowest setting (probably 170) and check it after one hour (and every 30 minutes after that) for doneness. Because you have the heat going, I give you permission to open your oven door!
– If this is your first time making this dish, consider doing the 170-degree method above just to be safe..
– You can use a roasting thermometer (the kind that stay in the roast while cooking), but bear in mind that because it’s metal, it will conduct heat possibly overcook the roast. Trust the process!
– Some people have thrown in potatoes and root vegetables in with the roast and they’ve come out tasty, and other people have used the pan drippings (if there are any) to make a pan sauce for the roast.
– If you are making this dish to impress some dinner guests PLEASE try it in your own oven first! This is a very simple and nearly-foolproof recipe, but there is still a lot of variation in ovens, altitudes, etc. I don’t want to feel responsible for a ruined dinner party :)

919 thoughts on “Perfect Eye of Round Roast

  1. You don’t know how many recipes of yours I have tabbed so I can make. Up next is the Kalua pig. I use to live on Big Island and miss the food there. Anyway – hope you didn’t mind I added you to my blog roll. Keep on posting!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Awesome, thank you! Hopefully I can keep up with new recipes every week (last summer I sorta slipped – too many vacations). I am currently blog-roll-less for simplicity’s sake, but I appreciate the add!

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      1. Hi.. I just tried this roast recipe tonight and followed the instructions exactly as it says, and my beef didn’t even make it over 110 degrees! Bummer. Not sure what happened.

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          1. I had the exact opposite problem. This recipe looked absolutely amazing, and the flavor was great. However, mine was only about 2.6 pounds so I cut the cooking/cooling time way down. We prefer our beef very rare anyway, but this came out cooked all the way through and as tough as shoe leather. I’ll probably try again with some tweaking!

            Liked by 1 person

          2. I made it today and I would like to thank you so much it was delish, I ‘m always affraid to cook a roast, I have bad experience! you don’t know what to expect, undercook overcook, but this time was amazing! Thank you.

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          3. Sweetheart, I’ve cooked my roasts this was for over 25 years and never had a problem until this year’s Christmas Rib Roast. I finally figured out that my over 25 year-old electric oven’s slip is showing! She just couldn’t keep a heat seal any more, bless her old heart. I used your trick of turning the dial all the way down and am pleased to announce there is life in the old girl yet. ;)

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          4. I followed your instructions and kept my electric oven on its lowest temperature setting. I am sorry to say that it was an epic fail. I scooped everything (I added onions, potatoes and winter squash–they did not cook either) from my cast iron dutch oven into a crock pot liner and put in the fridge overnight. I will crock pot everything today and hope for the best.

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          5. my oven has internal fans to assist with the cool down of the oven. I think that maybe what some people are having problems. I’m going with the 500 then to 170 route. Thanks for the recipe!

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          6. I just tried this method, had the temperature at 400 becuz the size was 1.50 lb for my husband and I turned it off. after 2 hours perfect. I roasted it on top onions celery and frozen carrots. WOW

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          7. Help. Just came across your webpage. I am making a 9.77 pound eye round for Christmas dinner and am afraid of screwing it up. Usually make Prime Rib, but needed to trim the budget this year. Any tips or advise. Thanks

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          1. We have a gas oven and it worked GREAT for us….we just turned the heat down from 500 to 150 and it was the best roast I have ever had!!! Worked perfect!!!

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          2. I’ve cooking this roast in my gas oven for years and now in my gas convection oven and it’s still coming out perfect!!! I shut it completely off and have a perfect medium rare roast just the way we like it.

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          3. I just cooked this roast in a gas oven using the 500 degree oven for 7 minutes per pound and the dropping the oven temp to 170 degrees for 2.5 hours… It was wonderful!!! Best eye of round roast ever!!

            Liked by 1 person

          4. My oven is electric and only goes to 450° or broil after that. How do I adjust the cooking time for a 450 temp? It’s 3.3 lbs

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        1. Hi the same thing happened to me. it was ice cold and raw. I then cooked it at 350 for another hour.

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        2. sherri – this recipe will work as described but the rub (pardon the pun) is that your oven MUST be (1) calibrated to the temperatures outlined and (2) keep heat at reasonable levels.
          So what does that mean and what can you do about it? (1) buy an oven thermometer(one that you leave sitting in the oven, put on middle rack) and turn your oven on to a set temp (350 works) and wait until the oven has full heated up (15-20 mins should work, even if the pre-heat sensor beeps, wait the full 20 mins), then look at the oven thermometer. It should be at the temp you set the oven to (in this case, 350). If the thermometer shows that the temp is accurately then move onto step 2. If it is widely off or varies over your cooking time then your oven has issues. There is a way to calibrate your oven but you should go to an owners manual and use your “I’m handy or not” judgement to decide if this is a DYI or repairman issue.
          (2) turn your oven off and watch the temp on the thermometer every 5 mins and write down the temp to see how quickly your oven is losing temp. If it drops quickly (say 20 degrees in 20 minutes) it could be your oven seal is an issue. Put your hand as near as possible to the door seams (top and bottom if a double oven) to see if you can feel heat seeping out. It could be you need new caskets – again you’ll need to decide if this is DYI or not.

          Good luck.

          Liked by 1 person

          1. My old oven (which wasn’t terribly old) cooked too hot (I think it always cooked too hot).
            When we had a repairman for our microwave, I asked him about calibrating the oven (since it cooked too hot). His answer was “turn it down”. From his answer I figured it was difficult to recalibrate. Is it difficult to do? I found it very difficult to use a thermometer to figure out the temp in the oven.

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        3. Hi Sherri, first of all I find it easier to cut my roast in half. Especially if it is a larger roast. I usually go with a 5 lb roast and cut it in half, and I actually do 5 minutes per pound so as not to overcook. so it ends up being 2 1/2 pounds…I do 13 minutes and then cut the oven off and it is perfect. On the occasions that I’ve left my large roast in tact ( didn’t cut it in half) it didn’t work as well. Maybe this will help?

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          1. When you cut it in half, do you cook both pieces at the same time or just the one half at a time ?

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        4. Me too Sherri. Worst piece of cold uncooked beef I’ve ever seen. Threw it out. I was reluctant when I touched the oven after 1 hour and it was room temperature. And I turned my oven stove light on to rrad the internal thermometer – and it was so low that it didn’t register. Ugh! Worst waste of a piece of beef ever!

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        5. I’m glad I read the comments. I have a new dual range. Gas burners and electric oven. The cooling fans blows until the oven cools, so will use the low temp method instead of turning my oven off. For those of you who are having problems with the meat being overdone or underdone you may want to check you’re ovens temp. I discovered on my previous oven that this was happening. The thermostat or something was blown. I had it repaired and no problem after. II had a lot of failed recipes before I realized that it was the oven. Good luck.

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        1. Sandra, great question, maybe someone else could chime in. I’ve never used a roasted but I’m not sure how well they retain heat. Do they have a “low” setting, like at 180 degrees or so? If so you could try the method I mention at the bottom of the post.

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          1. Russ, I asked that question because we were having a big family gathering and I didn’t want to tie up the oven for so long, but I ended up doing it in the oven and it was the TALK of the night!!! It came out just like your pictures and was the best roast beef I’ve ever cooked!!!! Thank you!!!

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          2. I did a similar process with a pork roast and a beef roast. The beef was in an electric roaster. Did the same heating process. turned it off when the time was up. Worked just as well as the regular oven. Everyone loved them both!

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        2. The problem with a roaster is that you want to have the lid on for temperature control, and this cut of meat needs to be cooked with a dry heat method. Using a moist heat method will toughen it.

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        3. I’ve done it in my roaster. But you have to turn it to 200 degrees after the high temp cook is over because the roaster doesn’t hold the heat after turning it off.

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      2. I just tried your recipe and it was tremendous! I had bought a 3.07 lb roast and oiled and seasoned as per your recipe. I checked it after 1 1/2 hours and it was perfect. We like it medium rare. I also oiled and salted baking potatoes and baked them on tin foil beside the roaster. They came out perfect too. I’m looking forward to trying your other recipes!

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        1. Kate – if you like the potato skin crispy (who doesn’t) you can substitute plain water for the oil. Do everything else the same (salt when wet, place potato on rack, and put foil on rack directly below the one holding the potato. Putting potato directly on foil doesn’t allow air to circulate around entire potato surface area and the part that sits on the foil tends to stay wet and not crispy up as well.

          Liked by 1 person

          1. I put my potato on a tray or foil, but it sits on a small bed of coarse salt, instead of rubbing all over. It allows air to circulate and for some reason doesn’t make it too salty.

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        1. Connie, yes, leave it in longer. I would also keep the oven at 170F to make sure the oven doesn’t go too cool before it gets medium. Check it after 90 minutes and keep checking every 30 mins.

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      3. I just made this roast and it came out perfect I had a 2,31 lb roast I did 6 mins a pound (15 min) on 500 turned off oven let it sit 1 hr 40 min temp was 135 perfect thank you so much and I loved that my oven wasn’t on long : )

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      4. Tried this for the first time tonight. It was a great idea, since it’s starting to get hot and I was able to get the dinner moving way in advance and let the heat subside in the kitchen. First let me say, I am vegetarian, but I always cook meat for the family. It was a big success. I had about the same amount of meat as the recipe called for. I was scared at first. The temperature climbed to 192 at one point and it hadn’t been in the oven for very long. Took it out a little less than 2.5 hrs after turning the heat off. So I basically ignored the thermometer and went with the time you recommended instead, taking it out instead when the temp dropped BACK to 160. After removing it from the oven, it quickly dropped to 142. Then I tented it and let it sit before slicing. The family loved it. We’ll make it again for sure. My hubby kept commenting on how tender it was.

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      5. Love all the recipes that I’ve tried. May I suggest a good quality remote meat thermometer. I love mine! Don’t know how I ever did without one, perfect roast even when using somebody else’s oven, and it has paid for itself many times over in meals that it saved from my neglect. The best part is the belt clip pager that I can take out into the garage, set next to the computer, or set outside the kitchen window while in my patio garden.

        Liked by 1 person

        1. Paul, I totally agree. I recently got the iDevices kitchen thermometer, which syncs with my iPhone and monitors everything. I used it for our Easter lamb roast, and it was awesome!

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      6. I use this a modified version of this recipe on the grill,,,I cook at the highest temp my grill will get to, usually 500-550 for 6-7minutes a pound depending on the shape of the roast, then turn off 2 burners (I have 3), and leave the roast on the “cool side” for an hour. Then remove roast from grill, triple wrap in heavy duty foil, and let sit on top of stove with a towel over it for another hour… This way I free up the oven for the wife to make whatever she wants in the oven, and I can sit back and enjoy a beverage or two….AND, NO dirty baking dishes to clean…..Oh, I do turn the roast over after 1/2 hour, so the juices that are pushed out of the meat while it continues to cook don’t just settle in the bottom pf the foil, they get sucked back into the meat as it cools..

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        1. Maybe you’d be a better cook if you followed the directions in the recipe. There’s no searing involved here. The initial 500 degree oven does the searing.

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      7. Guess what i’m going to do? I’m going to crock pot my round roast. Never fails in my crock pot…always tender!\

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    2. Tried it. Wonderful aroma. Good taste. Not as tender as I would like, but that’s probably due to the meat and not the prep. It was about room temperature when it came out of the oven after 2 1/2 hours after turning off the heat. My roast was a hair under 3#, so I kept it at 500º for 30 minutes (I’m at about 4500 ft. above sea level, which may or may not matter.)

      I washed some baking potatoes and put them in the roasting pan when I put the roast in the oven. They were done to perfection.

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        1. Hello there! I made the roast today, and the tenderness was perfect, the temp was perfect, but my beef did not develop a crust. Any pointers? My beef was lean, trimmed of all fat (it came this way in the package, and tied with twine), dry aged, grain fed.

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          1. Problem was that there was no fat and the roast was grain fed. You need the fat. Grass fed meat probably would have helped as well.

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          2. If you sear your roast first before putting it in the oven and place a piece of tin foil lightly floating over the roast pan, not tightly wrapped over the roast, it would develop a nice brown crust.

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      1. When you put the potatoes in do you need to add water to the pan? You wouldn’t just put them in a dry pan, right? This recipie mentions no water. Please help!

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          1. Does it matter if you put it directly into the pan or does it have to sit on a rack? About to cook this now! Thanks for the quick response!

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        1. Re the potatoes – you probably should coat them with EVOO and a touch of salt. Normally, I throw potatoes (along w carrots/onions/clelery) in large cubes/wedges in w a roast. This adds great flavor if you make a gravy. Gravy is easy but needs some work since eye round is a pretty lean cut even with the fat flap.

          I take roast and vegs out of roasting pan to let meat sit 10 mins prior to slicing. Cover roast w foil and put vegs into a covered dish to keep warm (w this receipe you probably could put it back into oven if it is still mildly warm.

          You want to use roasting pan drippings (even if there aren’t any/not much) or left over pan bits and on stove top heat up pan, deglaze with a little Cognac, add some butter (amount depending on if any drippings are in the pan, you just want some fat in the pan to make a roux), add sliced mushrooms and some garlic (minced or sliced very thin) stirring throughout w pan on med heat, add flour to fat/mushroom mix (looks weird but don’t worry) whisking constantly, add beef stock to roux when ready (roux should be slightly dark and pasty before adding beef stock; I like Better Than Bullion paste but it can be salty so be careful). Let reduce to thicken or add more stock if too thick (it thickens slightly once it is on table so keep it a tad thinner than you like it before taking it to the table.)
          Enjoy! Yummy!!!

          Liked by 1 person

          1. Excellent gravy method! One tweak, Condensed french onion soup instead of Better Than Bullion paste . I like to use Campbell’s but any will do. Try it , you’ll like it!

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      2. Thanks for the high altitude adjustment! Love this method! Caterers use the high – low method for prime rib, and my brother uses this method, but I was never brave enough to try it way up here in the mountains! Can’t wait to check out more of Russ’ recipes!

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    3. I just bought a 71/2 lb eye of round roat and cut it into 3 smaller roasts,each about a little more than 2 lbs- should I still cook it @ 500 degrees without covering?

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        1. I thought if one were cooking 2 smaller roasts at the same time, the cooking time is calculated for the larger piece. What do you think? Perhaps leaving the two 3.30 (total weight of the 2 = 6.5 lbs) in for a longer period of time at the 500 degrees would only give it a great crusty seasoning. True?

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          1. Annie, if you left two small roasts in for the time of their combined weight, they’d cook too quickly. Instead, you want to cook them at the average weight of the two roasts, with a little added time to compensate for the fact that two roasts in the oven will cool down the oven a little more than one roast. They should still have a nice crust!

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    4. I’ve tried this twice and with outstanding results. I’ve even managed to make the best gravy from a roast ever and a lot of it. ( about three quarts).

      Sensational recipe. Thanks, Russ.

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    5. I was nervous to make this cut of meat the first time and try a new technique. I mastered the pot roast and grilling. I added fresh minced rosemary to the rub. I didn’t know the meat thermometer I used wasn’t oven proof as it wasn’t mine and nobody warned me otherwise. After 1.5 hours into the incubation period I saw the thermometer face was melted! So I cut the fattest part open to see and it was a Lil bloody so back in for 30 min at 170°. Perfecto!!! Impressed everyone they had seconds. Served with creamy Horseradish sauce. Who needs prime rib anymore tasty and economical.

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    6. use a meat injector sith about one quarter cup beef btoth about one hslf hour into cooking.
      it makes a sorld of difference and uour roast will taste like it cost a fortune!

      Liked by 1 person

    7. I tried making this ‘perfect ‘ eye round roast. I followed your recipe . I have an electric oven so I turned the oven off and DID NOT open the oven. I checked after the 2 1/2 hours and it was only 120 degrees. Had to turn the oven back on and ended up putting it back in for about 45min. Well, I took it out and let it rest and it was a perfect medium but it was so tough you could barely eat it. Ended up throwing it out. I would never try this method again!

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      1. Sounds like your electric oven is not retaining heat well. I would try Russ’s tip for gas ovens, which is turning the oven down as low as it goes after the 500 degree period instead of turning it off (check temp of roast after 1 hour). Has worked perfectly for me over and over.

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    8. Thank you very much! The eye of round roast came out the best we have ever eaten! Usually mine are very dry. This time the juices were there and we had plenty of beautiful dark gravy. You really figured this one out- thanks again!

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    9. Wow, I made this amazing eye of the round roast today 6.8 lbs cooked on 500 for 60 minutes, then turned down to the keep warm 170. degrees for 2 1/2 hours prefect doneness. Due to the size of my roast I added another 1/2 teaspoon of each salt & pepper, a few pinches of dehydrated onions and some fresh rosemary. I was loved by all!

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    10. Had a 7 lbs whole. Used seasoning garlic and olive oil to prep. About 63 min at 455, another hour 50 w oven off… absolutely fantastic!!! Thank you

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    1. Hi Tracy, that is a great question. I don’t know much about gas ovens so I can’t give you a firm answer; does the oven tend to retain its heat after you turn it on? If so, you should be okay…but again, I don’t want to be responsible for a ruined hunk of meat, so try it at your own risk! :)

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      1. I tried this same recipe off of someone else’s website and it does NOT work with gas ovens. It was still raw at the end of the cooking time. Bummer!

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          1. I don’t think it is so much whether the oven is gas or not as it is whether it is well-sealed. My oven is electric and not self cleaning. I think a lot of the heat leaked out. I did this recipe just as written and after 2 hours my thermometer never got above 120. I let it rest for 10 minutes. Since I like my meat rare, I sliced into it and found it perfect.

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          2. I have made it successfully in a gas oven and both successfully and unsuccessfully in an electric oven. It’s definitely about how well it retains heat.

            BTW — I don’t recommend making it in extreme cold. The outside gets browned, but once you turn off the oven, not much else happens.

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          3. Russ I’ve been cooking eye of the round and use nothing but gas and they’ve come out perfect every time. Now have a gas convection oven and I get the same results……perfect.

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        1. It will work in a gas oven…..but instead of turing the oven off…..turn it down to 150 degrees and leave it alone for 2 1/2. Worked great for us!

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      2. Hi Russ, my question about this method of cooking for this roast is this; if I have an gas oven and follow directions up to the point of turning off, if I leave my oven on at 200 or 225 degress with this mimic the effect of a electric oven? I really really want to try this method of cooking my roast. Do you know if anyone with a gas oven has tried this and had success?

        Thanks Sandy

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        1. Hey Sandy, you can definitely try it at a high heat and then reduce it to about 250. That’s a common method for making prime rib, so I’m sure it would turn out just fine. You should be able to check it with a meat thermometer as it cooks to make sure it gets to the desired temperature; an internal temp of 120-125 should be medium rare and just about perfect. Good luck and please tell me how it went!

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      3. I have tried this recipe many times. At first I was nervous about the turning off of the oven so I kept it on lowest temp but it over cooked it. With gas just put roast on highest level on oven rack and follow recipe. Awesome recipe I cook this for our Sunday meals, it sure brings the family out.

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    2. yes it works in gas oven but leave the oven on warm for the last 2 plus hours … it is important NOT to open the oven during last hours … my son does not like beef .. too many of Oma’s soggy watery stringy roasts, but this 6 lb roast comes out like prime rib and got us 3 plus meals and he loved each and every one! sheppard’s pie, fajita’s … best roast ever!

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      1. I have a 5.5 roast that I would like to do fro Christmas. DId you do the 7 minutes per pound on 500 first? I too have a gas oven. Do you think I should keep it at 170 or 200?

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  2. I googled “how to cook eye of round roast” and this way popped up several times. I wasn’t convinced that this was the way for me. Your blog has sealed the deal and I can’t wait to try it

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  3. Did you use a grass fed eye of round or a grain fed one?

    I cooked a grass fed one this way, and it came out a little tough (though still delicious).

    I’m wondering if the cooking time would need to be altered for grass fed beef.

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    1. Hi Josh, sorry to hear that it came out a little tough. I also used a grass-fed roast. I’m racking my brain to find out why it came out tough; was it a very small roast? Does your oven run hot? Are you at a high altitude? How pink was the inside?

      While the difference between grass-fed and grain-fed does alter cooking times, that’s usually for pieces that are cooked more thoroughly – steaks, for example – and since this roast is cooked to medium doneness, it shouldn’t have been an issue.

      I’m not a meat expert by any means, but I imagine the fat content in this cut of meat is similar in both varieties since it’s one of the most-worked muscles on the body (although arguably a grain-fed cow probably does more standing around!).

