Sunday Supper 4: Eye of Round Roast (with Mashed Cauliflower and a Whiskey Pan Sauce)

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Recipe by Russ Crandall, available at The Domestic Man

*Click the link above to see the full recipe, or find it at the bottom of the page.

Made On: January 24, 2021

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With a snowstorm in the forecast, and temperatures settling into winter lows, I was on the hunt for a nice roast dinner this week. Something hearty and filling, but also a little decadent. A low-and-slow dish that would fill my apartment with the delicious aromas of rendering fat, and toasting spices. Blissful winter domesticity.

Most of the recipes I turned to first were chicken. A whole roast chicken with vegetables is, after all, a standard. A classic. And a go-to for a single-guy-on-a-budget-eating-leftovers-all-week. I have friends who can make literally a dozen or more meals out of one chicken. I stand in awe of their frugality and resourcefulness.

But this time, I wasn't feeling it. I've had quite a bit of chicken lately, and now I was craving something a little pinker. Something "meat"-ier. A steak sounded great, but wouldn't yield the leftovers I was looking for in this snowy week. Pork chops almost scratched the itch, but for some reason felt a little more spring than winter.

Then I found this recipe, the so-called Perfect Eye of Round Roast, which seemed to fit the bill. A big hunk of beef, cooked to medium rare, with some accompanying vegetables and an Old Fashioned felt like just the meal to warm my cold bones. In addition, this recipe (actually more of a method than a full recipe) utilizes a cooking technique I'd read about a couple years ago and never actually tried (more on that later), so I was excited to dig in.

I took this photo before I remembered to dress the greens. But trust, I didn't just eat raw arugula.

I'd say, in the end, I got about 80% of what I was hoping for here. In terms of flavor, the very simple dry rub on the outside of this roast was punching way above its weight. The simple combination of garlic (a lot of it) with freshly coarse ground black pepper, kosher salt and dried thyme was just the right amount of savory and herbaceous. The salty, naturally-sweet mashed cauliflower and the bright greens and acidic vinaigrette balanced out the meal beautifully. In terms of texture, I didn't quite get there. Eye of Round is a tough cut of beef, to be sure, but this recipe encouraged me to trust the unorthodox method to deliver a juicy, pink, tender piece of meat. I got close, but didn't land on the prime-rib-like texture the original author achieved.

So about this cooking technique. The recipe's author calls this technique "both crazy and intriguing," and I call it "concerning." But on a basic level it makes some kind of sense, so I was game to give it a shot. Essentially, you crank your oven up. Like all the way up. (500°F) Throw the roast in and cook that bad boy for 7 minutes per pound. Then, and here's the weird part, you turn off the oven, keep the door closed, and walk away for 2 1/2 hours.

Every cooking instinct you've got is probably throwing up red flags right now. And I definitely feel that. It felt totally wrong to me, too. Meat needs heat to cook, and I was definitely not in the mood for a carpaccio sort of situation.

But I did it anyway. Cranked the oven up ungodly hot, then turned it off and let the roast sit in the oven with the light on like a forgotten kid after school. (Not that that ever happened to me .... BRB, calling a therapist).

And then I changed course.

When I'd had my 2.6 lb roast in the oven for about 18-19 minutes, I dutifully turned off the heat. I had my concerns about my oven retaining the kind of heat needed to continue cooking the oven, so I laid my hand on the oven, and then on the door, to gauge the external heat at 500° so I could track it (albeit unscientifically) throughout the next 2.5 hours. But as I sat down and read the recipe again, I scrolled to the bottom and noticed the authors caveat about gas ovens not holding enough heat to execute this recipe properly. After that, and several issues from commenters, I went back to the kitchen and found the oven basically cold (on the exterior). I switched tactics to the author's suggestion of a very low oven (mine went as low as 170°) and checking the temperature of the roast every half hour or so. After another 40ish minutes I was in the low 130° range through most of the roast (a solid medium rare) and a little over 140° on the fatty side.

Whether it's my mid-course change in tactic, the initial method itself or the inherent lean-ness of the cut of meat, the texture just turned out a little wonky. A denser, tougher chew than the tender, juicy bite I was promised. The kind of meat that feels a bit like work.

With some whiskey pan sauce and a creamy cauli-mash, I was able to make it work. The star-of-the-show roast I didn't get made a fine ensemble-co-star with a complete meal.

MY PREPARATION NOTES

• My experience held true with the author's note. My gas oven just didn't retain the heat to properly cook this roast once turned off. I'd be very interested in trying this again with an electric oven, just to see if the method works.

• I threw my spice rub into a mortar and pestle and beat it up a bit to get the juices in the raw garlic flowing, making a sort of loose paste. I found this easier to stick to the roast.

• I usually like my beef just a touch more done than this, maybe closer to 140 than 130, but I was worried about a leather texture, so I pulled it early.

• This roast, toasted on a roll in the toaster oven with some cheese, made a delicious leftover sandwich the next day, despite the textural issues.

SIDE DISH RECIPES

Whiskey Pan Sauce

• 1 T Pan Drippings

• 1/4 c whiskey

• 3/4 c, plus 2 T broth or stock (beef, chicken or vegetable)

• 2 T butter

• 1 t cornstarch

1. After you remove the roast from your pan, drain out all but on Tablespoon of drippings

2. Add whiskey, and cook and reduce by a little more than half over medium-high heat while scraping up the drippings and brown bits of goodness (fond) from the pan with a wooden spoon.

3. Once the whiskey has reduced, add 3/4 cup broth or stock. Continue to cook, stirring or whisking often, until reduced to about 1/2 cup of liquid.

4. Stir on butter 1 T at a time until it melts and incorporates.

5. In a separate bowl, mix cornstarch and 2 T broth or stock to make a slurry. Add the slurry to the reduced liquid in the pan and cook to your desired thickness. Add more broth to thin the sauce, if you like.

6. Taste, then season with salt and pepper to your liking.

Cauli-Mash

• 1 large head of cauliflower, riced or very finely chopped

• 4 T butter

• 2 whole, peeled cloves of garlic

• 1 t salt

• 1/2 t white pepper

1. Melt the butter in a large 4 quart saucepan, and cook just beyond melted until the milk solids start to brown.

2. In a separate small saucepan, bring 3-4 cups of water to a bare simmer.

3. Saute the cauliflower and garlic (seasoned with salt and pepper) in the melted butter for about 2-3 minutes until they lighten and soften slightly.

4. Pour just enough simmering water to cover the cauliflower into the larger saucepan and boil until cauliflower is tender (6-10 minutes).

5. Remove garlic cloves and reserve 1/4 cup of cooking liquid.

6. Drain cauliflower and return to the saucepan. Add in reserved cooking liquid and puree with an immersion blender (for a smooth, creamy consistency) or a hand mixer or potato masher for a more rustic texture.

7. Taste and season with salt and pepper to your liking.

Rating: 3/5 (for the roast)

Will I Make It Again: Maybe. I'd try it with an electric oven, just to see.

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