Eye of the Round Roast

Step 1

Cut cross hatch marks across the fat cap of the beef. If your roast does not have a fat cap, omit this step.

Step 2

In a mortar with a pestle, place salt, pepper and garlic and mash to a paste. This can also be done on a cutting board pressing the edge of a knife blade across the garlic. The salt helps to mash it.

Step 3

Mix in the thyme, mustard and one tablespoon of the oil and again, mash to a paste then smear all of the roast.

Step 4

Place the roast in a gallon zip lock bag, press out the air and seal. Refrigerate for at least six hours or up to 24 hours.

Step 5

2 ½ hours before serving, remove the roast from refrigeration and turn oven to 500 degrees F. Let roast sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before roasting.

Step 6

Line a small sheet tray with foil for easy cleanup and place a small rack over the foil.

Step 7

Remove the roast from the bag and place on the rack. Brush on the remaining tablespoon of oil.

Step 8

Place in the oven for 25-30 minutes to sear. Should be browned and slightly crispy on outside.

Step 9

Remove from the oven and insert a probe thermometer into center. (Normally we insert into the end but we wanted to show slices without a thermometer probe hole, so inserted through the top instead. Either way is fine.)

Step 10

Lower oven temperature to 225 degrees F and place the roast back in the oven.

Step 11

Set probe to alarm at 120 degrees F for medium rare. (Less time for rare, more for medium to well, see chart in notes.)

Step 12

Once the roast reaches the desired internal temperature, remove from the oven but leave the probe in and tent the roast with foil to rest for 15-20 minutes. After it rests, you can remove the probe.

Step 13

To make the pan sauce, scrape any drippings from the foil into a small sauce pan and heat. Once bubbling, add the wine and cook to evaporate. Add the stock and gravy color and heat to bubbling. Mix the softened butter and flour to form a paste (called a beurre manié), then add to the sauce pan and cook the sauce over medium low for ten minutes. Taste and season if needed with salt and pepper. Strain into a gravy boat.

Step 14

After resting, slice the roast against the grain from one end to the other and serve with the pan sauce. Any juice that collected after resting can be added to the pan sauce.