      In the future, I’d cook it for a few minutes less than last time just to be safe, and if you’re up to it, rub olive oil all over the roast before applying the dry rub.

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      1. Grass Fed and Finished beef is much much leaner and in general slightly tougher than its cousins fed corn or grains (feed lot fed or not). In general it has a fat that has a better omega balance, but also less fat and less marbling. A grain fed cow gets to market weight in 8-14 months, a grass fed cow 16-24 months. So the meat is older and will be tougher.

        I usually treat grass fed beef more like you would bison, which is for a shorter time and ONE wellness rating less (Medium reduced to Medium Rare for example). The period at 500F is to sear the outer meat, so I would reduce that time to 5 minutes/lb – I tend to to 4-5lb roasts for 20 minutes regardless of size. I’d also knock it down 30 minutes per lb (2 hours instead of 2 hours 30mins).

        You could try doing the sear at 500F, then setting your oven to 160F for the remainder of the cooking time and add half an 20-30 minutes for each wellness stage you want to get too after the initial 2 hours if you want to go past medium rare.

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        1. This actually confirmed some suspicions I’ve had based on my own experiences. Thanks, for I while there I was sure it was just my wonky oven. I’ll put this info into the family book of “Hey, Mom Did It This Way!” Cheers –

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        2. M,
          right on the money. 5 mins/lb.
          to other folks don’t time until done based on wt.
          buy an electronic thermometer. calibrate it before using it. Put it in boiling water on the stove top but make sure it goes to 212F. If it doesn’t find out what your hot water coming out of the tap is and see if this registers the same. last calibration is to match it to your usual meat thermometer.
          you don’t have to open the oven door anymore.
          my thermo has a 50 ft range so i can sit on the back porch and enjoy life.
          then cook to rare ~135F.
          cheers – old prop

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  4. We are having this tonight, and I can hardly wait. I made a special trip to the store just to get the meat. I cooked a turkey once this way. 500 for 1 hour and in the oven overnight. Really juicy and good! I really enjoy your postings. Thanks!!

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    1. I would be leary of leaving a cooked turkey in the oven over night?Isn’t that too long fr poultry to be left after cooking?I read it should be put in fridge as soon as it cools?

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      1. She COOKED it overnight (at a low temp.. probably about 200). A turkey isn’t going to be done cooking after only an hour, even at 500. She didn’t let the finished turkey sit in the oven overnight.

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  5. This is in my oven right now. It smells SO good!!! It’s like torture that I have two wait two more hours!!! Might have to leave the house ;-)

    Thanks for posting this, I can’t wait to dig in!

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  6. oh my – this was incredible….. I’m kind of afraid of meat and don’t know what to do with it. I made this last night and my whole family ate it and loved it. My 10 year old daughter says “it’s so juicy” (she actually said that about 5 times) and she had fourths…..

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    1. I personally think that it would be amazing with
      gravy,but it would be best with different veggies,such as,spinach ,okra, corn,snow peas by the way corn is a grain.

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  7. Im sure my oven is like everyone else’s with the vent out of the back left heating element on the stove. Will this cause problems with keeping heat for the 2.5 hours?

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  8. I made this for dinner last night. Tender, juicy, full of flavor and a total hit with the family. I use a gas oven so it was a gamble but it was a total sucess. Thanks for a new way to cook an unfamilar cut of meat.

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      1. I made this tonight with one of those infamous gas ovens, and guess what? It was gobbled down in one quick sitting. Here’s what I did: Roasted it for 7 minutes per pound at 500. Turned the oven down to 300 for the next hour, then down to 200 for the remaining time. Thanks for sharing this recipe. It helped me use one of those challenging cuts from my cow share.

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        1. Thank you, thank you, thank you…i too have a gas oven and was wondering. How am I going to do this?….and then you comment appears….

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  9. made this last night, smelled great and couldn’t wait to try it. Tasted great but it wasn’t very tender! What did I do wrong? I followed your recipe.

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        1. Hmm, I’m at a loss then. Sounds like you did everything right, with the perfect temperature and color. How was the quality of the meat? We bought some beef from a co-worker last year that was extremely tough and stringy no matter how I cooked it :(

          If all else fails, do try it again and let me know if it gets better!

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          1. Hi Russ, I got the meat at Costco, I think that was the problem! Last night I made 5 chicken breast, 3 were great and 2 were like rubber!! I think I’ll be shopping for meat elsewhere.
            I will try the roast again, it was tasty. Thanks for all your feed back.
            Take care Lisa

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          2. Hey Russ and Lisa… just a thought. Lisa, did you slice it against the grain? I am going to try this tonight :)

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  10. I tried this at home, it was incredible! but now I will serve it at a reception for 50 people, so I have some doubts…
    I need to roast about 5 or 6 pieces weighing from 2.2 to 2.5 each, so should I add more time at 500 per pound because of the many pieces of meat being cooked at the same time?

    Also it will be held (whole) in a warmer for 1 hour and then heated in a chafing dish for another 3 hrs before cutting and serving… do you think this will just ruin the beef? not sure if it may toughen or dry it up.
    I would really appreciate your thoughts about this. Is this too adventurous?

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  11. Dear Russ, It seem you do a lot of baking your beef ,but I live and rise my own beef so when it comes to a roast that is from a tough cut ,or has a lot of fat ,try using a seasoning rub to you taste and rub it down, place in a skillet ,add just enough oil to brown it on all sides ,and if one is not afraid to , place it in a pressure cooker. also one will have no problem using a gas ,or electric stoves.one can also add vegetables.

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  12. This is the same recipe my grandmother and mother used. Grandma was born in the late 1800s and my mom was born in 1925. This is a tried and true recipe. Do not be afraid.

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  13. I’m gonna be trying this on Thursday, but I just wanted to check… My roast is 5lbs. Does this change the cooking time at all?

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  14. I “experimented” with this recipe for my Dad’s birthday, with our whole family in attendance. We had 5 meat eaters and they demolished a 5 lb. Eye of Round!!! This recipe was easy and delicious! WIth the short high temperature cooking cycle it also kept the heat down in my kitchen on a 100 degree day! Thank you for sharing this it was OUTSTANDING and we’ll be enjoying this again soon.

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    1. Gonna try this tonight for dinner. Just put the seasonings on,and letting it sit for 30 min. Will let you know how it turns out.

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  15. I’m trying this tonight, I’m not very good with cooking meat so wish me luck. I saw where you suggested rubbing it in olive oil to someone that said their grass fed turned out tough. I have a grain fed but should I go ahead and use the oil anyways just to ensure I get it juicy or no? I don’t want to mess it up lol.

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  16. Started making this for dinner tonight. Rested 30 minutes on counter and then put in the oven. Timer just went off and now I realize the oven was not up to temp (500). It was just getting to 496 so I added another 7 minutes. Hope it comes out ok.

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  17. Regarding this recipe with a gas oven – I’ve made this three times (tonight will be the 4th) and I use a gas oven. Every time my roast has come out perfectly done to medium rare the way the family loves it. I do tend to just turn the oven down to its lowest setting, which on mine is around 140 degrees – because my oven is ancient! Beyond that, I follow the recipe to a “T” and it is perfection. So for those with a gas oven, don’t be afraid to try this one. :-)

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  18. Excellent taste. Will be great for sandwhiches if there is any left over. I left out the garlic in fear that it would burn and make it bitter. Made an au jus with the remaining “goodies” left on the bottom of the pan. Yummy

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    1. Stab the meat and put the garlic slivers inside. That is good!! I also marinated the roast in olive oil, worcestershire, balsamic vinegar and a little dijon mustard for a day before cooking. Best roast ever!!

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  19. This was delicious and I will definitely do it again. would be great shave thin on a sandwich, incredible tender for what in the past I had only considered pot roasting. Thanks

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  20. This worked wonderfully. It wasn’t quite done at the end of the 2.5 hours, so I put it on at 350 for another 20 minutes and it was perfect. We will definitely make this again!

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  21. trying this tonight lol hope everyone likes it!! wish me luck but I,m going to throw my potatoes n veggies in after the high temp cooking time this part makes me nervous as in all postings I read no one mentioned how much water broth if any liquid at all is required? so I,m just going to see as i go along..

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  22. It’s in the oven (with some potatoes)! My boyfriend is skeptical – but I think the Domestic Man knows! (1st time here – love the name!)

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  23. I made this recipe today. I have a gas oven. The roast was 3.38 lbs and I cooked it at 500 for 25 minutes and then turn the oven down to 200 and cooked it for 1 1/2 hours. It was fantastic.

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  24. I made this recipe a few months back and it’s awesome. My man didn’t think it would be done he was very surprised by it. There was defently none leftover. But I have a question I was going to make this recipe tonight but I jus realized my roast is a rump roast and it’s 1.45lbs (which is plenty for two). So would it still work or how should I do it?? It was so good last time and I would love to have it again tonight!! Please let me know. My roast is thawing put now. Thank you very much!!

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  25. i’m making a roast for a dinner party tomorrow. actually i’m making 2 at the same time. does that mess with the cook time and can it be done in the same pan? both are about 5.25 & 5.5LBS. thanks!!

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  26. VERY anxious! I have 20 people coming for dinner and have it in the over right now. I have an 8lb roast and decided to cut it in half and roast side by side in a large pan rather than risk doing one so large my first time…So for 2-4 lb roasts I am going to leave them for 28 minutes at 500 and then reduce the heat….will let you know if it works out

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  27. I’m having guests for dinner tonight and want to give this recipe a go. The problem is that I won’t be home at the time the oven needs to be turned off so I’m wondering if I should cook the roast ahead of time and reheat it (at what temp and how long?) or if I should just time it so that I turn the oven off when I leave and let the roast sit in the oven til I return about 4 hours later? Thanks.

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  28. This was excellent! I checked the weight before I started and my roast was 6.66 pounds. I’ve named tonight’s dinner Roast Prophetic Beast with Brimstone Roasted Veg. ;) I cut potatoes, carrots, and onions into nice-sized chunks and surrounded the big hunk o’ beef with them. I added no seasoning to the veg and they were delectable! I used all the pan drippings for a dark, rich, slightly spicy gravy that the kids wanted to drink from the gravy boat! I will use this recipe for eye of rounds from now on. Even crock potting these roasts doesn’t make the meat tender. Mine is a self-cleaning electric oven with an excellent seal. 45 minutes @ 500, then 2.5 hours with no heat and the meat thermometer read 140 in the thickest section of the roast. Nice! So good. Sliced it thin.

    Tell me, what do you do with your leftovers? I usually make another dish with leftover beef, but this is A LOT of meat. I’ll probably get 10 meals out of this beast.

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    1. Hi,
      I’ve used leftover Eye of the Round to make Vegtable Beef Soup and it comes out fantastic! The soup can then be frozen in bulk or in individual serving containers. Just noticed the date on the original post. I guess I’m a tad late with my suggestion lol.

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    2. When I made this recipe for the first time we had a LOT left over so after we’d had enough of beef sandwiches, I cut the remaining meat in small pieces and made a delicious beef stew. I included any drippings/gravy left over and froze the stew we didn’t get through in the next few days. The stewed meat was *even more tender* if you can believe it. I now use this recipe every time I cook a roast!

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  29. Wow….I wish I knew about this cooking method years ago! Soooo easy and what a delicious result! I have picky eaters so I cut two garlic cloves in half and rubbed the cut ends on all sides of the piece of meat then added a generous dose of salt and pepper. I made gravy with the drippings! This is the only way I will prepare the eye of round roast…THANK YOU!!!

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  30. Thanks so much!!! I was looking for something like this but I was always uncertain….. The only doubt, is about the exact part of the beast….. I live in northern Italy, and I wonder how can I ask my butcher “eye round roast”,actually! Can you help? Thanks again!

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  31. My wife and I just made an eye round following this method. Our roast was about 2 lbs, left it in at 225 for about 1hr 20min after 15 min at 500. It was great. Nice and rare, lots of flavor. We also put russets in with it, they came out great, too. It was all as good or better than any restaurant roast beef that we have had. I will absolutely do this for beef roasts from now on.

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    1. Mine worked out just about the same, and it was fantastic for NYE last night. It was my first try with our Viking oven, so I could not leave the oven untouched for two hours without knowing my heat loss. It looks like it gets down to 200 degrees on our Viking oven, per the oven thermometer, so I would think keeping the oven on at 170 to 225 would be best, no?

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    1. Brigi, I don’t see why not, provided the convection oven retains heat pretty well (as far as I know, they do). I haven’t worked with a convection oven in several years, but I imagine you would have to adjust the initial (500-degree) cooking time in the same way you have to adjust for other recipes. Let me know if you do it, and how it turned out!

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  32. I tried this using the boliche cut of meat which was what I could find in Washington Heights. I used a gas oven and I turned it down to 150 instead of turning it off, it worked perfectly !! THANK YOU

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  33. Fantastic recipe! Had a 7lb roast and put in for 42 minutes then took out 2.5 hours later and……the best roast I have ever made! Thank you for this!

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  34. This was fantastic – just a side suggestion . . . fresh red beets and rice pilaf. Might I suggest a tag? You could mark this as “gluten free.”

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    1. Nice idea about the tag, and the sides! Just updated my tags to include gluten-free for this recipe.

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    1. After the first hour of the oven being turned off, the temp of the meat started to drop from 144 degrees. I heated the oven back up to 325 but the temp wasn’t rising in the meat. I took it out, wrapped it up in foil and let it sit. When I sliced it was too bloody for us. So I made some beef stock and simmered it, but there were some tough peices and only a little bit of tenderness.

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      1. Hi Amanda, I’m a little confused about this post. Were you opening the oven and checking it after an hour, or was there a meat thermometer in the meat the whole time? If it was the former, I would have encouraged you to let the recipe run its course before making changes. It sounds like your oven didn’t retain heat very well; next time I would encourage you to do as many with gas ovens do, and keep the heat going at 170 for the rest of the time and try it from there. I’m happy to hear that you were at least able to salvage the meal!

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        1. There was a thermometer in the meat the whole time, I have one of those themometers that you stick in the meat and it keeps track of when it is done to your liking rare, med, well done. I never opened the door once durring the cooking time. We didn’t get to eat it, bc my husband had an allergic reaction to something, he is allergic to beans and mushrooms which I used neither but the meat was purchased in an open meat counter. The meat was also too tough to eat, since we have a choking problem in the family. I was hoping for a nice tender meat.

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          1. Amanda, sorry to hear that you had such a bad experience. I would suggest trying to keep the heat on low next time to maintain some heat. That being said, I understand if you didn’t want to make this recipe again considering the nightmare of a time you had the first time! :(

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    1. OMG!!!!! It came out scrumptious!!! Turned gas oven down as low as it could go….170 degrees…and it came out so good…little tough but that’s the cut…..yummmm!

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  35. So pretty much the 500 degrees is the act of searing your roast and the 2 1/2 hours of temperature reduction is a low and slow technique. Why can’t you sear in a hot pan and roast until fork on let’s say 180-220 degrees?

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    1. Ronnie, that may work, but there are a couple ideas at play here – first, it takes a while for the oven to go down from 500 degrees, so that process probably helps in the cooking process more than just a steady 180-220 degrees. Secondly, pan-searing and then roasting would mean twice as many dirty dishes :)

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  36. Russ:

    This is as close to PR as it gets w/out the bones. I read your story and was laughing because my reaction to this recipe was about the same as yours. After I tried it, I had to shut my mouth. (Mom always taught us it’s not polite to talk with a mouthful). I also make can make about two quarts of gravy with the pan drippings using powdered beef boullion, water, Kitchen Bouquet, powdered garlic, onion, salt, pepper and corn starch.

    It’s exactly like PR.

    Thanks.

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  37. I was just looking thought the comments and I could have sworn I left one last time I tried your recipe. CREDIT IS DUE TO YOU SIR!!! I followed the directions to a “T” for a 5.6 lb Eye of Round and it turned out beautifully!!! I have a new cheap stove that came with my apartment and I didn’t trust it to stay warm for long so I just turned it down to the lowest setting for the 2.5 hrs and my roast was AWESOME! Tender, pink and juicy. Couldn’t have gotten a Prime Rib to taste so good! Thank you sir! I will be cooking this again tonight, with no stress now that I know what a fail-safe recipe this is! I’ll be back for more tasty ideas!

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  38. Our 4-pound roast is in the oven, which is 10 minutes away from being turned off. The smell of roasting garlic is wonderful. As soon as we shut off the oven, we’re headed to my 92-year-old mother-in-law’s house to watch The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel with her and her 96-year-old friend. Leaving the house is the best way to do this (in my mind) – otherwise I’d be fussing and checking all the time. When we return, we expect to enjoy a lovely roast. Thanks for the recipe!

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    1. We were 15 minutes late coming home, and the roast was perfect. A bit on the cool side, but not a big deal. We will definitely do this again with the other half of the roast that’s in the freezer!

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  39. Hi,
    I have to cook a 8lb eye round for 15 people, so, 8lb x 7min = 56 minutes in a 500 degrees oven…isn’t it going to burn too much in the outside? Should I cut it in two and cook only 30 minutes at 500 degrees?
    Also, will the 2 1/2 hours for the 2 pieces to finish cooking enough?

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    1. I just made a 6.8 pound roast and didn’t cut it in half, and it came out fine (45 minutes at 500, and 2 1/2 hours with the oven off). My problem was that I didn’t read the directions carefully, so when it came out and the temperature registered 135-ish, I thought it needed more cooking. So I turned the oven to 350 and put it back in for a while. End result was a roast that was more medium than the medium rare or rare that I was going for. But it was still delicious!

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  40. I’ve used this method several times in a gas oven and it turns out perfectly pink in the centre. The trick really is having an oven door that seals well for the standing time. The other thing is to slice thinly. I have to cook 12 x 2-3 lb roasts for a community meal. Normally I would get several whole eye of rounds but this was the only size I could get. I’m going to try putting them all into two restaurant pans and cross my fingers! Thanks for the last tip to let air circulate. Wish me luck. This is the only cut we can afford when we have to serve about 80 people.

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  41. Okay. I was a total unbeliever when I read this recipe. Just made it tonight and the entire family loved it! It was tender and flavorful. Now I need to check out some of your other recipes! Thanks!

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      1. I have a small roast 1.89lbs. I cooked it on 500 degrees for 16 mins. I forgot to let it sit out half an hr prior. :( I like mine more done med-well. How long should I leave it locked in the oven for?? the full 2.5 hrs? or since it’s a smaller roast I can take it out earlier? making it as I write. Hopefully you can let me know sooner than later. So far smells amazing!

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        1. The way I did mine was I used the probe of my oven. After cooking it the 5 min per pound at 500 degrees I turned the oven down to the lowest that it would allow me (which was 200). I set the probe to the temp that I wanted the roast to be and when it was done the oven turned off. If you don’t have a probe built into your oven you can purchase portable ones. There really isn’t anyway to tell unless you have a temp gauge inserted that you can read without opening the oven otherwise you lose the heat of the oven. Hope this helps. Mine turned out great.

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          1. I always forget about my probe that is built in my oven. I was in such a rush to make it after a long day at wk. We are in a middle of a storm so my husband was going to get home late. thought it would be a great dish to have after a long commute in snowy weather. Have 30 mins to go and see what the result is. I’ll def use it next time. Thanks for the tip.

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  42. Tried this yesterday with a 2.2 lb. roast. Cooked it for 20 minutes and then shut off oven for 2.5 hours. (My stove is a retro gas stove from the 1950’s so I was worried it wouldn’t hold the heat). It came out perfect, just like PR, pink and juicy. Will try it again with baking potatoes. Oil them a bit with a little coconut oil,shake on seat salt and wrap in foil! Thanks!

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  43. I loved the looks of this recipe and the comments sold me on trying it. I’ve prepared my 6 lb roast as per your instructions and its in the oven now, along with some root vegetables that I hope will bake nicely with the meat…my only concern is that I didn’t read all the comments before putting it all in the oven and I’m now worried that there isn’t a ton of room around the roast for “air circulation”. Should I make any adjustments?

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      1. You were right – it’s fantastic! The onion chunks I spread at the bottom of the pan were deliciously caramelized; the turnip, red potatos and sweet potato were soft baked just right. But the beef….perfection, exactly as advertised! Sliced thinly it is tender, juicy and incredibly delicious. The roasted garlic rub adds a layer of complexity that goes beautifully with a nice full red wine. I’m sold! I’ll definitely make this recipe again.

        Any chance you have a beef stew recipe I can use for the leftovers?!

