Dry Pot Roast

[Roll_Bones]

Yesterday, I made a pot roast with a half eye round. Browned it well with onions and garlic cloves then added stock brought to a boil on stove, then into a 300F oven for 3 hours. Last hour I added the root vegetables.

Roast was so dry! Like sawdust. Vegetables excellent. If not for the best gravy, it would have been impossible to eat.

So, what did I do wrong? Over cook the eye round? I usually use chuck that has much more fat. So I'm pretty sure its over cooked. What do you guys say?
And what can I do with the remaining roast. I almost trashed it last night, but figured I would ask here first.

Thanks John

 

[Andy M.]

I think your error was in the cut of meat you used. Eye round is very lean and has little or no connective tissue. You need fat and connective tissue to give you moist pot roast. IMO chuck roast is the best choice for this type of recipe.

 

[dcSaute]

...eye round...
totally the issue, completely agree.


so, while we're on the cut....
what exactly _is_ an eye round good for?
I stopped buying it years ago . . . because it cooks up like congealed sawdust....

 

[Kaneohegirlinaz]

That a very good question! What would you use eye round for? I was trying to think when was the last time I've seen it the meat case...

As to the leftover roast... Stroganoff? Something with loads of gravy/sauce

 

[taxlady]

I would think that eye round would make good chicken fried steak. If it is cut across the grain and pounded thin, it should be tasty and not dry.

 

[GotGarlic]

msmofet uses it to make very rare roast beef. It looks amazing. Sliced thin, it's what you make Philly cheese steak and deli roast beef with. I keep meaning to try it.

 

[msmofet]

Eye round is the only cut I use for roast beef. I use left over eye round and pan gravy to make beef barley soup.

 

[taxlady]

Eye round is the only cut I use for roast beef. I use left over eye round and pan gravy to make beef barley soup.

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Do you have a meat slicer?

 

[DaveSoMD]

My experience is that it needs to be cooked more on the rare side of the scale rather than the well-done side.

msmofet, that roast looks amazing!!

Eye round is the only cut I use for roast beef. I use left over eye round and pan gravy to make beef barley soup.

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[Roll_Bones]

I think your error was in the cut of meat you used. Eye round is very lean and has little or no connective tissue. You need fat and connective tissue to give you moist pot roast. IMO chuck roast is the best choice for this type of recipe.

...eye round...
totally the issue, completely agree.
so, while we're on the cut....
what exactly _is_ an eye round good for?
I stopped buying it years ago . . . because it cooks up like congealed sawdust....

You are both right.
I always made it roasted rare and sliced thin. My wife hates rare meat.
My grandmother used to make it braised with a Spanish Chorizo (Dried not fresh) shoved into it from both ends. They called it Bolichi. Sorry if my spelling is wrong. It was one of my favorite things as a child.
This is what made me try it. I had no Chorizo.

That a very good question! What would you use eye round for? I was trying to think when was the last time I've seen it the meat case...
As to the leftover roast... Stroganoff? Something with loads of gravy/sauce

We see it regularly. I was waiting at Costco for them to grind some beef and saw it in the case. Otherwise it would have never been picked up to start with.
I might just give it to the dog. Little by little. It is extra dry. But our Yorkie is a pig and will eat anything.

msmofet uses it to make very rare roast beef. It looks amazing. Sliced thin, it's what you make Philly cheese steak and deli roast beef with. I keep meaning to try it.

Yes, thats how I was taught to make it. My ex MIL and ex wife and ex FIL all liked rare beef. It was there I saw how tender it could be. They always used eye round.
Yes, its entirely my mistake.

Do you have a meat slicer?

Yes. Actually it sits in my basement. When my Dad died I got it. Its not a big commercial kind. Its a smaller home use type deal. And why its most likely down there rather than up here.
Of course we would not have room for any slicer up here anymore.

 

[GimmeAnother1]

i like this guys version for regular stove cooking
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=it7ba8gSE9U


and this one for instantpot
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EwYSkXYq-oI




with the caveat that pot roast is generally tougher than roast beef (although instantpot breaks it down pretty well).

 

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

Eye round is the only cut I use for roast beef. I use left over eye round and pan gravy to make beef barley soup.

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If I'm not mistaken, eye of round is also known as inside round. It is good for two things, IMO, rare roast beef, sliced very thin, against the grain, to be served with au jus, or in a number of sandwiches, including Phlly Beef, or corned, and sliced paper thin, again, against the grain.l This corned beef is what is found in deli-corned beef.

Eye of round is also good when smoked to medium rare, or rare, using cherry, apple, white oak, maple, or alder. Again, hte key to good eye of round is rare to medium rare, and slicing paper-thin against the grain, like MsMoffet does.

Seeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North

 

[GotGarlic]

and this one for instantpot
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EwYSkXYq-oI
with the caveat that pot roast is generally tougher than roast beef (although instantpot breaks it down pretty well).

Is a rump roast the same as an eye round? If it's as lean as an eye round, no matter how much you cook it, it will never be tender, like a pot roast should be. It's just not the right cut for braising or pressure cooking. Pot roast made with a chuck roast is fall-apart tender, juicy and delicious, as it should be.

 

[dcSaute]

msmofet uses it to make very rare roast beef. It looks amazing. Sliced thin, it's what you make Philly cheese steak and deli roast beef with. I keep meaning to try it.

oh dear.... I would suggest not mentioning that thought to Gino or Pat

 

[msmofet]

Do you have a meat slicer?

Nope. I slice it by hand as thin as possible.

My experience is that it needs to be cooked more on the rare side of the scale rather than the well-done side.

msmofet, that roast looks amazing!!

Thank you Dave.

 

[GotGarlic]

oh dear.... I would suggest not mentioning that thought to Gino or Pat

Shrug [emoji2369]

 

[Andy M.]

msmofet uses it to make very rare roast beef. It looks amazing. Sliced thin, it's what you make Philly cheese steak and deli roast beef with. I keep meaning to try it.

I believe deli roast beef is made with top round, not the eye.Some of the famous cheesesteak shops use thinly sliced ribeye.

The eye is a relative smaller cut, maybe 4"-5" across and shaped like a tenderloin.

 

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

I believe deli roast beef is made with top round, not the eye.Some of the famous cheesesteak shops use thinly sliced ribeye.

The eye is a relative smaller cut, maybe 4"-5" across and shaped like a tenderloin.

Yes, Andy, you are correct. I was thinking of the larger top round (not the same as an inside round as I had previously mentioned). The Baron of beef is usually a top Sirloin Roast and is cooked the same way, slow and low until rare to medium rare, then sliced thin, against the grain. Sorry about erroneously punting out bad info.

Thanks for the correction, Andy.

Seeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North

 

[msmofet]

ShopRite and other supermarkets around here sell sliced Eye Round roast beef (regular and Italian varieties) at the deli case.

 

[Kevin86]

What kind of pan did you use? On small roasts I like my heavy dishes with a lid I find the thinner roast pans burn or dry out quicker