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        1. Cheryl, I’m happy to hear that it turned out! As far as a stew with the leftovers, you could either use my Hungarian Goulash or my Hearty Bison Stew with leftover roast beef and it’d probably turn out pretty good. If you search for the word “stew” in my search bar at the top of the page both recipes should show up as the first two…

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  44. I never bought Eye of round as I could never get cooked rite. Until now This is the best Eye of round I ever had end of story! Thanks very much!!!

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  45. I made this yesterday for Sunday dinner.

    I had a not quite 2 lb. roast so I put it in a 500 degree oven for 15 minutes. I have a gas oven that I KNEW did not have a great seal, so I turned it down to 200 degrees for 2 and 1/2 hours.

    Came out PERFECT. This is honestly the first time I have successfully made eye of round. I am so notorious for eye of round that comes out raw in the middle that I simply gave up cooking them other than in a crockpot.

    Thanks for giving me back my eye of round roast. :-)

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  46. It worked! Cooked for little longer as young kids in family. Perfect. Have recommended to all my friends. Gravy was very intense and yummy. Did celeriac mash and veg on hob. But how do you do lovely roastie potatoes at the same time if oven is closed for business for 2 1/2 hrs?? ;)

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  47. Hello, This looks great! For a dinner party on the 15th of this month we are cooking two 7lb roasts. The question is partially answered above but, though I am a confident cook, I am not very good at math… Would you advise cutting them each in half and base the roasting time on the total 14lb weight? Any advice would be appreciated! Thank you.

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  48. I used your method yesterday and it was absolutely the most tender eye of round I’ve ever had!! And so EASY!! Also lifted the drippings off the bottom of the pan with 2 cups water, then added 2Tbsp corn starch to 1/4 cup of water and the gravy was FAB!

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  49. My husband gave me a thumbs up! I wasn’t sure what to do with the meat last night so I left it marinating overnite in Corona beer and found your recipe this morning. My husband is still eating. We enjoyed our dinner tonite!

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  50. Made this last night. The rub was delicious, but for some reason the meat was overdone. My roast was 2.5 pounds and when I pulled it out at the end of the 2.5 hours, the thermometer read 135 degrees with no pink to be seen! I like my meat rare, but this still tasted pretty darn good. It might be my oven, but I think I’ll try it for an hour and 45 minutes next time. Great recipe anyway, keep ’em coming!

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  51. OMG. I just reread the instructions and realized it said “uncovered”! I have 1 hr 32minutes left to cook and the lid is on and has been the whole time. What should I do? !!!

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  52. In the process of prepping the roast, really skeptical about the cooking method but will try it anyways….results to follow in few hours!

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  53. My eye of the round is frozen. I have it in water in the sink trying to thaw it out its only 10am and we dont eat until at least 5. If it does not thaw completely do I change the cooking method? So excited to try this recipe – I also have a gas oven so after my 35 minutes are up I am going to leave the temp at its lowest setting. Me and roast do not always get along very well…haha but with all these great comments I cant wait to try it. Thanks for all the great tips.

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  54. I have a gas oven and have been making this roast for years now albeit with a little olive oil in the rub. Instead of leaving it in the turned off oven for 2 hours I leave mine in for a mere 45 minutes. It comes out very juicy. I usually cook a 4-5 lb roast. Two hours is way too long. If your oven doesn’t hold the heat turn it on again at a low setting for another 30 minutes.

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  55. Made this last night and it was delicious…I can’t get over how simple it was to prepare and cook. Will definitely make again. Thanks!

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  56. Hello Russ: I’ve made roast in the oven many times, different ways and it always is fine. I have an electric oven and I was looking for a new way to cook this cut of meat. Your recipe sounds interesting, specially the part of turning the oven off!!!!! This caught my eye so I’m in the process of giving it a try. My roast is about 3.85lb. so, after the over reached 500 degrees, I put the meat there, after spreading the delicious garlic mixture, left it cooking 30 min. and then turn the oven off. I will come back to let you guys know how it turned out. My kitchen smells amazing and I’m sure the meat will taste amazing too.

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  57. Russ: I have a gas oven and let me float this by you. Put the roast in a cast iron dutch oven and do the five hundred thing with the lid off. (however, put the lid in the oven too so it comes up to temp). Then, when it is time to turn down the heat-or just before- put the lid on the dutch oven. Maybe that way it would hold in the heat. The only thing I would be worried about would be losing the crunchy herb crust.

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    1. Gage, I think that is doable. I’ve heard varying reports from people with gas ovens, the common factor being how well their ovens retain heat. Throwing the lid on a dutch oven may help to ensure that you get a good finish. Maybe try it with a smaller cut first, so you don’t get as mad at me if it goes bad! :)

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      1. You know Russ, I use a similar rub on Prime Rib when I’m feeling flush enough to buy one. I use kosher salt, fresh thyme, chopped fresh garlic, fresh rosemary, pepper, horseradish and make kind of a paste with it using a couple of tablespoons of olive oil. It’s ‘da bomb’ on PR. I’m going to try this rub on your recipe this week.

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  58. Russ…well , to be honest with you , the 500 degrees concept would make my parents turn in their graves , but … They are not here so here we go. Intriguing is what makes people interested and man, you got me interested. Followed your “rub” , let sit , pre-heated my oven and when it was ready I let out a smal ” hehe” and in it went. The smell right now is …ah …mmm…holy schmolly and that’s 20 minutes in . I’ve set my oven to the lowest setting (170) because I am not too sure about how well it holds heat ( trying to be safe and I don’t like to fail on any recipes)( it’s a pride thing). Fingers crossed and the wait will bea new form of discipline for me. I’ll let you know about what the critics say…Thanks!

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    1. Paul, Id like to know the details on how the whole thing turned out. My oven’s lowest is 170 also. I’m curous if you adjusted the time.

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  59. Gage , I am not going to adjust my time because on previous posts it was said that that temp. Is ok. So I’m going to trust the masses with fingers crossed

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  60. Well , supper is over . Survey says………the roast got thumbs up from everyone that ate. The rub…hmmm , awesome. The roast scared me. When the timer went on the stove , I took it out and plunged a thermometer into it’s flesh and it registered under 130 ( Paul hangs head very low). Then I remember reading , if it is not between 130 and 150 , put it backin where it came from , crank the heat to 325 for 10 minutes and took a look and it was in an acceptable range . My wife and I had a slice each and the taste was awesome . As for the potatoes and carrots , the carrots had flavour but a little rubbery and the potatoes were almost done . Conclusion is next time , the veggie portion of the meal will be done separately ( but It was attempted) but the roast will definitely be done as the way of your (Russ’s ) recipe. Thank you . I’m glad I stumbled upon your blog . Usually when I stumble onto something , people point and laugh ( it’s a Canadian thing ) . “Cheers”

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  61. Recently, I purchased an Eye Round Roast for the first time. It is an intimidating piece of meat to cook – I completely agree with the Domestic Man on his categorization of how to cook this cut of meat perfectly. However, I searched the internet all over and found many different techniques and thought I would try this one to see if his words matched his technique. I took a huge risk on this recipe because I used it for one of my catering events.

    I am pleased to say that the Domestic Man has submitted to the entire cooking world an excellent technique. I followed his cooking steps but used my own seasoning blend. My roast was so perfect both inside and out that I was dancing in my kitchen. The interior was simply beautiful, tender to eat and extremely flavorful.

    Domestic Man: Thank you for submitting this perfect recipe! #aChefsbest

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  62. Tried this today with a 5.8 lb roast. Left it at 500 for 40 minutes and turned off the oven. My roast reached 150 in 30 minutes so I took it out. The flavor was 8/10 but it was a little tough. Next time I am going to cut down the 500 cooking time so it can sit longer. Definitely worth a second try. I would be curious to try other cuts and meats as well. This method has intrigued me.

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  63. I just cooked this for dinner tonight. I was a little worried since I have a gas oven and people have commented that the gas ovens are hard to gage. So I stuck my meat thermometer into the roast and kept an eye on it. I have one of the meat thermometers that you and put into the meat and the display unit can be outside of the oven. It was helpful because I knew right when to take it out.

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  64. My husband and I are going to cook our eye round roast this way for Christmas dinner. Sounds great. Will let you know how it comes out.

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  65. I followed these instructions on a 1.75 pound eye of round for a family of 3. I checked the internal temp at 1.5 hours and it measured 140F. Meat was still juicy and very flavorful with the seasoning. Great recipe (a little tougher than normal but this was expected for this type of cut)

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  66. We actually tried this recipe and it was AWESOME!!! I was nervous because we do have a gas stove and I didn’t see the comment that it doesn’t work in a gas stove until I was all ready for it to go in…..so we did exactly what you said to do….EXCEPT for instead of turning the oven off for the next 2 1/2 hours….we turned our oven down to 150 for the next 2 1/2 hours and this was simply the best roast I have made yet!! We plan on doing it for Christmas day dinner this year!! Thank you for posting this!! We love it!!!

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  67. This is the second site I’ve read this recipe and I have to say I’m excited to give this a try Christmas (tomorrow). I’m using a gas oven that only goes down to 170. I hope thats not too high for the last 2 1/2 hours. But here goes…..

    I’ll be back tomorrow with the results.

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    1. I too tried this roast for Christmas. I bought it before I read all the comments about what an awful piece of beef this was. However, I followed the directions and everyone loved it!!!! It was great! ThaNKS!

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    2. Update: Fantastic! I did thing slightly different since I knew I’d be cooking at 170 for the 2.5 hour period. I did leave the oven door open for a minute after the 500 temp time. Cooked for 1.25 hours then turned up the heat to finish it off (because the natives were getting restless). Turned out nice and juicy…juicy for this cut of meat that is.

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  68. Well, I was excited about following this recipe as it seemed almost foolproof. I prepared the roast exactly as stated herein (5lbs). Preheated our electric oven to 500 deg F. Gave the oven an additional 10 minutes of preheating before I put the roast inside.
    I inserted a meat thermometer into the center of the roast and placed it in the oven. Long story short, the roast was done (150 deg F) within 1.5 hours of putting it in the oven. This would not have been a problem except it cooked two hours prior to serving it. The taste was great but the meat cooked itself to medium well while resting. We prefer medium rare. Not sure why it cooked so quickly. I’ll try it agian with anouther roast to see if I get the same results but I’ll watch it more closely to make sure it doesn’t cook as well.

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    1. Russ: Can you enlighten me on why my roast cooked so quickly. It was 5lbs, I cooked it at 500 deg F for 35 minutes then shut the oven off. One hour later the internal temperature was registering 150 deg F. I had to pull it out and unfortunately it was done medium well after sitting for two hours waiting on the company to come.

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        1. Actually at 500 deg F it is right on the money. I bake a lot of bread and have calibrated my oven to read exactly as required. Puzzling to me also unless the meat themometer transferred heat into the roast.

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          1. A meat thermometer most definitely transfers heat into the roast, but with a 5-pound roast I would think the effect would be minimal. Unless you have a MASSIVE thermometer :) As a whole, using a meat thermometer has such a minimal effect that I didn’t think to address it in the recipe itself.

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          2. Hey Harry,
            Just roasted a piece and had the same problem. Was at 140 in less than an hour. Have not tried it yet. Usually it takes me forever to roast a turkey. Not sure what’s going on yet.

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          3. Well, I like the recipe and technique but in my case I know I have to watch the oven and thermometer very carefully and time the roasting accordingly. So If I am cooking dinner for 6 p.m. I know to put the roast in the oven at 4:30 p.m. now. It still comes out great!

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        2. Well, I’m going to try it again. I have two 3 lb roast left over from the loin to experiment with in the oven. Like I said the only disappointment was that we prefer med. rare. The test was great and even though it was done to med. well it was still tender.

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        3. Well, I tried it again yesterday with a smaller roast. Today the roast was 2.5lbs. I preheated the oven to 500 deg F, inserted my meat thermometer and when the oven was ready I placed the roast in the oven, after 16 minutes I shut it off.. In forty five minutes the internal temperature had reached 140 deg. F so I immediately pulled it out and wrapped it in foil. It cooked 1.5 hours earlier than anticipated so there was some thermal rise that cooked it to medium. The roast tasted great, but, I think for me I have to use the thermometer and I’ll have to resume cooking it the old fashion way. Time and temperature. I did include cauliflower and red poatato with the roast and they were fantastic.

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    1. I tried it last night. I had cook for another 10 min at 375. Meat looked great, however was still tough. Will not buy his roast again. Will try with another type of roast maybe Sirloin Tip.

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  69. My $2,700 Jennair electric obviously doesn’t hold theat becuase I had to do the 10 minute thing three times until the temp was right. The meat was still tough but I really wanted to slice it for sandwiches so it was ok.

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  70. I’m doing this recipe tonight for the New Year. Last night, we checked all nearby stores for meat thermometers but can’t find any (they were out of stock)! Maybe I’ll just use the standard method (temperature and time) that you suggested. aAfter reading all the comments above, now, I’m ready to gamble. Happy New Year!

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  71. I’m trying your recipe right now. Hope it comes out well. I’m having company over for New Years Day. I usually get a prime rib roast so this is a little scary, not knowing the outcome.

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  72. I made this today for New Years. It turned out awesome. There were only 2 of us, so our roast was pretty small…2 lbs. I have a gas oven, so instead of turning it off, I lowered it to 175/180. Since it was pretty small I temped it after 90 minutes and it was a perfect medium rare. I had added seasoned potatoes and onions chopped up around the roast in the dutch oven and they were amazing. Will definitely make this again. Hooray for pinterest for bringing me to your site.

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  73. ok… i followed your rule of cooking this…. mine was 2.25 lbs so i cooked it for 14 min at 500 using an electric oven… i took it out after 2 hrs… great flavor… but cooked at what i would call Med Well… not what i wanted…. i’m looking for med at best and more towards med rare…. your thoughts….?????? Joe

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    1. Hey, JoeG I had the same problem with a roast 5lbs. It was flavorful but the roast was med well. I had sliced it fairly thin so it served as tender.

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    2. Joe, it’s much more rare for the roast to be overdone than underdone, but one reader suggested that some ovens retain heat a little TOO well (damn efficiency!). Now that you know your oven’s quirks with this recipe, you could experiment with cooking it at 475, or for only 12 mins, and maybe get some better results.

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  74. This is a fantastic recipe! Made a 3 pound eye of round roast last evening. Followed the directions with the seasoning rub, cooked it at 500 degress for 21 minutes, then at 170 degrees for 2 hours and then shut off the oven. Knew from the start I have an electric oven (GE circa 1950, bright turquoise) that has a leaky seal so didn’t want to risk shutting off the oven completely. It was the best eye of round I ever made.
    I have always used braising or pot roasting for this cut, but we are not fond of the “stewed” flavor and consistency. This technique produces a moist tender roast with a perfect crust. Glad I did the research to find a slow roast recipe after listening to a National Public Radio broadcast on “The Science of Good Cooking” by Chef Jack Bishop.

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  75. Russ, Does it make a difference if the meat is elevated in the roasting pan or sits on the bottom. All I have is a 13″ pyrex rectangular pan. Should I lift the meat off the bottom with some onions or something?

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      1. Thank you Russ! And by the way, I read your story. Huzzah! Many complex and unexplainable illnesses out there. Here’s to finding your own answers to your problems when the medical community comes up short.

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  76. Tried this with two small rump roasts, because I couldn’t find the eye of round from the half of a cow I have in my freezer. Absolutely delicious. Love all your recipes. I’ll have to get more organized so I can actually try more of them!

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  77. I found your recipe and immediately knew I had to try it. I have been using Ina Garten’s recipe for Sunday Roast for years and yours used the high initial heat too, so it was easy to convince me.
    I made two last night and yum!

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  78. I need to cook 60 pounds of eye of round in roasters. This will be for about 200 people. I would like to try this method so as to not have it overcooked like I have done before. Any hints? Ideas? I only have 4 roasters even though they are pretty large more than one roast will have to cook together. Then we have to slice and rewarm the meat.

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    1. Lynn, my best advice is to try the recipe out yourself in one of the roasters ahead of time so you know what you’re up against. Line the roaster with 15 lbs of roast and try my “safe” method – 500 degrees at 7 mins per pound, then leave it at its lowest setting (180 or so) for 1.5 hours and check it. Invite some friends over (friends that won’t be mad if the roast doesn’t turn out!) to help “test” the finished product :)

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        1. Lynn, 7 minutes per pound for the 15 pounds would be about 100 minutes. But looking at that number, it seems a little high for me – I would think you’d have some leathery roasts after 100 minutes at that temperature! I would do it for about an hour, but check it as it goes to make sure that it doesn’t get burnt with that much time at that heat. 60 minutes should be pretty good. Again, I would definitely try this on your own before putting 200 peoples’ dinners to the test!

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          1. Have you used a digital thermometer while doing this? What temp does a 3-5 pound roast get to during it’s 7 minutes per pound? Then keeping it at 175 degrees for the 1 to 2 hours afterward what temp does it get to?

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          2. This is an excellent recipe and a great way to cook this roast. However, based upon personal experience, I would definitley use a meat thermometer. Preferably, a digital one with an audible warning device indicating internal temperature.
            In my case the roast cooked too quickly and although the taste was great it had cooked to medium well while we wanted medium rare.
            There are too many inconsistencies from oven to oven to rely specifically on the time element of this process.

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          3. Our dinner is done and was a great success again. I tried doing 3 whole eye of round roasts together in a roaster at one time. Total weight was 19 and a half pounds. started with internal temp at 49 F. After 1 hour at 500 F internal temp was 92 at which time I turned the temp to 150. 30 minutes later internal temp was 120 and in an hour more it was up to 144 and started cooling down. I found that for a mass feeding (200 people) it was nice to cook the roasts ahead of time, totally cool them in a refrigerator before slicing then just warm to about 175 in au jus before serving. After doing the first three together, we opted to try doing one at a time. That made for prettier roasts and since we were going to cook, cool then slice we could do it the day before. I cooked 8 eye of rounds (55 lbs) and had about 1 pound of slices left over. It was good flavor but I hoped it would be fork tender and it was not. Next year I might look for another cut that might be more flavorful and tender too. Again the doneness was perfect with your methid of cooking. Thank you.

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  79. This turned a $2.59/lb roast into something AMAZING! We live in New Mexico at almost 6,000 feet above sea level and the altitude messed with it a bit; I need to fiddle with the amount of time the roast spends in the 500 degree oven but this is a keeper of a recipe, wow!

    We put chunked up sweet potatoes and parsnips in the bottom of the roasting pan and they were seriously out of this world.

    Thank you for this!

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  80. We did cook this for Christmas dinner and it was excellent. Everyone loved it and was amazed at how it was being cook. Everyone had thier doubts but were pleasantly surprised. My daughter is now going to try it. She loved the gravy that was made with the pan drippings. Thank you so much.

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  81. So, I took a chance today,…followed your recipe to the point,…..Oh My Goodness!! It came out PERFECT!! i also cut up red bliss potatoes, onions, tossed with olive oil, salt and pepper,,…covered with foil,..and roasted the same way!!! On top of that,…the juices that were still in the meat pan,…I added a bit of butter,..mushrooms, flour, and water, made an incredible gravy!!! SO GOOD!!
    Thank you so much for a great HIGH temperature way to cook and eye round!! I’ll never cook it any other way again!! Delichhh!!

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  82. Followed direction to a T. Roast was about 4 1/2 lbs. I added a bit of time. About 15 mins. This was done in an electric oven. It was good in the end but just a bit more done than I planned for it to be. I would make this again. I usually dont cook these in the oven. Stove top with lots of onions and a can of coke for a tenderizer.

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  83. Russ, Betsey here in Seattle – we’d never bought this kind of roast before until today, when we found it “on sale” for about $6.00. When we got home we Googled it, and settled on your recipe (so simple, so garlicky!) Set our 50+ year old Tappan electric oven (that doesn’t close tightly) to 500 degrees for its first time, and hoped for the best. Roasted the almost 3lb. beef with that wonderful 6 clove garlic rub for about 20 minutes and turned the oven off. 2hrs. 30min. later, voila; 130 degrees, rested 10 minutes, and supper was on the table. Can’t thank you enough for the great meal. We learned a new trick & now have you as a Favorites!!!

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  84. Sent my husband to SAMs to get a roast as this is his dinner favorite. He came home w this 3 1/2 lb. eye of round. Did a google search and found this cooking method. Mother in law does prime rib like this every Christmas Day so sounded good to me. My gas oven is broken and have only a convection toaster w/ the broiler part not working (is it still convection then?). It was still great! I even took dogs to the park and oven timer ran out before I got home (turning the oven off). Just turned it back on for the amount of time I thought it needed and put it on 175 for the 1 1/2-2 1/2 hour resting period.
    Turned the leftovers and the juices into stew for dinner tonight. It was really good meat for the price.
    Thanks for all the comments and recipe.

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  85. This is a great way to prepare this type of meat! I have a gas oven, but I knew my oven was off temperature, and the door doesn’t quite close/seal all the way. I ended up with a 2.22 lb roast which I let stand until it was room temp, washed and dried the meat then rubbed it with the spices. It went into my pre-heated 500 degree oven for 16 minutes. I tried to compensate for my lousy oven, so rather than shut it off, I lowered the temp to 170 and timed out an hour (I just knew 2+ hours would be too much). I used my meat thermometer and it was a perfect, pink, tender juicy 130 degrees.

    Thanks to my curiosity and the info you’ve provided on your site about other ways to look at how we eat and nourish our body, I ended up with the roast for dinner with sweet potatoes and a baked cauliflower (I had followed something about using cauliflower as a white rice substitute). Not normally what I’d go for but ended up being an incredible meal. So I just proved to myself in one night that it is not as hard as one may think to adjust what we eat.

    Plus I am from Baltimore/Washington originally (but have been in CA for 20 years), so I figured your recipes and advice had to be good…thanks!

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  86. Hi, i just did your recipe for the eye of round roast. It worked out great! Considering my electric oven is probably at least 30 years old, I opted to leave the meat (grass-finished) in the oven at ~150 F for an hour and a half, and let it rest for the final 30 minutes. Very tasty, including the seasonings.

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  87. A question: If I brown the roast in a saute pan, and then put the pan with roast in the 500 degree oven, should I decrease the time I roast at the very high temp? That is, should I still cook at 500 degrees for 7 min per pound? I’m very very new to cooking, and I understand that searing is required in order to get that “crust”. Thanks for any advice!

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  88. How many grams/lbs per person?
    If serving a lot of people ie how many roasts and should
    you cut into smaller roasts or just roast one large piece?

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    1. 1/4 pound per person. Leave the roasts whole. We did 200 people with 55 lbs. cook only to rare by keeping the first cooking time minimal. I got better results with 5-6 minutes per pound. Then do the 2 plus hours of cool down. Then we cooled it overnight in fridge, slice and then warm only to 150 degrees in au jus. Worked very well for us.

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        1. So each roast is approx. 6.5 lbs x 6 minutes for a total of 39 minutes at 500 then
          reduce heat ot 170 and leave for 21/2 hours. let it sit and then slice and put in the fridge until the next day.

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  89. This is the method I use to do my prime rib and I would rather have my prime rib than any I have ever had anywhere. I am trying it on an eye of round right now.

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          1. Russ! Thank you for this great method. I just baked a 4.6lb. Roast, like you said, PRIM RIB, I will never buy expensive cuts again. Oh by the way the garlic did not burn. Succulent, Succulent, and so tender. If anyone has a failure in this methods don’t give up, it works.

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  90. i just made this and… PERFECTION! i followed your advice and checked on it at the 2 hour mark and it was done. medium/ medium rare, gorgeously pink inside with a melt-in-your-mouth crispy crust on it. this will be the only way i cook this cut of meat from now on. thank you!!!

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  91. I found this recipe this morning while looking for an interesting recipe for an eye round. My mother used to make it so wonderfully and I wanted to try something new. Making it tonight and will see what happens. I am going to add potatoes and onion like some of the other posters.

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  92. I want to try this recipe tonight but I live at 9200 feet. Would you recommend any different directions for me. I also have a gas stove.

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  93. Omg That was unbelievable!! I have to tell you what not to do though,,, Do Not put any oil in the bottom of the
    Pan with a little water,,,,,,unless you want a lot of smoke detectors going off and your house filling with smoke,,,ha ha oh well, New Recipe…sorry I messed up that part of it.

    But the Guys Loved it!!! oh and I want to know How many of you that have tried this recipe for the first time how many of you did not open the Oven Door when the 25 min’s was up??

    And last but not least — when it was sitting in the Oven for 2 hours of the 2.5 Hours I took it
    out and checked it and I have a Chefs thermometer (one of my Exes is an Exec, Chef) anyway it
    registered 135-140 and let me tell you something I cant believe it was EXACTLY LIKE THE PICTURE!!
    Thanks Chef!

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  94. Well I made it the other day and it came out so yummy! Only issue I had was the potatoes did not finish cooking all the way. I took it out at 2 hrs and it was superb. Maybe I should have let the potatoes in the last half hour. But nonetheless it was yummy! I didn’t use ground pepper because I didn’t have a pepper grinder but bought one over the weekend! :) Will definitely put this in my favorite recipe box!

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  95. So I used this method twice and the results were outstanding.
    I had to do two roasts because I had a large crowd coming and I did them the night before.
    I did not need 2 1/2 hours, actually just over an hour and it reached the desired temperature.
    I let it rest overnight, carved and poured the juices over the next day and reheated and it was delicious.
    Thank you for you help.

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  96. Well, I was skeptical but I tried your directions and the eye of round roast was GREAT. I have a gas oven. Using a 2.3 lb roast, I cooked it at 500 for 13 minutes. Turned the oven down to 170 and cooked for 2 hours without looking. I took it out at 2 Hours, cut a little sliver and decided it needed another 15 minutes….so 2 hours 15 minutes, resting for 10 or so minutes….excellent!!!

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  97. Trying this for the first time in a brand new gas convection oven (so it should be well-insulated). Will let you know how it turns out!

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  98. OKay. Professional help coming… make cuts across the grain of the meat. aqbout 1/2 inch deep. 3 inches apart. Both sides…Get a good frying pan and place it on the stove top. get the pan very hot. slap the roast into it.. cook it 1 minute on each side to seer it..and then follow the above directions.. it’ll be very very tender. And not an ounce of flavor will be lost. Have your ventilation going because there will be smoke from this.. Hope you enjoy. :)

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    1. Hi Weldon, if you were to follow your instructions above I would recommend that you cut down on the cooking time (at high heat) significantly, since searing the roast ahead of time will go a long ways towards pre-cooking the roast and you’ll end up with something much too well done. Have you tried it my way, without pre-searing? It develops a nice crust and initiates a Maillard reaction on its own without having to add an extra step to it. I do agree that with many low-temp pot roasts, including my own on this website, pre-searing is essential.

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  99. Stumbled on this receipe after buying a eye of round roast on sale.I usually never buy this cut.got an hr left til I take it out! I trusted the process..never peaked in opening the oven…will post after dinner !

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  100. Just placed it in the oven. 2.08 lb. Since a couple of us like it nearly raw, a couple prefer more medium, and hubby thinks meat has to be cooked til it’s completely dead, burned even….this ought be interesting…lol Figured I’ll do around 18 minutes or so. It’s an old gas oven that does cool off quickly, so will leave it set on real low. My stove is so old the temperature knobs broke off years ago…so anything in the oven is by guess and by golly. , altho I’ve gotten pretty good at guessing over the years. Wish me luck, I’ll let you know how it came out!

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  101. I used this cooking method, including the low temp finish. After the initial 17 minutes at 500*F for my sized roast (about 2.5 lbs.), I set the oven temp at 175*F (as low as mine can go) and then opened the oven door two hours later to look in on the results. It looked and smelled great but the oven thermometer wasn’t yet to the 130*F range, so I increased the oven temp to 200*F and left in for 15 additional minutes. The thermometer reading was just under 140*F when I pulled it out of the oven and let it rest. Fifteen minutes later, I sliced into the roast and found it pink and juicy inside, as I was hoping it would be. The beef had a texture like steak and while it didn’t melt in my mouth with tenderness, it tasted great and wasn’t tough or especially difficult to chew. I think it was quite acceptable for this particular cut of beef. I consider this recipe to be a keeper. I like the way it cooked (pink inside) and didn’t overcook. Thanks for the recipe!

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  102. i cooked this last night and it was amazing. best roast beef i have made to date. i have a gas stove. it was not a problem at all. i followed your recipe exact with a 3 pound roast. i turned temperature down to 170 for another 2 hours. only thing that did not work is that i put potatoes in tin foil on bottom rack and even after two hours they were still a little hard. i took them out of the tin foil and put on a tin plate and slid them back into the oven, the last 15 minutes was all that was needed. the gravy however is hard to make with barely little juice left in bottom of pan so next time i would put just a smalll amount of water in the last half hour just to make a little more juice to make gravy. your recipe gets two thumbs up .!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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  103. I bought a roast today on an impulse and came home and googled different ways to cook an eye of round. When I came across this recipe I had my doubts but i have to say its probably one of the best dishes Ive ever made. I followed the recipe to a tee and I added mini potatoes to the bottom of the pot just tossed with some rosemary olive oil salt and pepper. The meat came out perfectly medium rare and perfectly tender. I will most definitely serve this for dinner parties. Thank you so much for sharing this.

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  104. Hi!! I will be trying your recipe tonight and this will be my very first attempt at making ANY type of roast, lol!! My question is this….we do NOT like ANYTHING EVEN CLOSE to medium rare, lol!! I realize that eye of round is usually a tough cut anyway, but if I leave the oven temp at say 200 for the last hour, do u think I will end up with Jerkey?? Lol

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  105. I made this last weekend and it was great! I had to turn my oven on the lowest setting because it lost too much heat when switched completely off. My boyfriend loved it and I got so many compliments on Facebook. I’ve even been asked to make it for someone because it quote “turned them on” lol Thanks for the recipe!

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  106. okay..i have no meat thermometer..so ill just go with the directions! hope this works out..i will be back either tommorow or the next day with results…oh and i gave mine a 6 hour brine too… hope it dont screw it up…

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  107. I made the recipe this evening and since it wasn’t a night to take any chances I did the turn it down to 170 degrees rather than off. I checked it at 1 hr and 45 minutes and was glad I hadn’t waited the extra 15 minutes as the temperature was just a smidge under 150. My kids all loved it including my 5 year old who barely ever likes anything I make.

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  108. So I’m finally reporting back a couple of months after trying this method as I’m planning to use it again for our Easter meal with friends. I think I’ll put it in just before we leave for church so by the time we get back it will have settled and be ready for slicing.

    My first attempt was a great successful, compliments to the chef for this recipe! The meat was cooked all the way through after sitting in the oven for about 2.5hrs. The meat thermometer had it in the acceptable range at that point so I checked the center with a knife. The cut I used weighed in at 4lbs so it went into our 500 degree (electric, older model) oven for about 10 minutes before I turned the heat off. I had considered adding potatoes and carrots to the cast iron pot but there wasn’t much room around the meat and I didn’t want to risk it not cooking properly. As a side note, I rubbed some lard I had rendered into the meat before seasoning. It may not have been necessary but it seemed to assist in creating a nice crisp browning on the outside, sealing in the juices nicely. Though I haven’t cooked many, hubby says it was my best roast by far!

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  109. Thanks for the recipe this roast rocks! I made it for the first time a few months ago and will be making it again today so I stopped back in. On the first go round it was slightly rare so I’ll increase the high temp cooking time a bit. Also I roasted it in a simple aluminum 13×9 and after pulling it out of the oven made roast gravy on the stove top. I did this by placing the pan on the stove top adding 2 cups water to lift all the bits and then added 2Tbsp of corn starch to a bit of water and added to pan….stir constantly and you have the BEST gravy to add to the BEST eye of round roast ever! PS – goes great with some yorkshire puddings made in muffin tins too :)

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  110. Tried your recipe yesterday. Thought I could take a four lb roast out of the freezer in the early AM and have it thawed by cooking time, wrong! Nevertheless, followed the directions to the T and left the oven on at 170. The roast was medium when finished and OUTSTANDINGLY DELICIOUS. A little overdone for us but my bad and I will correct major error next time of not cooking a thawed roast.

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  111. I made this for dinner tonight, and it turned out great. I had 3 lbs of meat so I did it for 22 minutes at 500, then reduced to 170 for 2 hours and 10 min to be safe. It was nicely pink, so next time I’d probably cook it for under 2 hours. The rub was flavorful and let the meat shine. I made a gravy with the drippings and some beef broth, and my husband and I both enjoyed this.

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  112. Made this tonight. I have a gas oven. Made some revisions. First I took it out 1pm and rubbed oil all over it. The generousely sprinkled with Steak seasoning, onion powder, Kosher salt and Lawry’s. Let that sit on counter for an hour. I then took a frying pan and added 2tbs of oil.. heated the pan and seared my meat. After searing I added some more steak seasoning and placed in a pan with about 1 cup of water.

    It was 2.83 pounds so I cooked at 500 for 18 minutes then lowered temp to 300 for an hour. Once the hr was up I lowered it to 200 for another hour. Took it out and let it sit for 12 minutes. It read 147 and was more medium then rare but holy cow it was sooo tender and tasty! Thanks!!

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  113. Thank you for this amazing recipe. I first tried it in January and we’ve been making it at least twice a month ever since! Such quick preparation for it, yet tastes like it took hours of work.

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  114. I have a Green Mountain pellet smoker so I decided to give that I whirl. I used the basic herb recipe with the addition of horseradish to the mix. I fired up the grill to 500 and then threw it on for 35 minutes and then I turned the grill down to 150. It took an hour for it to lose enough heat to reach 150. After about an hour and a half, I used my instant read and it read 130. Out it came .
    The result…over done..I should have checked it 20 minutes earlier. The taste was good and sliced thin it was fine. Will I do it again…Hell yes but Im going to start checking after an hour at the lower temp.

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  115. My husband made this today with a whole eye of round and it was fabulous! Very flavorful and way more tender than I would expect from a round. It was perfectly cooked following your directions to about a medium done-ness. We took the roast out of the pan and I sauteed some mushrooms in the juices with a little butter, yum! My husband sliced it very thinly which helps with a cut that might not be as tender, but this really was.

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  116. Cooked this for the first time tonight for supper and it was soooo delicious but as others have commented, not as tender as I expected but that won’t stop me from cooking future roasts this way! It beats marinating overnight or tenderizing with vinegar! I think I have recognized two things to change that will make a difference next time. First, I will turn the oven off as you originally recommended, ’cause even though it came out at fhe right temp for medium rare it was more medium, and more importantly I believe, or should I say ‘I know’ my roast was really too big for the small roasting pan I squished it into not allowing enough room for circulation. Can’t wait to have it as beef dip tomorrow!

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  117. I used a convection oven and it took about 40 min less time then recommended. Took it out to temp it on a wim and it was perfect maybe even a tad bit more then I would like. It was moist tender and tasty. Just getting used to the convection cooking times. Had about a 6 pounder, cooked for 41 min @ 500 then lowered it down to 150 for the rest of the time. (About 1 hr and 50 min). Thanks so muchit was delicious and will make it again! If not using convection follow the directions to a tee!!

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  118. Hi Russ! I’m about to putting it into the oven and I’ve got a question, I hope somehow you’ll see this comment in half an hour…. I’m using a Pyrex pan, do I need to put anything at the bottom like parchment paper or foil or oil the pan? The recipe looks great, can’t wait to see if it’ll work out for me! Thank you!!

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  119. I made this for dinner and it was amazing! For those using a smaller roast (mine was 2lbs) I would significantly cut down the time it sits in the oven. After the 14 minutes at 500 degrees, I gave it 1.5 hours and checked on it. It was a perfect mid-rare and 15 minutes later it was thinly sliced atop arugula dressed in olive oil. Nom nom nom!

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  120. Hi! This looks great! I have a small roast, only about 1.4 pounds. I’m thinking 10 minutes at 500 and then 1.5 hour rest… what do you reckon?

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  121. Whoa… 2 1/2 hours? I decided to check my 3lb. roast after 1 hour in the turned-off oven and it had already hit 143 degrees internal temp. After letting is rest covered for 10 minutes it was well into the medium range and no pink to be found. Tough is an understatement. While the cooking method leaves a lot to be discovered, the flavor was great thanks to the seasoning outlined above. Next time, if I attempt again, I’ll check it after 30-40 minutes given I like med. rare beef. Note: I have new Jenn Air appliances and I’ve noticed they all cook faster than my previous appliances; maybe this was a factor but then… 1 hour to overcook versus the 2.5 hours recommended. I’m pretty sure my oven doesn’t cook that much faster.

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  122. Ok, I tried it, gas oven reset temp @ 170 for two hours and it came out perfect. Internal temp was 150 after two hours.

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  123. I tried your recipe and it turned out awesome! BUT!!!!, I did drizzle “OLIVE OIL” all over the roast before I put it in the oven that was my secret and also kept the oven on for the lowest temp due to my experiment and it came out so AMAZING and juicy!!! My husband was in heaven! So was I(now that I have your secret)lol. I always mess up on this type of meat and end up throwing it in the slow cooker and making whatever out of it! Thanks so much! I will never try a different method.

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    1. Hi Russ,

      I am going to make this recipe two days from now with a 3.2 lbs eye round roast. I plan on taking your advice and cooking it for 25 mins at 500. But I would like to roast cut up potatoes and carrots with it.
      1. Do you suggest doing the vegetables in another pan on a lower rack, with some beef stock?
      2. Also, did I read that I should leave this roast uncovered the entire time?
      3. And one more question :) … I have an electric oven. Do you think I should turn it completely off or leave it on the lowest setting for the 2.5 hours?

      Thanks in advance for any advice / suggestions!

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      1. Put the veggies in the same rack as the roast, no stock needed. Leave the roast uncovered. If your oven is a fairly new model, I would turn it completely off and let the recipe do its magic. It wouldn’t hurt to leave a meat thermometer in the roast as it cooks the first time to check its doneness as it cooks; otherwise wait until the 2-hour mark. Let me know how it goes!

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        1. Hey Russ,

          Thanks for the advice. I made this roast for my picky Italian husband and his family tonight. I was a little worried making this for the first time but I followed your instructions exactly. When it came out of the oven, it was not hot to touch, so I worried it wasn’t cooked – but sure enough when I sliced it, it was perfectly pink. (medium to medium well). It was a hit – so juicy! I coupled it with honey glazed carrots and mashed potatoes / gravy. I definitely will be making this again. Thanks so much!

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  124. Russ,

    I’ve never had success with an eye of round roast. I tried this recipe and it turned out perfect, and my husband and I both just loved it! My next step will be to try my luck with the prime rib, which I’ve never tried.

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  125. Very disappointing. I checked it after 2 hours and it was stone cold. I’m now afraid to even use this roast in case it is spoiled.

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      1. Wow, that’s really profound, John. Of effing course I turned the oven on. I followed the recipe. It did not work.

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        1. You screwed up somewhere. Mine has a great crust and internal temp looking good so far. Mine has another hour to rest. May I suggest Hot Pockets? They have a new flakey, buttery crust.

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          1. Why are you such a d*ckwad, John? I didn’t screw up, I followed the directions and it didn’t turn out. At all. Just because yours turned out different than mine does not mean I “screwed up”. My best guess is that the mild warnings about ovens being different–especially gas ovens–are not sufficient. My oven clearly cools off much faster than the oven you used.

            Why you feel the need to be an insulting jerk just because someone else had a different experience than you is very odd. While I am preparing my hot pockets, I suggest you see a shrink to find out what your psychological problems are that cause you to feel the need to be verbally abusive to a stranger on a web blog.

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          1. The single post of mine you had read before you started your campaign of attack was a matter-of fact three-liner. If you see “c*nt” in that, it’s your psychological defect, not anything about the post.

            Perhaps you are actually Russ, because I cannot imagine what motivation anyone who just happened upon this blog would have to even care much that someone else had a bad experience following this recipe.

            Either way, you are severely damaged to have such am extreme reaction to a routine post on a web blog. It’s almost funny how vitriolic you are. I’m thankful I don’t have to deal with you in real life, you must be an incredible pain!

            I won’t be replying to any more of your crap, nor following this thread, so have a ball continuing to show the world how much of an asshole you are.

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        2. I don’t know who Russ is. I assume he’s sorry he knows you. What I do know and saw right away is that you like to blame others for your failings. Following simple direction also seems beyond you. You have no sense of humor and like foul language. I hope Hot Pockets are within your skill set.

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          1. I’m following this blog… unlike the uncooked experience, I recieved a piece of meat that was so overcooked it went to the dog. I have several Univ. degrees (doesn’t mean a lot but to show I’m not a stupid person) and I’m anal about following instructions. I’m beginnig to think the highly rated posts are from people directly related to the poster or from the poster themself.

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          2. My roast came out med to med well. I will leave it in the oven an hour less next time. I will also season it the night before. All in all it came out fairly well. My 5 dogs got a taste. I however only have 2 degrees.

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  126. This receipe turned out amazing! I did everything as suggested. We have a gas oven and I kept the temperature at about 170F and we live in the Caribbean. With this temperature our roast, after 2 hrs., had a crusty outside, and was well cooked with an internal temperature of 140F. I was skeptical but now I love the method. Could it work as well for pork loin or pork roast?

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  127. In process of cooking right now. The roast was 4.5 lbs. I assume your rub portions were for a 3 lb. roast…I had to increase measurements significantly. I used thyme from my garden.

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  128. First time making any kind of roast on my own and it turned out great! I did mix up the seasonings a little bit since I didn’t have any Thyme in the spice cupboard. The meat was a tiny bit more well done than I hoped, but to be honest I think I might have left it in longer than the 2.5hrs and it was only a 2lb roast. After it came out I poured the drippings into a small pot (there was only like maybe 1/8 cup of drippings), sliced about half of it and covered it. Then cut up some potatoes microwaved them on a plate to pre-cook them a little, turned the oven back on to 400, and then put the potatoes in the roast pan with some olive oil and stirred it around really well so that the potatoes were covered in what was left of the drippings and the herb rub that was left in the pan, then put the potatoes in the oven. Then I went back to the drippings in the pot, added some of the Cabernet Sauvignon I bought to drink with my meal to the drippings, along with like a tablespoon of butter, and cooked it down just a little; this created an awesome sauce to pour over the meat which I served with a little horseradish on the side.

    I don’t cook at lot, and I don’t have a lot of experience, but when I do, I love to cook things that allow for me to improvise as I go. Literally, my rub was created by pulling random spices out of the cupboard that I thought would be good on meat, I think I ended up using a ton of minced garlic (from the jar), onion powder, salt, pepper (from my McCormick grinder peppercorn medley using all 3 levels of coarseness), dried basal, dried oregano, ground ginger, and small amount of chili powder. I know, LOTS of flavors, but that tends to be how I roll when I cook. It turned out great. The crust was super intense with flavor and the inside was really savory, especially when I drizzled my sauce over it.

    Anyways, thanks for a great recipe that is pretty foolproof and I liked it almost as much as the prime rib my mom made last Christmas and considering this was 100x easier to make, and 10x cheaper, I’d say that’s pretty damn awesome! So, THANK YOU SOOOOOO MUCH!

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    1. I disagree with it being “awful”. I think it was “THE BOMB” — not “bombed”. I plan to make this again for the holidays instead of a turkey or ham. It’s a whole lot easier to cook than a turkey or ham — and less mess and spoilage. If you’re not an au jus cook, buy a McCormick au jus package. Add some of the drippings to the gravy and some flour to thicken it. You’ll have a wonderful meal.

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    2. This is the recipe I used for my first roast last week, and it worked as PERFECTLY as the name of the recipe: Perfect Eye of Round Roast. I’ve been excited to comment about this success because I was serving it up to the fussiest roast eaters… they loved it. Everyone enjoyed it so much I did a little victory dance after they all left. So thank you so much thedomesticman.com- I owe it all to you!!

      My roast: It came out perfectly medium with an even and moist bright pink all over. There were only three slight complications in my experience:
      1) When it was finished I was freaking out about if it cooked and I didn’t let it rest before slicing into it. Now the roast and I can rest assured.
      2) It really wasn’t warm after being locked up the last 2½ hours, but thats easy to work around…
      3) NO LEFTOVERS!! I’ll need to get a bigger roast next time.

      To any readers out there, as stated you have to trust the recipe. I must admit that it was nerve-racking for me the first time with possible oven variables etc, but I’ve already planned my next roast dinner. I’ve adjusted the bits and pieces from my first success, and I’m confident to move forward. I adapted mine just a touch by using fresh thyme instead of dried, and I laid the roast on a bed of squashed garlic cloves with more fresh thyme. It was really nice, esp bc we are huge garlic lovers here. There were hardly any drippings for a gravy, but since it didn’t get much of a rest I used those juices and cheated with some pre-made gravy and threw in all the squashed garlics.

      Good Luck!

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        1. Russ, do you think this recipe also works for lamb? Would the temp/cook time need to be adjusted for an easy carve (bone-out) leg of lamb? Thanks!

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          1. I just made a half lamb leg roast last night, second roast ever. It came out awesome!! It was a little rare in the middle, and I used rosemary instead of thyme. I cooked it in the same preheated oven on a preheated iron skillet griller on top of a bed of garlic, turned the oven on again with 12 minutes to go to make sure I served it warm… no problems, again! Stoked! Sadly no leftovers… I live at sea level. Perhaps elevation could be a factor in oven efficiency? Thanks again @thedomesticman.com.

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      1. Ok, after 3 hours of waiting the roast is ruined. Too well done and I took it out 12 minutes early. I bought a 3 lb eye of the round roast, brought it to room temp., mixed and applied the seasoning, preheated to 500F, put in the roast for 22 minutes and shut off the oven. I never opened the oven but the house began to fill with smoke. I waited 2 hrs and18 mins before I checked it with a thermometer….160F. :( I’m going to make a tuna sandwich and give the meat to the dogs.

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  129. This is the easiest roast recipe I’ve ever tried. I had a 2.5 pound eye of the round and played with the rub a little (salt, pepper, lots of garlic, fresh rosemary, whirled in the food processor with a dollop of olive oil). 20 minutes at 500 and then turned my gas oven down to 190 for two hours. It came out a perfect medium-leaning-toward rare (I like it rare-rare, but the partner, not so much) with the outside savory and browned. Sliced almost as easily as a really good prime rib, and with the pan juices I made a great cream gravy. This will be our new couple-times-a-month go to when we feel like red meat – fun to make something so delicious out of a relatively inexpensive cut. Thanks!

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  130. wish me luck, doing this tonight in a gas oven. I usually have great luck with following recipes. I will let you know how it turns out. but I feel I should marinate it a little.

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  131. Thank you so much for this recipe! It is so easy. My eye roast turned out absolutely perfectly, according to my husband and young kids.
    I am actually a long time non red-meat eater and, frequent cook. My husband is very happy with any hot meal but was completely FLOORED when he came home from work to this. I was so worried that it would be overcooked or what-not but it couldn’t have been better – or easier!

    I will definitely make this again. And I might add, used a gas oven. I did 28 mins on 500 degrees and 2 hours at 150 degrees. Thanks again! It was apparently better than steak, or any other roast beef he’s had!

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  132. I tried this with a 4 pound piece, I threw in 4 large baking potatoes cut into 6ths(halved then in cut twice into thirds of the halves). I put pretty much a smaller bag of carrots in with it, halved. also celery and onion. about 5 stalks and one softball sized white onion cut to size. I put it all on a baking dish and it truly did come out like prime rib. I was worried the vegetables would either absorb too much heat leaving the roast underdone, or that the potatoes would be undercooked. turns out, the roast was perfect- the potatoes were excellent too. the carrots and celery were a little overcooked for my taste but I like a little bite to my veg. I guess next time I make this ill use the massive sized carrot and celery, that should fix the prob. I made a potato and onion soup and au jus on the side served with water rolls. I know it seems a stretch to serve the potato soup with roasted potatoes but it was a great pairing. much appreciation on the cooking method, worked great. im not much of a roast person, usually ribs and steaks and whatnot, but to be able to come out with a prime rib like cut from a cheap one is always welcome in my book.

    btw, I marinated the roast for 12 hours in beef stock, garlic, pepper, banana pepper, vinegar, salt, thyme and pineapple for 12 hours before I set it out to achieve room temp. not sure how much of a difference it made, but the finished product was delicious so it didn’t hurt. next time ill cook without the marinade to see if it mattered any. thanks again Russ. I can always return the favor and send you some good recipes that aren’t common knowledge; let me know the ingredients or the ethnicity of food you want to make and ill send you something excellent.

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    1. Mary, the time when the oven is off shouldn’t be affected, but the cooking time at high heat will definitely be affected. If I was in your shoes I would roast it for 5 minutes per pound before shutting the oven off. Let me know how it goes!

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  133. Just made this eye round roast , awesome, tender all that you said it was going to be! I have a jenn – air stove and I should have taken it out in maybe 2 hrs instead of 2.5 was a perfect medium tho will be checking for more recipes from your site

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  134. I made a roast using this recipe several months ago. I just pulled another eye round roast out of the freezer and kicked myself for not writing the recipe down when I used months earlier. Sooooo glad I was able to find it again. This made a surprisingly delicious roast. Would recommend it to anyone- and will write it in my recipe collection this time!!

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  135. I have been scouring the internet all morning for an eye of round roast beef recipe. After seeing all the great reviews on this recipe, I am confident I have found what I’ve been searching for. I’ve also just learned quite a bit about gas vs. electric ovens. Thanks for all the effort and hard work you put into this blog…I appreciate the knowledge! Can’t wait to start dinner!! ;)

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  136. Going to try this today. My husband is not a beef fan and I don’t really know squat about cooking but after reading the recipe and all the comments I’m pretty sure that I can pull this off! Maybe I’ll even earn myself some flowers!

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  137. I just want to thank you!! We are at the end of our cow we purchased(no pun intended) and I have all the cuts of meat I wasn’t sure how to cook. Hence we have had a lot of crock pot roasts and my hubby told me he wasn’t really a fan of “stews” ???I had 2 mini grass fed eye of rounds and a kid’s soccer game. I followed your recipe to the tee. Though one of the roasts was tiny tiny so it was a little tougher but we all LOVED it! I sliced the leftovers really thin to use for lunches tomorrow! My son said it was “brisket meets pork chop” LOL-thanks, again!

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  138. Awesome . Thank you. My nay sayer wife was skeptical. 500%?? Only took 3 hours to hush and quit telling me I am ruining a good piece of meat. Ummm . 2’99 a lb here. But was better than some 6’99 a lb meat I have bought. Ty Ooh . The best way to keep the wife from complaining for at least a 1/2 hour is to give something great to eat. This worked well thank you. But, I am afraid I’ll have 1500 lb wife if I use this too often. Thx again was perfect. Hello I’m not President Obama But, I endorse this message. Bon Appetite

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    1. Susan, as it stands I think this recipe is consistently at “medium” when left in the oven for 2.5 hours after 7 mins per pound at high heat. If you want it more cooked, try 8 mins per pound for something closer to medium-well.

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  139. I have always shied away from eye of round because it can be so dry and tough, but I found one on sale that was too cheap to pass up. This recipe is so good! Thank you! It was really easy, too. The hardest part was the waiting for it to be done while smelling that wonderful aroma. I see why you suggested the movie. My oven isn’t very well insulated so I cooked it at 500 degrees and then turned the oven down to “warm” for an hour and 40 minutes. I put some baking potatoes on the oven rack. It all turned out perfect! Thank you! Thank you! I think that I need to go back now and have another little taste…

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  140. So I decided to try this recipe. I bought an electric thermometer that has the wire and sits outside the oven. I cook the roast uncovered at 500 degrees for 20 minutes. My roast is 2.71 lbs. I turn the oven off and leave it. It’s now been an hour and the thermometer is telling me it’s at 151 degrees! What do I do? Take it out and possibly ruin it, or leave it and possibly ruin it???? So I have decided to leave it and trust the directions as I’ve seen this recipe all over Google, even though it’s driving me nutzo watching the possibly defective thermometer. Will comment back when it comes out…

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  141. Decided to give this recipe a go, followed the instructions perfectly and the internal temp isn’t even over 105.
    Complete failure.
    Ruined a good piece of meat and an evening in with my girlfriend.
    Complete and total embarrassment that, quite frankly, has turned me off trying any more of your recipes.

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    1. Brandon, sorry to hear that. I realize that this recipe has a gimmick attached to it so there’s room for failure from time to time. If you do attempt to tackle it again, I would suggest leaving your oven on at 170-180 degrees after the first cooking period.

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  142. The precook time should be based mainly on meat diameter, since the eye of round is an oblong cut. At some point weight should not be a determining factor since the heat will penetrate the meat from the sides. I think 56 minutes of precook for an 8 pound eye of round might be too much. Should there be a limit to the precook?

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  143. I made this recipe a few weeks ago with success – but I can’t remember if I reduced the heat to 475 when I put in the meat (as suggested by Allrecipes) or left it at 500 (your version) for the initial roasting. Why is there a discrepancy I wonder … I am hoping for an answer, since you seem to take comments very seriously!

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    1. Hi Barbara, I found that upping the temperature to 500F encouraged a better crust around the roast. It ends up with a more cooked roast in the long run, but I think it’s a good trade off – the crust/inside combo after a 500F roasting is just more appealing to me.

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  144. Thank you! I followed your instructions AND? DELICIOUS! I have to admit I was a skeptic; but when the roast was done & gone — I knew I chose the best recipe. I have an older over so I used the 170 rule, for 2 hours 15 min and Perfecto! I will be making it again and again. Talk about easy and yummy.

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  145. I am a notorious skeptic at our house, and not too comfortable in the kitchen. I have a tendency to stick with the few no-fail recipes in my cookbook, but decided to be brave and try this one out. I’m so glad I did! I followed the instructions to the letter, and took the advice to lower the temp to 170 rather than shut off the oven completely. PERFECT! My husband made au jus for a dip sandwich, and I made a regular roast beef-type sandwich. We are both impressed – I will definitely make this again! Kudos, and thanks for sharing this awesome recipe.

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  146. I have heard of this kind of cooking before but never tried it (scared of ruining a piece of meat). After reading a lot of comments on your recipe i am going to give it a try. I have a newer stove so i am going to shut it off completely, will let you know, thanks in advance..Mike

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  147. The recipe was wonderful. Prettiest roast I ever made! Originally we cut into 1/2″ pieces and it was a bit tough. But I cut the leftovers into thin slices and it was amazing. I’m doing this one for Christmas dinner. Serving it with crusty french bread, horseradish, mustard & red onions. Your choice of making a sandwich!

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  148. I really want to try this for dinner tonight, but like a lot of people have said, “afraid of ruining a cut of meat.” I am a little over 6000 ft here in Cheyenne, WY. My oven is only 2 years old. Should I improvise for altitude or just go with it as is?!

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      1. Oops! Forgot to ask……… Do I put the carrots and potatoes in while it’s roasting at 500 degrees, or wait until I turn the oven off???

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  149. My dear late mama’s late cousin Herbert “Hub” Curtis left this exact same recipe with Mama. He got his recipe from one of his good friend’s cooks after being served this mouth-watering delight. His friend? Miss Joan Crawford. Uncle Hub owned Pepsi-Co/Frito Lay…

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  150. Awesome,delicious. Made a 3 lbs a few weeks back, now trying a 6 lbs. perfect crust on the meat, med rare. the only thing I did different was to rub olive oil on the roast prior to the seasoning. Also tried to slice the finished roast very thin. 1/8 – 1/4 slices.
    I have a gas oven and after 2.5 hours the oven was cold and the roast was a little on the cool side. This time will try leaving the oven at its lowest setting.
    It’s exciting to have a new recipe come out so delicious! Thank you

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  151. So SO disappointed!!! What could I have done wrong?? Followed your recipe to a T. Mine was a 2 1/2 lb. roast so cooked it 17min. At 500 then turned oven off and checked at 1 1/2 mark instead of 2 1/2 hrs. Overdone at 145* internal temp and like shoe leather…such a waste of money. What could I have done wrong? It was such a thick cut of beef! Thanks for any advice

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    1. I had a similar experience. Because I live above 6,000 ft I did 8 min/lb. my roast was nearly 4# so I cooked it at 500° for 30 min, them turned the oven off. I actual checked it at an hour because my meat thermometer was reading a high temp. It was close to med-well and we like med-rare. It wasn’t overly tough though, just cooked too done. Had good flavor but next time I’ll probably stick to the 7 min/lb at 500° and check it in 45 min. I definitely feel there’s potential to perfect it!!

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  152. Wow! I can’t get over the volume of responses to this post. Skeptical but willing to give it a shot. Worth it if there’s even a breath of a chance we won’t be eating a saddlebag. Don’t have time to wait out the 2 1/2 hrs in an oven that’s off but I’m gonna give it a go with the temp as low as I can go.

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    1. Funny how only the good reviews and those ‘in the making’ are sent to my inbox. The rub was fantastic but that couldn’t make up for the way over cooked piece of leather I experienced and I’m anal about following instructions.

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  153. I’m trying this tonight. I’m a little skeptical though. I can’t stand my meat overcooked. I’m looking for a perfect rare to mid rare. My roast is only 2.20 lbs. I have a brand new oven so it’s usually right on direction. How long should I let this sit in oven? Do I still do 10 minutes after covered? Please help!

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    1. Lindsay, if you want to guarantee you won’t overcook the first time around, I would cook it at 500 degrees for 15 minutes, then reduce the heat to 170 and check it after one hour (and every 30 minutes after that) – this is assuming you have a quick-read thermometer. You’ll still want to rest the roast for 5-10 minutes before slicing. Good luck!

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      1. Well, I finally took the chance & made this tonight! Total success!!! Tweaked a few things due to my oven, but overall SUPER tender & flavorful!!! Two thumbs up! I look forward to more recipes! Thank you :)

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  154. For those of you who have trouble with their ovens not retaining heat, here is a trick that I use for many differetn reasons when I need retained heat, and it works well. I make pizza once a week for my family and years ago bought a rack-sized pizza stone from B, B, & B. (It needs to be rack-sized and t about an inch thick; not one of those thin, round stones available in most grocery stores. The large ones are not expensive.) If you put it in the oven and leave it there – either directly on the oven floor or on a rack in a position lower than the roast – it will hold onto and slowly radiate heat into the oven for the 2 1/2 resting time. (Mine stays in my oven all the time just to even out the thermostatic on and off cycles as I bake or roast. ) My mother-in-law taught me this roasting method 30 years ago and even used it for expensive cuts of roast beef. It works great for them, too!

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  155. I’m making this tonight for the first time. I have a long (12″) 4.6 Pound roast and I was unsure of the heat retention of my LG Convection oven. Would plugging the vent at the top of the oven help with this. I don’t want to leave the roast at 170 as I’m afraid I’d overcook it, and I’m equally uneasy about turning it off. The plan is 500 for 32 Min and turn the oven off with vent plugged (i’ll have a oven safe thermometer in while in the oven). Hope this works for me.

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  156. My late mother discovered this method in the 70’s (after I’d left home) and swore by it. I just used it today with great results using a three pound roast from Costco (half of the original). I used Weber’s steak seasoning from Costco. Thanks! Rest goes for thin sliced roast beer sandwiches.

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  157. This recipe works! Don’t be intimidated just try it, I have a gas oven and it cools down quickly, gas ovens are calibrated so that they only fire when the temp drops. First time I did this recipe I turned the oven to 150 and after an hour it didn’t feel right so I bumped it up to 200, when I pulled it out an hour later just to check the temp it was 135 degrees and perfect. Try adding a little lipton beefy onion (dry) soup mix to your rub and for the love of God DO NOT trim off the fat, you don’t do it for Prime Rib so why do it for an eye round!

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  158. For those who overcooked it the first time, take it out and check the temp after an hour or so, no two roasts are the same, so depending on the shape not always the weight one may cook faster than the other, for example a long thin 4 pounder will cook faster than a short thick 2.5 pounder. Good luck and don’t give up!

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  159. Hi, I tried this method/recipe last weekend turned out awesome . My question is would this method of oven cooking work with a flank steak? Hope to here from ya soon

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  160. I followed the recipe exactly. I have a gas oven and therefore, after the initial cooking temperature of 500 degrees, I dropped the temp to 170 degrees. After 2 and a half hours, it was nowhere close to done. I cooked it another hour at 325 degrees and still not done. It has been in the oven now for 4 hours and still we have no dinner. We had mashed potatoes and vegetable for dinner and we’re hoping to have some roast beef sometime before we go to bed tonight for dessert. I will never make another roast like this again.

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  161. Perfect! It looked professional and tasted yummy…used Montreal steak spice and served it with buttery new potatoes and honeyed carrots

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  162. Followed the recipe perfectly with a very expensive eye round roast. Ended up with a big piece of leather. Thanks for nothing. What a waist of time and money.

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  163. Made this roast tonight, came out perfect! I had read a lot of the reviews and since I have a gas stove was worried, should I follow the directions or adjust per the reviews and leave the oven on 170? Since it was a small roast about 2lbs. I followed the directions and checked the roast with 45 minutes left. It was perfect 125 degrees, but oven was almost cold. Will use this recipe again, but will leave the oven on 170 if using a larger roast. Thank you so much for the recipe!!!!

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        1. It was a bit underdone so I put it back and set the oven on warm (200*) for about another 40 minutes. Turned out very juicy, and the vegetables were very tasty from cooking in the juices. The roast was a bit tough, though. I had rubbed in in a mix of spices from a local company called “southern new england spice company” and it was very tasty. All in all, I’d try it again. Thanks.

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  164. Our family likes our roast somewhere in between medium rare and medium. Like at any steak house, I shoot for medium rare, guessing it will be medium. I’m usually pretty spot on if I only leave a 4 pound roast in the oven for about an hour and 30 minutes, give or take (because you can’t really find a roast that is exactly 4 pounds).

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      1. Cathy, honestly I don’t know much about convection ovens, at least not enough to give you any guidance. Does your oven have an option to not cook it convection? I’ve cooked at other people’s houses and usually just switch it to conventional so that I don’t screw it up. Please let me know what you end up doing so that I can inform future readers, thanks!

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  165. These roasts were the hit of my family’s Christmas. I made two-five pound roasts at the same time. I followed the instructions and put my gas stove at 170 degrees. Used that meat thermometer and cooked until 140 degrees F (Med rare). Both roast look picture perfect and tasted great. Served room temp, sliced thin, with sandwich stuff (horseradish, mustard, rolls, etc) Yummy!

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  166. Sorry to bother you on Christmas Eve just got in and the wife bought a top round 10 lb roast instead of the eye round roast can I cook it the same or do you have another recipe . Cooked the eye round many times and is delish please help me

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  167. I tried this a week ago on a 6 lb eye of round as a test for Christmas Dinner for 20. I saw a similar recipe that recommended 5 min per lb, so I split the difference at 6min. I have a gas oven, and after all the comments, I was afraid to turn the oven off completely so I turned it down to it’s lowest setting (170F) came out a perfect med rare for me, my wife likes hers cooked to Well well (@#%$#%#) so I let her zap her slices in the microwave however she wanted. She loved it and said it tasted like Prime Rib.

    For Christmas I have 3 6lb roasts (spaced of course) and will do them for 7 min per lb to adjust for the extra mass. I’ll put one of the three roasts in 7min ahead of the other two to roast it a little more done for those who like supple leather-ed beef,LOL. I’m not sure if doing three roasts at the same time affects the cooking time so I’ll check the internal temp at the 2 hr mark.
    I’ll report back after Christmas.
    God Bless you all and a Merry Christmas!

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        1. Julie, just so I understand, you are cooking two roasts that are about 2.5 lbs each? If so, I would cook them for 17 mins at high heat, then turn it down to 170, and check it after an hour (and every 30 mins after) to your desired doneness.

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      1. Thank Russ for your recipe.
        Most everyone loved the roasts. Because of hungry people showing up early ( when does that ever happen?) I only let the 3 roasts sit at 170 deg for 2 hrs. had they not been banging their knives and forks on the table I would have left them in another 1/2 hour to perfection. I’ll have to re educate my family on the meaning of Christmas and teach them the virtue of Patience as opposed to the sin of Gluttony.

        The roast I put in early came out medium and the other two came out rare/medium rare. I like most of the family, like my roasts med rare and the few others had to zap or put their slices back in the oven. I augmented the drippings with beef broth and made a nice Au Jus.
        All in all it was a great success and I had plenty leftover that I sliced very thin and made into into Italian beef sandwiches.
        Thanks again and have a Blessed New Year.

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  168. Just a note of thanks for this AMAZING recipe. Without going into the messy details, I found myself in the position this year of having to cook a last minute Christmas dinner for my mother. I am no kind of cook, but the roast I made using this recipe turned out to be one of the best pieces of meat I (we) have ever eaten. Mom loved it. She asked me when I learned to cook? I happily gave you full attribution. She is off taking her post dinner nap now. Couldn’t have been a better Christmas.

    Thanks again, and MERRY CHRISTMAS!

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  169. hi there, Its Christmas day here and i am trying this dish tonight(its cooling down in the oven now). I know you said don’t cook this for the guests if its your first time. i have made eye of round roast before and i am willing to take a chance on this new recipe. looks delicious.

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  170. I’m making the roast right now, I have the oven set to 170 and I feel like it should be further along in the cooking. It’s been cooking for about an hour and a half I’ve only opened the oven twice in that time. Should I turn the heat back up then down again? Or should I put my roasting pan lid on? Thanks for any help.

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  171. Russ,
    I can’t begin to thank you enough for having this recipe. It totally saved my Christmas Dinner! :) When I purchased the eye round roast, I thought it was just like any other roast my mom had prepared during the holidays. Little did I know that if I had followed her old family recipe, I would have ended up with a 3lb lump of leather. :\
    I have a very old gas stove (picture – harvest gold circa 1960’s), it works just fine for most everything. But I paid extra attention to your directions for a gas stove. My roast was just under 3lbs., I used garlic powder, seasoned salt and black pepper. Roasted it at 500 degrees for 18 minutes and then lowered the temp to 170 degrees where I left it alone for 2 hours and 15 minutes. It was all I could do to wait the extra 10 minutes after I took it out of the oven to see how it was. It was worth the wai………it was the tenderest, juiciest roast beef I have ever had in my life! :) The family couldn’t stop raving about how delicious it was! :) So, thank you again, for my Christmas gift. Happy Boxing Day, and I wish you all the best for the coming new year! Oh, and you most definitely have a brand new fan!! :)

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  172. Hi Russ. I was going to try this recipe for Christmas dinner but got sick so I am trying it now. I roasted a 3 lb eye round at 500 for 25 in a newer electric oven THEN added the baby potatoes and sliced carrots (coated in evo and same spices as roast). I read in others who tried this recipe that the veggies are better added at the beginning. I’ll let you know how it turns out. BTW I am so tempted to open the door and look : )

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    1. O.K. The roast was perfection. That is one problem solved. The problem with the potato and carrots was that I put them in AFTER the high roast temp. Will try again. Think I will buy a high rack for roast so I can add water for potato and carrots.

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      1. Adrienne, thanks for sharing! I meant to write back earlier, but yes, you’ll want to add the veggies in right from the start. Also, no need to add water – that will just steam everything up – instead, toss the veggies in a little fat (duck fat would be best, but olive oil would be okay too) before putting them in the pan with the roast.

        Liked by 1 person

  173. I had a 1.75lb. roast with no fat. I cooked the roast following the above directions bu
    for just over half the time. I roasted for fifteen minutes etc. As the roast had no fa
    I made a woven mat of bacon which I placed over the seasoned roast .
    It was perfectly cooked and quite tender. I will make this again !

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  174. I just made this tonight in my old gas oven and it was great! I used a 2.2 lb eye of round roast and did 16 minutes at 500 degrees, then 2 hours at 200 degrees. It came out medium (125 degrees) and was juicy and flavorful! I used a tsp of pepper, and I like spicy, but it was too much for the small roast- maybe 1/2 tsp would have been better. I also put quartered sweet potatoes under the roast and they didn’t cook at all, so I don’t recommend that part. The roast itself was fantastic, though. Thanks!

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  175. I tried your recipe for eye of round roast and was absolutely amazed at the end result. This was the best roast beef I have ever cooked. I was so happy with the method of cooking that I tried it on a NY sirloin which is a more expensive cut of beef and had the same wonderful results. I do use an electric oven. This is a no brainer way to cook a roast. I might add that I have been cooking for my family for 54 years and this shows that you can always learn something new. Thank you so much.

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  176. I’ve cooked eye of round a few times before and it always came out tough, so I didn’t think this recipe would be any better than the ones I’d used before. However, in an ecumenical spirit I gave it a try.

    Now I’m a believer. The meat was uniformly pink throughout, tender, juicy, and loaded with flavor. It truly made a $10/lb cut taste like prime rib, but without all the fat. Even She-Who-Is-Never-Pleased liked it.

    Having a gas oven I used the 170-degree method, and a 2 1/2 lb roast was perfectly done after 15 minutes on high heat and 2 hours on low. I did try scattering some potatoes and carrots in the pan but they came out dry, so in the future i’ll cook them separately.

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  177. Used this recipe for our Christmas dinner and it turned out awesome. Served it with red wine chicken and everyone ate it all up. Thanks for a great and easy recipe!!

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  178. Made this tonight for my family. Sliced it extra thin, like sandwich meat, came out perfect. I have a gas oven so after the initial 20+ min at 500, I lowered the heat to the lowest setting (170) and cooked for 2 hours. I also tossed some baby potatoes in olive oil and salt and pepper and placed them in the roasting pan with my beef. Thank you so much for this recipe! I will definitely be making it again.

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  179. The two hours is a long wait with a bourbon and splash of water. I’m manning up and doing it but dang that’s a long time. I’m in agreement the grass fed beef is better but everyone has their opinion on the matter. Love this website and am doing the Shirred Eggs for breakfast.

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  180. I’ve made this once before, and it was indeed perfect. I was going to attempt it again this evening but am a bit concerned about the fact that my roast is less than 2 pounds…any advice? also i was thinking about throwing some potatoes in the roasting pan. Would you advise against roasting veg with this method? Thanks!

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    1. Matt, I think if it’s under two pounds I would cut a minute or two off the high-heat time and don’t let it sit for a full 2.5 hours – maybe check it after 60 minutes. Potatoes should be fine, just toss them in oil and s&p beforehand, and don’t crowd them around the roast too tightly. Good luck!

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      1. Thanks a million! Your recipes are great. Just read your page. Glad your’re doing better. I’m 23 and just got a new prosthetic aortic valve made from a cow’s pericardium so I make those same bad grass/milk jokes too. Keep on keepin on, my friend!

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  181. I’m making this recipe now, can’t wait to see how it comes out. I’m a fairly good cook, but can’t cook a roast to save my life, so we shall see!

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    1. Sissy, you can, but when it gets beyond 6 lbs I would say that there’s a lot of room for error. I would cut the roast into two 4-lb roasts and roast them next to each other (but a few inches away from one another), with an initial high-heat roast of 30 mins instead of 28.

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  182. I actually first heard of this recipe applied to a Prime Rib roast and it was hands down the best I’ve ever had. Give it a try sometime with added Rosemary.

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  183. I made this tonight for my family, and everyone loved it! I was so relieved – I had no idea how to make this normally tough roast palatable, and this recipe was fantastic. It was also so easy!!! I graded papers, watched tv, and did laundry all while it was cooking! I will definitely make it again. Thanks!

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  184. I bought a 3.8 lb eye round on sale, cut it in half and put it in the freezer. Thawed out the first half last night and cooked it today. For a 1.6 lb roast, I did 12 min at 500 F. I put a couple of cut up red bliss potato wedges and s few carrots in the pan with the roast. (I mircro-waved the potatos and carrots s minutes before adding them to the roasting pan. I was going to do 2 hours at 200 deg. F, but after 1 hour the meat thermometer read 160 F, so I pulled it out, and let it stand about 15 minutes. The timing worked out OK becasue it was just my wife and I and it would have been a late dinner if it needed the full 2 hours. The roast was juicy & perfect with a warm red center. I’ll need to remember this when I cook the other half of the roast that is still in the freezer.

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  185. Great recipe! I followed the directions for a gas oven. 3lb roast 20 minutes at 500 deg. then 30 minutes at 170 deg. The roast came out perfect. Highly recommend this method.

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  186. Great recipe! I followed the directions for a gas oven. 3lb roast 20 minutes at 500 deg. then I hr at 170 deg. The roast came out perfect. Highly recommend this method.

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    1. Yes! Use a meat thermometer and watch it carefully!! In my convection the roast was done in LESS than 1/2 the time! Actually, I would not try this without a meat thermometer. If you get it right, though, and pull it at 135 – 140, and let it rest for 30 minutes, it will be a perfect med rare, fairly tender and quite delicious.

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  187. Just made this roast out of some local source grass-fed beef. Holy cow!! It was the best roast my wife and I have had.
    What a great and simple way to make a roast.
    Thanks for the recipe. I think I’m going to have to keep this site close for more kitchen creations.

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  188. I did this tonight with two, 2.7 pound eye of round roasts and followed the cooking directions cooking exactly. I took the roasts out of the frig about 50 minutes before cooking and they never came near room temp (only got to 41*) but I didn’t worry too much about that. I used my own coating after rinsing and drying and rubbing with EVOO. I put them side by side, 4″ apart on an open rack that was set in my broiling pan (lined with heavy duty foil.) I gave the oven 30 minutes to get to 500* and hold. I used the Convection Roast setting.

    As I did not trust the process, I put a thermometer probe in each roast. I put them in the oven and dropped temp to 475*. After 24 minutes (7 per pound) I turned it off. That was 3:10p.m. I set the thermometers to alert me when the roasts reached 130*. I was in my office on the phone and didn’t hear the beeper when it went off in less than an hour! At 4 I went into the kitchen and looked at the thermometers. To my horror one read 140* and one read 144*. I had intended to pull them at 135, knowing they’d continue to cook to a perfect medium rare. I pulled them out immediately, although dinner wasn’t until 5:30! I covered them loosely with foil and left the probe in one of them and fretted as the temperature continued to rise. I thought I might be rendering shoe leather.

    As it turned out, we were able to get the rest of the dinner on the table at 5:15. The roasts were medium to med rare, with a nice medallion of pink in the middle all the way through. Not quite what I’d wanted, but juicy, reasonably tender and quite flavorful.

    Bottom line – USE A THERMOMETER!! Watch it! I will definitely use this recipe again but no way did I need 2 1/2 hours! It would have been inedible. I suspect it’s a really tight oven (GE Profile) and held the heat well. The family inhaled these roasts and begged for enough thinly sliced leftovers for a sandwich.

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      1. I do it like prime rib in my gas oven. Roast sits till almost room temature use your favorite rub then roast at 450 degrees for 15 Minutes. Reduce heat to 250 degrees and roast for 20 to 30 minues per pound. 20 minutes is usually rare, thats the way I like it. I’ve roasted vegtables in the pan and without them. Its up to you.

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  189. This recipe is wonderful for Elk roast too for all the avid hunters out there! I have cut back the time on cooking to 6 minutes per pound and it is amazing, juicy and tender! Thanks for such a great recipe and alternative to cooking Elk!

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  190. Fantastic method, Russ! I just used it for a 3.5lb. eye round. Washed, dried and olive-oiled the roast and covered it with a paste of thyme, fresh garlic, sea salt, black pepper, celery seed, dried dill, and rosemary that I made in a mortar and pestle. I added a bag of baby carrots, about 2 dozen button mushrooms, some thickly-sliced red potatoes, and about 18 cleaned and trimmed red pearl onions around the meat. They were lightly coated with olive oil, salt, pepper, thyme, and rosemary before they went in. No cover, no liquid. Roasted at 500 degrees for 25 minutes and then at 170 for 2 hours and about 40 minutes. Perfect medium/medium rare and the vegetables were completely cooked, not overcooked. I did a quick pan jus with some leftover merlot and butter. There were sufficient drippings and cooked herbs to make it wonderfully tasty. My roast-beef-hating teen inhaled everything and had seconds. Thanks so much!

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  191. If one wanted to marinate the roast overnight in a bag, etc., would that distort the process (e.g., do you have to stick to the rub at room temperature)? I have a marinade recipe I’m curious to try but it can wait if need be.

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        1. Because of smaller size, I did 11 minutes sear and 90 minutes off. Should have checked earlier than 90 minutes because it came out medium well, which is more than I would have liked. But the kids loved it; didn’t even ask for gravy. Next time on a roast of that size, I will sear even less and/or just do 1.25 hours off. Thanks!

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  192. I am going to try making this tonight, but I have a tiny piece of meat because it’s just for my husband and myself. It only weighs just over 1 3/4 lbs, and we like it medium rare. I know I need to cook it for just about 7 min on 500, but do I still leave it in for the full 2.5 hrs with the oven off even though it’s such a small roast?

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    1. Meghan, I would cook it for an hour, but maybe check it after 30 mins if you want it med-rare. Do you have an instant read thermometer? If not, just squeeze it to check for doneness – if it’s not firm at all, it’s probably still pretty rare.

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      1. THANK YOU RUSS, I MADE THE “EYE OF ROUND’ YESTERDAY ALITTLE SKEPTAL,AND IT WAS PERFECT, THE ONLY PROBLEM I HAD, IT WAS QUITE COOL WHENI TOOK IT OUT OF THE OVEN. THANKS AGAIN BETTY

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  193. I followed your recipe exact. It was a perfect medium rare. The rub was perfect. I will never use crock again for this. I don’t understand all the issues with this. I used a convection bake. Thanks for helping me kick it up a notch.

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  194. Have anyone noticed any differences between traditional electric stoves, and the self cleaning oven kind? We just got a new GE, traditional burners and oven, which replaced a 35 year old one. But I notice a lot of heat comes out the right rear burner when the oven is on. I am wondering if this is normal or something for a self cleaning oven specifically. I will try your receipe tonight.

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  195. Hey. I’m going to try this with a Griswold #7 Tit top Dutch Oven I found in my uncles basement. When I put my 2.5 lb roast in the 500 degree oven, do I keep the lid on the Dutch Oven, or am I just using the pan?

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  196. Help, oven is preheating, I’ve got the roast seasoned and ready to go but don’t have a roasting pan!!!!! what is my alternative?

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    1. Hi Peter, I definitely got to this comment too late, but I would say any cooking surface would do – we actually roast ours directly in a stainless steel or cast iron skillet, so that we can use the drippings for a pan sauce afterwards.

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  197. I made two roasts again yesterday for a family gathering and have finally gotten over the fear of roasting at 500 and leaving in the oven for 2 1/2 hours but once again it came out just great. They were a little over medium and the sauce from the drippings was great. I was always worried that it would cook too much at the 500 degrees but the oven cooled down just enough to make them cook nicely. To keep them rarer next time I may remove 1/2 hour earlier other than that just GREAT!

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  198. This looks amazing! I just bought a small eye of round roast and have heard great things about this cooking method. The only part I’m not sure about is the prep. What do you think about searing the outside of the roast before putting it in the oven? Would that overdo it, or would it help lock in flavor/juices?

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  199. Thanks Mr. Domestic Man. My domestic man makes this just every Sunday and it always comes out perfect. Served with red potato mashed and roasted vedgies (they cook while the roast rests). An easy beautiful meal.

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  200. Hi Russ,
    It is an old post, but I have to leave one here. For a pure meat lover like myself, it is an awesome recipe! I now wonder if it goes well with Asian rice.. Anyway, thanks for keeping up with the great blog:)

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  201. Like the last comment- I know this post has been around for awhile, but I recently found your site via the SkinnyTaste site (LOVE Gina’s stuff) and I’m loving every recipe I try! This is in the oven right now and the family is counting down the timer. Thank you!

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        1. Yep, you could leave it on overnight, but probably only as a means of convenience – it wouldn’t have much effect on the overall taste. Since there is no acid in the rub it won’t penetrate too deeply into the meat. I would halve the salt to prevent the meat from getting too salty.

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  202. I have to admit I was a bit skeptical, but, despite the fact that I only had a top round roast, I decided to try your method, I seasoned it as you instructed and put it in my dutch oven. Although the ends were a bit overdone, the center was PERFECT! So now I know…next time I have to use a roast with a more uniform thickness. Thank you for sharing this…I will never have a dry, tough roast again!

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  203. Have just made this roast for my dinner tonight. As Ive read in other testimonials, I was a little skeptical, however followed the recipe and while it could have been roasted a wee bit more it was still as promised, a lovely, tender, less chewy roast. I will make it again, adjusting the cooking time.

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  204. I have made this roast a couple times in my oven with great results. Recently I tried it on a rotisserie over my charcoal grill with exceptional results. I followed the basic recipe as closely as the control of the grill would allow and watched the internal temperature closely. The meat had a great smoky flavor along with flavor of the seasoned rub. I also add a little bit of crushed pepper flakes to the rub for a little bit of heat. Great recipe.

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  205. Epic fail! Should have read the comments – it definitely does NOT work with a gas oven, which doesn’t keep heat like an electric. The outside 1cm was cooked but tougher than shoe leather, the rest was raw. I have thrown the remains in the slow cooker with a balsamic stock mix and hope it works out better in 8hrs time. In the meantime, filling up with icecream….

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  206. Hi….having a few issues. I have made this twice now. Both times my roast was 7.5 lbs. I cooked it at 7 mins a pound then turned off the heat. After 20 Mina with the oven off, my thermo regestered 140. Should I take the roast out or leave it in till the 2.5 hours are up?? I worry that the temp will just keep going up and ruin it

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    1. Hi Margot, 7.5 is a very large roast – 7 mins per pound is probably too much considering the weight. I recommend cutting it into two equal-sized pieces, and placing the pieces a few inches from each other. Then roast it for whatever size the pieces are (about 21 minutes in this case), maybe add a minute or two since two roasts will bring down the oven temp more than one roast. Should fix your issue!

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      1. Hi….thanks for getting back to me. Could you do me a fave? Next time you do this roast…could you note the internal temp of the roast when you turn the oven off…just want to try and do it right next time…maybe my oven is messed too.

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  207. I’ve used this high/low cooking method for years with great success BUT I’ve only used fabulous cuts of meat. I want to try an eye of the round, but I’m concerned about the tenderness. I’ve read that rubbing salt all over the outside of the roast (after patting it dry) covering it with cellophane, and refrigerating it overnight can really help tenderize a tough cut of meat. After it comes to room temperature, it should be cooked off as per your directions. I’d appreciate your thoughts on this, especially if the salt-overnight method could impact cooking times. Also, if I follow your time/oven temperature recommendation, will I end up with a medium rare roast? Thanks.

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    1. Madeline, my instructions are for a pink roast, so Medium is a more appropriate description. Salting the roast overnight will allow the salt to better flavor the outside of the roast, but won’t have any effect on the inside of the roast – marinades need an acid to denature/tenderize and penetrate further into the cut of meat. For cooking a lean cut, you actually won’t have much success with marinating; it’s the cooking technique that will really influence the tenderness. I find that the outside seasonings I use on the roast is adequate for the roast.

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  208. Seriously had my doubts about this working- especially since I would be using it with an eye round roast that had become “lost” in the back of Mom’s freezer. BUT it came out absolutely perfect! I could not believe that it came out not only “beautiful looking” but juicy as well!
    Thanks! This method turned a doubtful piece of meat into a great dinner!

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  209. Can I use this recipe with a grass fed bottom round roast?

    Can I use this with a grass fed top round roast?

    Our family has tries this many times with a grass fed eye round roast! We love it!
    My 3, 5, and 8 yr old love this and is adults too. Thank you so much for the recipe…I couldn’t cook grass fed meat until I came across your site.

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  211. I’m really going to blow your mind and tell you that this is pretty much how I cook my thanksgiving turkey (with time variances for the larger size) and it always comes out perfectly browned and incredibly juicy! Everyone that has ever had it swears it’s the best (even better than fried). You’d be amazed at the stuff you can cook this way!

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  212. Russ, you are so kind to reply as often and diligently as you do – for years now! My 7 lb. roast is just starting it’s 500 degree time. It seems the herbs and garlic are starting to burn a bit, but I’m optimistic for a great dinner ahead!

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  213. Did this with 4 and a half pounds of roast and accidentally left it overnight after I’d turned the oven off.

    Turned out a perfect medium rare and was just delicious with the pan gravy I made.

    Very easy, very tasty.

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  214. Made this today. It was very tasty, cooked perfectly – or maybe slightly too done. It was a little tough, but I think it was more Med than Med/Rare, so that could have something to do with it. Overall, not too bad for my first time cooking this piece of meat! Thanks for the recipe!

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  215. I read your instructions, but I still missed the timing. I had mine in a 450 degree oven for 15 minutes, with vegetables and pan drippings (I seared mine first) and when I checked it with the thermometer it was perfect, but because it “bled” when I pierced it with the thermometer, I left it in and wound up with a tough piece of meat. It would have been perfect had I shut the oven off and let it rest. So folks, remember, it’s going to be “bloody” before you turn the oven off. Disregard that and you’ll wind up with a perfect roast. I didn’t.

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  216. I had mine sitting in the 500 degree pre-heated oven for about 15 min when I heard a loud crash inside the oven. My 9X13 pyrex is now sitting in pieces on my counter. I had to take out the roast and transfer it to a dutch oven instead. I’m hoping even though I had to open my oven to clean out the glass that the roast isnt destroyed :(. I would not advise using pyrex with this recipe.

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  217. 1.2 kg eye of round at room temp. Coating with salt, pepper and crushed garlic rub while the oven comes to temp. Set to 260C which is full whack. A couple of big chunks of Sweet Potato and Parsnip in around the roast which is sitting on a trivet of Onions.

    I’ve set the timer for 18 minutes at 260C and then will turn it down. As I have never tried a roast in this oven, I will put it to 80C after 18 minutes and leave it while I put on a DVD, fingers crossed

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  218. This method will overcook the roast, I’ve used a version of this method about five times now and I cook the roast at 5 minutes per pound and every time it has been a perfect medium rare. At 7 minutes per pound it would be well done and dry.

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    1. I tried this method today. 3lb and went with 7 min per lb and worked out great. People must understand that ovens vary and making adjustments might be necessary. I also found out that my oven has an exhaust fan and lost heat fairly quickly so i kept my oven at 170 for the 2.5 hours but found that it was med rare after 2 hours. I also wrapped the roast up in tin foil and then a tea towel to keep warm while it set. This roast turned out Awesome!!! Thanks

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  219. I have used this recipe several times, but instead of using my oven, I cook it in my weber grill. The flavor is great and it comes out so nice and tender.

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    1. Mario, I wouldn’t recommend searing it first, since it will unpredictably affect how done the inside of the roast it. The act of roasting it at a high heat will give it a nice crust on its own.

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  220. Hi! I just wanted to say that your roast looks delicious and I really want to make it but I don’t have a roast pan or dutch oven…..can I use my roaster oven? And if so, do I use the same instructions as above? Please comment back asap…..i’d like to make this today if possible : )

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    1. Amy, I don’t think a roaster oven will maintain the same amount of heat retention as a regular oven, so I wouldn’t advise it. Any oven-safe cooking dish will work fine for this dish – a baking sheet, broil pan, or even a stainless steel pan would all work.

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  221. Tried your recipe – followed the directions precisely. This was my first time ever cooking a roast and it came out PERFECT!!! :) My very picky family realy enjoyed it and my 12 year old son informed me that if this was a cooking contest I would win 1st place. (Yes, he’s a bit dramatic) So, thank you from my whole family!! :)

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  222. I’m going to be cooking this recipe tomorrow with a 6.3 lb eye of round….I’m feeding a crowd. Should I stick with the 7 minutes per pound rule?

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      1. Hey Russ, just to clarify, should I cook to two equal portions for 22 mins or 42 mins for the 6.3 lbs? Thank you for your quick response!!

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  223. My first time cooking this piece of meat, or using this method, and it turned out wonderful. Next time, I’ll turn the oven off a little sooner, I was at just under 3lbs and I let it cook for 25 minutes, didn’t turn out as red as I like it but it was juicy and tasty….

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  224. Recipe and technique worked perfectly. Added EVOO to “rub” and crushed the garlic. Whole beets, radishes, small potatoes and celery stalks in the roast pan. Drippings added a nice color to mushroom gravy, based off butter and flour roux.

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  225. I made this with eye of round roast awhile back and it was delicious. Do you think this method will work well with a rump roast?

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  226. I make a Cuban beef roast from an eye of round roast. Delicious but prone to being dry. I just make it using this method to roast it and it worked beautifully. The meat was perfectly cooked and wonderfully moist. Thanks!

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  227. Hey Russ, I’m cooking (4) 3 lb roasts this way for Christmas. I’m think 45 minutes at 500 degrees should do the trick but I wanted a second opinion. Any thoughts?

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    1. Rachel, I would do 30 minutes @ 500F for the whole batch, and make sure they aren’t too close to one another. That should help offset the lowered temp by adding 12 lbs of meat to the oven at once, without overcooking them.

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  228. Could you do this braised? Sear the meat on all sides first then add pureed celery, onion, carrot then tomato paste, beef stock, red wine and lastly chunks of carrots, celery and onion and proceed with the 7min per pound at 500 then shutting off oven.

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    1. Mary, I wouldn’t recommend braising with this technique or cut, since they are opposing approaches. This is a high-heat dry roast, while braising calls for a low, even temperature in a wet environment. Doing this technique would overboil the meat. I would suggest this recipe for a good braise (https://thedomesticman.com/2014/04/29/beef-a-la-mode-french-pot-roast/) and using short ribs or chuck roast. A lean cut like eye of round is best when cooked at a high heat and served medium/med-rare.

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  229. Thanks so much for all the fabulous information. My last question if you don’t mind, if I add veggies carrots, potatoes and celery do you recommend throwing them in as is or coating them with olive oil first? Again thanks for all your help!!

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  230. Hey Russ,
    You are the man! I’m a single father and just recently got my son full time, so I’ve been doing a lot more cooking lately trying to stay away from fast food. It was my first time cooking a roast period. I had a friend suggest a crock pot but I tried this method and I’ll never cook it any other way. Made me look like a pro. My roommate and son tore up a 3 lb roast. Just had enough to make my son a sandwich for lunch tomorrow. Thanks a lot. I’ll definitely be trying some more of your recipes. This one was fantastic!

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    1. It’s better to cut any roast that’s larger than 6lbs, be sure to keep the two roasts apart from one another and maybe roast at the high heat stage for 8 mins per pound if you’re making 10 lbs. My rule of thumb is 1/2 lb per person, which usually results in some leftovers, assuming this is part of a whole meal with other options. So I would prepare about 10 lbs.

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      1. I have a 8.45 lb roast I would like to cook for Christmas Eve dinner using your method above. From the above comment you suggested cutting the roast in half and cook it 8 min per pound. So my question is do you still multiply the entire weight, In this case 8.45 lbs X 8 minutes or do you multiply 4.25 lbs X 8 minutes for the high temp cook time? Also if I leave it whole and cook it @ 500 degrees for 67.60 minutes, is it still the same leaving it in the unopened oven for an additional 2.5 hours or should it be longer since it is a larger roast?

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        1. Hi Linda, if the roast is under 10 lbs then 7 mins per pound should be fine. I would cut it into 4.25 (roughly) pieces, then cook it at 500F for 7 mins x 4.25, so just under 30 mins, before shutting the oven off. You’ll be better off halving it and roasting it with the oven-off method because it’ll give you twice as much surface area, which = more delicious crust. If this is your first time making this recipe and you’re not sure of your oven’s heat retention, I recommend turning the heat down to 170F instead of turning it off completely, and check it after an hour or so for doneness. Good luck and Merry Christmas!

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          1. Thank you so much for this, it has been very helpful information. I can’t wait to try it Merry Christmas to you!

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  231. We made this (a second time) for our Christmas eve dinner. Perfect. Thanks Russ! We cooked our butternut squash and potatoes separately in our toaster oven (small crew for dinner), served with a simple salad, and all were happy.

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  232. Using a 2.33 lb. eye of round roast, and a 4 inch deep non-stick roasting pan with rack, I’ve placed the roast on the rack in the roasting pan in a 500 degree oven for 15 minutes and 30 seconds (a wee bit less than the 7 minutes per lb. rule. I chose the slightly reduced time based on comments in this thread). I seasoned as indicted in the recipe, plus a dash of a freshly ground blend of common Italian seasonings. My wife and I are using a less than one year old electric oven that is supposed to be above average among the consumer grade stove top ranges – i.e. convection option, self-cleaning, etc.

    At the bottom of the roasting pan, mostly outside the rack that sits lower in the center of the roasting pan, we placed about 6 small to medium white potatoes (peeled and halved), about a half-pound of peeled fresh carrots, one medium yellow onion cut into sixths, and about 3/4 of a pound of whole, fresh white mushrooms. I sprinkled some store bought dried fennel and other ground Italian seasoning over veggies before placing in oven. No oil or anything else.

    After the initial 15 minutes and 30 seconds at 500 degrees, we turned off the heat, and are smelling the very pleasant aroma!! The veggies seem to produce liquid at bottom of roasting pan. We set timer for one hour and 30 minutes, again based on comments above related to experience with cooking time and a smaller roast. Will let you know how it turns out…….

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    1. We turned the oven off after 15 minutes and 30 seconds at 500 degrees for a 2.33 pound eye of round roast. I checked the roast temp with an instant thermometer after one hour and twenty-five minutes……almost 160 degrees.

      Thank you for your time and effort in posting the recipe, which is surely very workable, once oven characteristics are determined. Next time I’ll reduce the cooking time at 500 degrees, or maybe cut the temp to 475? A larger roast may help too. Meat was a bit less than “tender”, but edible. Almost no pink was left.

      Veggies were dry, but still tasty and cooked through. Maybe drizzle with olive oil next time.

      Am thinking a smaller dutch oven in which the ingredients fit more tightly together might also help with veggie and roast moisture, provided that cooking time is reduced?

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      1. DJ, thanks for the thorough feedback. My guess is that since you’re oven is relatively new and of high quality, it has exceptional heat retention and took longer to come down to the lower temperature than your average oven. So I would reduce the high-heat cooking time by a bit, maybe 6 mins per pound. Also, since you have good heat retention, I’d opt to shut the oven off entirely next time. Placing it on a rack probably sped up the cooking process, too; next time I’d have the roast set directly on the bottom of your roasting pan. Definitely drizzle the veggies with olive oil next time, that’ll help! Hopefully with all of these tweaks it should turn out better – good luck!

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        1. Hi Russ, I had the same experience as DJ and I too made the mistake of roasting on a rack. Luckily I saw what was happening and I removed the roast when it was reading 130. It continued to cook outside the oven rising to 155 and stabilizing. When cut, it was perfect inside and the taste was amazing!!! I have one question though. Should the top herbs be blackened, but not burned?

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          1. Forgot to mention that it reached the 130 after the first 45 minutes at 500. I didn’t do the second part at all.

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  233. Hello. I would like to know what temperature do you have in your oven, on average, after about 2 hours. Mine is at roughly 155F

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  234. Wow did the Eye Round Roast Recipe it was awsome! After reading everyones comments I tweaked the cooking a lil I as well did a 3lb roast followed the instructions to prep to a T, I parboiled lil red potatoes parsnips and carrots and added them to the Paula Deen Cast Iron casserole dish which I think was part of success because it holds the heat real well. I Roasted meat for 40 min on 500 and turned down to 175 for a remainder of 2hours. Let it rest and Impressed myself! Certianly a goto for me now on! Thank you

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  235. My first attempt at this wonderful method of doing an eye of round roast was this past Christmas for company. A bit risky, but I found it fascinating and did have something else I could whip up in case it was a disaster. The roast came out medium rare and juicy. It made the best ever gravy. I received a lot of compliments on a delicious meal. This past weekend, I had two small roasts and decided to do them together. I added the two weights and divided it by two. I followed the directions and they too came out excellent. Thank you for this recipe and it will be the only one I will ever use.

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  236. This worked fantastically well! I got two 2 lbs-plus roasts from Costco, doubled the recipe and stuck one in the freezer. The other was set atop a roughly cut-up large sweet purple onion in a stoneware roasting pan. It went into our crappy electric stove for 18 minutes at 500 degrees, then I set the stove for 170 degrees (this oven does not keep heat very well, so I opted for the low-heat method instead of the “turn off the stove” method.)

    I checked it at one hour mark, the meat thermometer said it was 110 degrees. Put it back in and took it out at approximately the 2-hour mark (I accidentally turned off my timer, so it’s just a guess) and the meat thermometer had it at 130 degrees. The roast was pink, juicy and perfect all the way through, the onions were crispy on top and melt-in-the-mouth under the roast. (The only thing better that the roast were the sweet, melty onions!)

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  237. The principal is sound. It was the best roast I have ever produced.Good advice on keeping the gas oven on 170 during the 2 1/2 hf period. I will be integrating this step on my next try. My first try required me to turn the oven back on to 200 and watch it closely until the meat reached 150 degrees. Question do you take it out at the desired temp ex 150 or do take it out at 145 degrees and let rest to reach 150 degrees.

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    1. Mike, since it’s cooking at such a low temp near the end, I don’t expect the roast to cook much (if at all) once taken out of the oven. So I take the roast temp at face value when making this recipe!

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      1. Russ I have made this recipe with a 3 lb roast and it was great- I am cooking a 5 lb one tonight and just want to confirm that after the 35 min at 500 degrees would it still only be the 2.5 hours on 170 roughly or is it longer? ( I found leaving oven on low worked best) thank you!

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  238. A little late to the party….but I have a 2.28lb eye round of water buffalo in the low-temp-for-a-gas-oven phase right now and the smell is driving me a kinda cray-cray…

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  239. I don’t have a big piece of beef but the roast is already cut in thick pieces….Does it change the cooking time?

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  240. Trying this cooking method for the roast tonight. Cooked it at 500 for about 25 minutes then off fir 2 and its rare still :/ I have it on 300 now and just keep checking it. I dont really know how its supposed to look when done but my husband doesnt like pink meat at all and no meat thermometer. HELP PLEASE!(

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  241. I have made eye of round steak in a toaster oven using this method. Instead of turning off the toaster oven turn it down to 250F. That will probably vary from one toaster oven to the next. They generally are a lot cooler than full ovens so 250 may sound high but on my Black and Decker toaster oven it still takes 3 hours to get the meat to 150F.

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  242. This is THE BEST recipe I have ever found online. It has become both a family favorite and a neighborhood legend… If only they knew how unbelievably easy it is…

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  243. This is in the oven right now! Very excited to try this out as I have always stuck roasts in the crock pot as I love to cook but have always been intimidated by them….ok it turned out great! My 3 year old had 3 helpings! Next time i will trust the process and not turn it to 170 after, I think it would have been fine :)

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  244. I’ve been roasting slow for a while now and found that the high heat 450F and then to the lowest setting on mine works great. But I still always use a meat thermometer every time. I have never had a negative from using one.
    It works great on these lower grade meat cuts.
    I cant comment on the gas ovens.
    If you add vegetables to the roast at anytime you might delay the process by up to 40 minutes as the vegetables pull a lot of heat.

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  245. This reminded me of turkey recipe I use. I put the turkey a roaster in the oven set at 500 for one hour, turn the oven off (I use the lock feature on my oven) and don’t open the door until the oven is completely cool, about 4 hours. Viola, one perfectly cooked turkey. There is a couple other steps in there, like pre-oven and size of bird, but it hasn’t let me down yet.

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  246. This may seem like a dumb question. I do not cook. My husband does. He is not home in time now to cook dinner so it is left to me. We have a grass fed 4.2lb Round Roast. It does not say eye or anything. Is it the same thing? Can I cook it this way? I hope it will fit in our dutch oven. We have a brand new electric oven so I hope it holds the heat.Do you think I should keep the oven on at 170 degrees? This is not cheap meat so if it does not turn out my husband won’t be too thrilled. I some how always mess up something when I am in the kitchen :) If the meat just fits, can the potatoes and carrots sit on the meat or should I cook them separate? Thank you!

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    1. Hi Shelby, not a dumb question! Round roast is likely taken from Top Round or Bottom Round, but those cuts can also be used for this recipe. I would suggest keeping it at 170F for the first time you try the dish. You’ll want to place the vegetables under the meat, let the meat rest on top and impart its juices to the potatoes and carrots. If they are having a hard time fitting in the Dutch oven, I would cook them in separate dishes (but at the same time). Hope that helps!

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  247. I tried this recently, and it turned out great. My question is this; I want to do it again but this time I have 2 roasts that are 2 pounds each, and I want to cook them at the same time. Should I go for 14 minutes at 500 in the beginning, or tack on a few extra minutes? What about the rest of the time? What do you suggest?

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    1. Mary, I would cook it for a couple minutes more, maybe 16, and keep the rest of the time as usual. Make sure there is a good distance between the two roasts and you should be fine!

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  248. Hi Russ! I’m doing this recipe tomorrow. I have a gas oven and I’m just worried cause the lowest temperature I got is 302 degrees. Do I still turn it to the lowest after a few minutes at 500?

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    1. Rizza I would suggest wrapping the roast in two layers of tinfoil after it has gone through the 500F stage then turn the oven off and check it after 2 hours. To make it easier I would place to large sheets of foil on a baking sheet, then the roast, and when it’s ready to be wrapped all you have to do is grab the foil and wrap it around the roast. Hope that makes sense, good luck! A minimum setting of 302F would overlook the roast so I think that’s your best bet in retaining the heat.

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  249. I love, love, love this recipe. It’s the only way I ever make eye of rounds now. Thank you! :) I’ve cooked it this way for my husband and he loved it, and he usually doesn’t like beef rare or med rare, but it came out med rare and he ate it non-stop. Cooked it this way for a family get together and they all asked me how I cooked it because they all thought it was delicious. And making one tonight – it’s in the oven right now. :)

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  250. I saw a few recipes for eye of round roast and decided to marry two together and the results were great and the meat was tender. I coated the meat with a flour and spices mixture and then seared the meat to retain moisture. I couldn’t be happier with the way it turned out and in gas oven, especially for the first time I’ve used this cut. Thanks Russ.

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  251. We seem to have had just the opposite problem from everyone here. We were targeting a medium rare roast, so we didn’t want the internal temp to go over 125 to 130. We started with a roast that was a little over 4 lbs. Our roast hit the 125 mark 40 minutes after shutting off the oven. I have not idea how high it would have gotten if we had not been monitoring it, and just left it for 2.5 hours. Now from my background in smoking meats, I figured the idea behind this method, at least in trying to get a more tender result, was to make use of “low and slow,” thus the 2.5 hour cooking time after the initial high heat. This implied that pulling the meat out after only 40 minutes would most likely result in failing to tenderize the roast. So we opened the oven door to slow down the temperature rise. Ultimately the roast got as high as 138. We babied it – by alternately opening the over door, or turning on low heat again – to try and hold this temp, or slightly lower, for the rest of the 2.5 hours. The result: A medium instead of a medium rare roast, tasty, with a crusty outside. However, I would certainly not characterize it as “like prime rib…with a tender inside.” No way would you have wanted to cut 1/2″ slices. We still enjoyed it, but by cutting slices as thin as possible, shaved like for a deli sandwich.

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    1. I’m also a smoker and I’ve never had a problem with this recipe or method. For Christmas I used this on a 10 lb Brisket. One hr at 500 dgs, then down to 170 deg for four hrs, came out a perfect tender juicy.

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    1. Yes, I am corrected on my use of “tin foil” often; it’s a product of living in Hawaii, and a hard habit to break – although to be fair, I’m not actively trying to remove it from my vocabulary :)

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  252. Cool, saw this site and gave it a try. Had a small roast 1.9 lbs. Did 17 min at 500, down to 170 for 50 min, was perfect ! thx :)

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  253. HAVE A QUESTION …7 min/lb at 500, BUT how long “per pound” does it get left in the oven after oven is turned off ? Surely 2.5 hours doesn’t apply to all regardless of size? (??)

    thx lyn

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    1. Hi Lyn, yep, that’s the beauty of the recipe – you cook it at a high heat for a determined timeframe (7 mins/lb), then 2.5 hours to finish and rest regardless of the size of the roast.

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      1. hmmm last one was perfect but maybe a lucky guess. Im not organized enough to wait 2.5 hours lol can you do this with ant type of roast ? thx Russ :)

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  254. “the part that goes against everything I’ve ever done in the kitchen”
    I’m always amazed when I hear people (esp my wife, who can’t get things like that out of her head) say things like that. I ALWAYS turn the oven off before the food is “done”. ALWAYS. Cooking something simple like a roast = heat transfer + chemistry. Heat transfers just fine regardless of whether the oven is on or off & your 500F is taking care of the chemistry.

    Likewise, I have to ask all of you to think twice about the idea that the meat should “rest for 10 minutes” after it has been basically resting in the oven for the last 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 or whatever minutes. Donning my science cap, I’ll say that the idea that meat should “rest” comes from the (highly questionable, as I’ve laid out) reality that most recipes push you to make the food (esp meat) reach its peak temperature just before you serve it. That, right there, has always baffled me, and I love my food hot.

    In a nutshell: “make the food (esp meat) reach its peak temperature just before you serve it & then let it rest before you serve it”. Baffling. Completely.

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  255. This recipe is ultra fantastic….Super easy too! I literally put it on, turned it off, had a great time with my husband, completely forgot about it, then served a ridiculously fabulous dinner that sort of cooked and presented itself!!!! MY KIND OF DINNER!!!!

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  256. I made this recipe last night using a 2.33 lb roast. It was absolutely fantastic. I too will never cook an eye of round any other way! Thank you for the recipe!

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  257. What kind of roaster will take 500 degree heat? I have an old white corningware roaster with rack, and I have a pampered chef stoneware roaster. Also, do I use the rack fopr this?

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    1. Hi Karen, any cooking surface that’s rated for 500F will do fine – we actually use a stainless steel skillet so that I can use the drippings to make a pan sauce, directly in the skillet after the roast is done cooking. We also have a small rack that fits in the skillet (stolen from a toaster oven, if I remember correctly), but we’ve done it both ways (with and without a rack) and the only difference is that the bottom develops a nice crust with the rack. A stoneware roaster will work fine but may cook the roast a bit more than a corningware roaster, since the stone will retain more heat (and thus cook the roast a bit more). Hope that helps!

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  258. Made your recipe today. Turned out great! I added whatever I had around the house….carrots, onions, potatoes.

    However, in the past, I would marinate pieces of beef which might be questionably tough. My marinade recipe:

    Rinse off your beef and place it into your largest bowl or equivalent cooking pot.
    Cover with two cups of red wine.
    Add two cloves of fresh garlic – cut up
    Add one medium-size onion – cut up
    Add about a tablespoon of whole cloves
    Add about a teaspoon of Thyme
    Add enough water to adequately cover the meat.
    Refrigerate at least one day.
    Discard the marinade. Rinse off the meat. Salt and roast

    The marinate helps to tenderize the meat.

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  259. Just did this for the first time today.
    Good taste but the ends of the roast were a little chewy.
    It was done way faster than the recipe.
    I suspect that is because my propane oven has difficulty with such low temps.

    Family loved it and will do it again.
    Thanks

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  260. Meat is in! It is only a little 1.25 pounder. Suggestions? I have an electric oven – currently at 500 degrees…for 6 minutes…and counting. Should I set it back now to its lowest setting and check on it in about an hour? Help!

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    1. Checked on it around 3 p.m. — almost done. By 3:25/3:30 I sliced it open and it was a beautiful grey-pink. It LOOKED FABULOUS AND SMELLED DELICIOUS! Gave my boyfriend a little slice and his eye nearly popped out of his head!! “Nancy, you cook everything super – your chicken pot pie is to die for, but this, seriously, is the best, best meat you have ever, ever cooked!” Success!! Meat is now tented and “resting”. Gonna eat it in about 5 seconds!

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  261. Just put my 3.88 lb roast in at 500. I figure 28 minutes. Gas oven but I am a little worried because my oven’s lowest setting is 250 degrees. Any advice here:) Making it for my son, the roast beef lover!!!

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  262. Just tried the recipe with a new-ish gas oven. Roast was 2.7 lbs. and we left it at 500 for 20 min., then put the oven on 170. Took it out after 25 or so min. and it was already overdone. If you’re trying for the first time I would just turn the oven off.

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  263. This has NEVER FAILED MEPERFECT EVRTTYTIME AND Y OVER SUCKS.
    ENJOY DINNER…… OH DID I MENTION I PLACED A MEATLOAF ON TOP TO COOK AT THE SAMETIME?
    “CRAZY” & DELICIOUS. ENJOY.D

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  264. Your recipe turned out perfectly! The 3 lb eye of round roast came out at 134 degrees, perfect! Oven is pretty tight – Sears Kenmore Elite that’s 12 years old (oven has received minimal use). Thanks!

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      1. I am trying it now. After reading all the comments I think my electric oven may very well have cooling fans. I. Am checking the oven temp every 30 min. That will give me a good idea of how fast or slow my roast is cooking. I added halved ruby red potatoes coated in butter seasoned with a little select spices of my own sprinkled with crushed Rosemary. I loved to cook loved your recipe with a little twist of my own. 😉 It smells wonderful in here.

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  265. First, I couldn’t be happier that I discovered your site. I’m obsessed!!! Tried this recipe tonight, in a gas oven, so I left the oven on 170 after the initial 18 minutes on 500. Worked perfectly. You definitely want to keep an eye on your temp. I hit 138 degrees after about 90 minutes.

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  266. I tried this roast beef last week and it came out perfectly. Then this week I thought I would try it again but accidentally bought a pot roast. So I tried it anyway worth a few modifications. At 20 minutes I poured 2 cups of warm chicken stock into the Dutch oven, put a cover over it and closed the oven. I let the oven come back to 500° about 5 minutes, then I followed the rest of the recipe. The pot roast was perfectly seasoned, moist, and with enough stock to make a gravy.

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  267. I have successfully made this roast – several times now and I am always trying to get others to try to make it too! My trick for the “crust” is to coat the roast with Kitchen Bouquet. It makes the outside look and taste great! (I coat all of our steaks with it before grilling.) We have some familial issues with garlic……..but not with the KB.

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  268. I just cooked this for the first time. I did 500F for 25 minutes (3.5 lbs eye round) and then, 170F for 1 hour. It came out perfect and very tasty. This will be my go to recipe from now on. Thank you for sharing this recipe with us.

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  269. I just cooked this for the first time did 500 for 21 mins a lil over 2 lb roast then I turned electric oven down to 170 degrees cuz I wasnt sure if the oven would hold the heat or not. I put all of my potatoes, carrots and onions in it with some gravy. It came out medium well and was really good. Now my go to receipe ty

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  270. I cooked my 3# eye of the round at 500 for 21 minutes in a (blue star) gas oven – with fan on – turned the oven off after 21 minutes. I had digital thermometer with alarm set for 130…which it reached in less than 30 minutes after I turned the oven off! I’m sure it’s because of placement of thermometer. I stuck it in length wise – it’s a very long one. I have decided to remove thermometer and just let it go for the 2 1/2 hours with out watching the temp.
    Anyone have advice – should I not have opened the oven? I turned it up till the fire started again for a few seconds, and then turned it off to see if that would put the heat where it was when I opened the oven. I’m keeping my fingers crossed.

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  271. I have made this recipe several times. The only thing that I changed after the first time I made it…. was to double the seasoning, as far as the garlic I used 8 cloves! I would give this recipe 10 stars.

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  272. I cooked this recipe tonight in my gas oven with a 2 1/2 lbs roast.I cooked it @ 500 degrees for 14 minutes ( I like rare) and then turned the oven to 170 degrees and let stay for 2 hours ( again cause I like rare ) however it read 170 degrees and was juicey but no where near rare or medium rare.Omg what an awful waste of a roast..

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  273. Well, I am going to give this a try tonight. I never have any luck with roasts. They are usually not done enough or over done. The roast is 2.8 lbs so I put it in for 18 min @ 500, then I turned off the oven and left a note by the stove for everyone in the family NOT to open the door! I set the timer on the stove for 2.5 hours so I will let you know how it turned out soon.

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  274. Well, I followed the instructions exactly as shown. My meat was tender and done to perfection but the meat was not warm at all. I suppose that I could put the oven on 170 so that it will be warm but it would be too well done cooking for the full 2.5 hours. This is where I have the trouble in figuring how long to cook things. I did have really good gravy with this method so luckily it made lots so that the hot gravy could be poured on the meat.

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  275. Could you had the time and temperature for well done in you list please? Meat cooked less than well done is chewy for me. Not a pleasant experience. Thanks

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  276. I just did the eye round roast using your technique. All I can say is awesome . Thank you for this terrific way to cook a roast to perfection!!!

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  277. I have a very old electric oven. Sometimes I can feel heat and I do not think the seal is great. It’s a rental house so it’s not our oven. I really want to cook the roast this way but I’m concerned due to the oven not always sealing great. Any suggestions?

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  278. This was incredible. Hot with everyone in the fam–and that’s no small task. Your other recipes also look great. Can’t wait to try them.

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  279. wonderful method i like to rub the roast w mustard liberally then the montreal spice mix have had comments that this is the beef they have ever tasted!

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  280. Hey dude,

    Just had to reply because I did this with a 6lb round roast, swapped out thyme for Newie Savory , and Ms Dash for the salt. First rubbed it down with Olive Oil and then applied the “rub”. I did the 7 minutes a pound and I used a thermometer and with my oven needed an hour less when the oven was turned off ( new oven tight seal ) to get it medium ( a little more cooked than desired ).

    To quote my better half “Best roast I have ever had” and she was right, never cooking a round roast any other way and the left overs after our family meal made some great sliders for a few more meals.

    Liked by 1 person

  281. Followed the instructions almost exactly. Added some olive oil to the rub, otherwise per the recipe. Came out very nicely. Very flavorful and tender. I used a 1.7 lb roast, and cut times accordingly. Thank you, sir, for a good site.

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  282. Tried recipe on a 2.25# roast. Elevation 6,500 ft. Electric oven. Made full amount of seasoning mixture per recipe; used about 2/3. Roasted per recipe along with small russet potatoes (4″ long x 1.5″ diameter). Baked roast & potatoes @ 500˚ for 15 minutes. Turned oven down to 170˚. Checked internal temperature of roast after 1 hour and roast was already 150˚. Take aways: too much thyme–would reduce by 1/2. Potatoes were over done but edible. Use large baked potatoes.
    Do not modify recipe for 6500 elevation. Next time I will turn off oven instead of turning it down to 170 (evidently it does not lose heat). In spite of the fact that the meat was overcooked, it was tender. I will try the recipe again but with modifications. Bottom line: know your oven. Ideally, test it with an oven thermometer so you know how well it holds heat. Secondly, expect to make modifications based on the size of your roast. “One size fits all” does not work with this recipe.

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  283. Don’t waste your time or money on this recipe…….to cut to the chase…..MY DOGS ENJOYED THE BEEF VERY MUCH!……Horrible recipe

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    1. Walt, I beg to differ. This came out perfectly for me the first time I made it and it is now my go to recipe. The only thing I changed was to add more garlic because I love it. The meat was flavorful and very tender.

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  284. I obviously (from some of the comments) can’t speak for anyone else…. but I have prepared this roast several times for company and it ALWAYS comes out perfect. I wait until they come on sale and then buy one to put in the freezer for later. I do use an electric oven. Fixing to put a roast on again In about 20 minutes. Letting it come to room temp first. That makes a difference as well. Thank you Domestic Man.

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  285. I love this recipe. I follow this guideline for every roast I make ! I sometime tweak the rub just for something different. The meat come out perfect..every single time !!

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  286. What if you use a toaster oven…i wouldn’t recommend leaving the door open because the oven will shut off…so i left mine closed , is a toaster oven OK to use? also i had to reduce the heat 500 shorted out my power strip cord.,..causing me to trip the button to regain toaster oven power. nonetheless, it came out succulent…Nice work bud..I too can totally respect the Domesticated man…I love that

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  287. This recipe is fantastic !!! I did a 7 pound roast and followed the recipe exactly . I doubled the rub ingredients and massaged olive oil onto the roast as it didn’t have much fat on it . Wow !! Absolutely perfect med. rare and so delicious .

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  288. I feel like the master of the universe after just having cooked this! I really thought I was well on my way to making jerky, but against my better judgement, I gave this a shot. turns out my judgement was waaaaaaay off for so many years! all that time wasted searing, and marinating, and making “special juice concoctions”, and messing around with aluminum foil….ugh! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! No more cows dying in vein, never will I wreck a roast again!

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  289. Here is a simple step I have used over the last couple of years to make this roast tender. get a meat injector with a small needle, load up 2-4 oz. of worcestershire sauce and inject in several spots usually at a depth of 1-1 1/2″ into the meat. Do this while before seasoning the roast on the counter. If you want a nice crispy crust- 35 slices of bacon works great.

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  290. Russ – I may have commented here already at some point in the past few years. Since I found your recipe this has been the only way I cook roast beef. It comes out perfect every time! (I’m in the camp that leaves the oven on at 170. Works like a charm.) Every time I make a roast now, my wife raves over it. Thank you for helping me to impress her! :)

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  291. My new oven (electric) has fans that cool it down when you turn the oven off. Should I follow the gas oven direction of leaving the oven on low?

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  292. fixed my eye of round this way for a while. the best way to do it. i’m trying something new this time. trimmed most of the fat off before cooking. hope doesn’t make it tougher. might try adding couple of potatoes. hadn’t thought of it. i will visit your site more often. trying to learn how to cook.

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  293. I just rubbed all the spices on to the roast and letting it sit for a half hour. I’m making this for my husband’s birthday. Wish me luck. My roast is 2.6 lbs. How long should I put it in the oven for on 500 degrees if we like medium rare?

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    1. Thanks for the recipe. It’s a pleasure to read and appealing to someone who can’t seem to do a roast. I’ll try the method again. This first time the meat turned out tender but way too done, I’m sorry to say. When I took the roast out of the oven and pushed a thermometer into it, the needle zoomed round almost to well done…. When I sliced the roast…barley any pink. And I’d left the meat in the turned-off oven for one hour, not two hours. The oven is electric. The roast was only a pound and a half and boneless…. It was the top quality sold by the top supermarket around here. Maybe a butcher’s cut would work better…. Anyhow, I plan to try the method again next week leaving the meat in the turned-off oven for just half an hour. Will let you know…… Kind regards, Ruth Whetsel

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      1. Ruth, get an oven thermometer where you leave it in the meat, and the other end plugs into a digital read out. I forget what they are called. This recipe here, is the bomb. I always double the rub. Get yourself one of those digital thermometers and your roast will come out perfect.

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  294. Garlic burns in those temperatures. Will give the outer portion of the meat a bitter flavour. Why are you even posting this? Of ya you are young and inexperienced

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    1. George,
      Hundreds if not thousands of people have used this method, it’s fantastic and not bitter. Have you ever smoked a pork shoulder or a brisquette ? That crusty bark exterior is the tastiest bit to manny people.

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  295. I love a good roast but no matter what method I use, with the exception of potting it as in pot roast, Eye Round is a tough cut of meat. Even made into a pot roast the texture is dry. I think I’d rather pay a little more and get a meat with more marbleized fat through it to ensure a tender roast. Love your site and recipes, though.

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  296. I followed the directions but found the garlic rub burned and smoked up my kitchen. It actually set off the smoke alarm! Did I do something wrong? It was a 6 pound roast and I had it on 500 degrees for 45 minutes and then shut off the oven. Will let you know how it tastes.

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  297. This Is such a great recipe! I usually get a small round roast of about 1.5 to 3 lbs and follow the gas stove directions; I have had success every time. Being a single mom, this is a great way to make a special, yet simple, meal on a budget. Since using this recipe my son always asks me, “When we can have roast beast again?” Thanks for sharing this recipe!

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  298. All the people saying that it is ice cold, the recipe states to start with a roast that is room temperature. Starting with a cold roast means it won’t work right.

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    1. Hi Kacy, the cook time will be as indicated, 7 mins per pound. I would maybe omit the garlic because that long under a high heat would definitely burn the garlic and make it a little bitter.

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  299. I have learned that my oven has a fan that runs continually when it is off to help disperse the heat. So I have learned that I have to keep oven on to make sure it continues to hold the heat. Never had to with my old oven. Sometime old one stuff is better!

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  300. Made my eye of round toast today. Turned out great. Just used salt and pepper. 500 for 18 min for a 2.5 roast. Maybe a little less next time, but turned out a little punk in the middle.

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  301. OMG! The best eye round I’ve ever had and the jus was perfect and I followed your advice for a gas oven. I’ll do that also the next time we do this method for a prime rib. Our last attempt was a failure as they never mentioned the gas oven conundrum…. Fabulous. Thank you so much

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  302. MY Dutch Oven is approx. 6 inches deep – will this work for “perfect eye of the round roast recipe? Have a roast sitting in my refrigerator just waiting to be cooked.

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  303. I made a 3 pound roast how long is it in between medium rare and rare, gorgeous, but it was tough to cut and even chew. Now I’m wondering when I can use it in so that I can somewhat tenderize it or something?

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  304. I made a 5lb roast tonight for Valentine’s dinner for the family. It turned out SPECTACULAR! I cooked it for 35 mins at 500°, then since I have a newer gas convection oven – I set the oven to “keep warm” which is 175° on my oven. I check the internal temperature of the roast twice. Once after 30 mins, then again 30 mins later. I wanted “rare” so that was 130°. I was worried because each time I temperature checked the roast, it seemed tough just trying to get the thermometer in. However, when it reached my desired 130° temperature, I pulled it out of the oven and covered it with aluminum foil and left it alone on the counter until dinner time. About an hour later when my mashed potatoes, gravy, and succatash were ready the roast was perfectly tender, pink and juicy! The instructions of 7 mins per pound at 500° are spot on for searing the outside to a scrumptious dark crust. This recipe is a keeper!

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