Sous Vide Eye of Round
on Dec 01, 2023
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This sous vide eye of round is as tender and juicy as a prime center-cut, but it’s 70% cheaper! It’s the BEST (and only) way to cook this tough beef cut to medium-rare. With just a few ingredients, this recipe is foolproof and makes the most moist eye of round roast I’ve ever had. Serve it with mashed potatoes and enjoy it as you do with a prime rib!
After the first bite of this sous vide eye-of-round, my husband asked immediately, “what took us so long to find this way to cook eye of round?” For years, I thought braising and slower cooker are the only ways to cook this tough cut, with the meat completely well-done in the end. Whenever I cooked them to medium-rare via grilling, pan-frying, or roasting (following recipes I found online promising a tender result), I was always disappointed. That’s where this sous vide eye of round comes in!
In many ways, it’s like a prime rib roast or filet mignon. It’s tender, moist, and flavorful. Sous vide cooking is the ONLY method if you want to eat a rare or medium-rare eye of round roast, as cooking it at a low temperature for a long time can break down collagen and connective tissues. It transforms this lean and tough cut into a delicious eye of round roast that’s perfectly moist from edge to edge. Great for a festive holiday meal on a budget!
Watch Sous Vide Eye of Round Recipe Video
A few simple Ingredients will make your eye of round shine with this cooking method
Eye of round is a very lean yet flavorful cut of beef as the muscles get lots of exercise. It’s from the round primal on the backside of the cow, along with the top round, bottom round and sirloin tip. To sous vide cook this cut, all you need is a simple seasoning (made of salt, pepper, garlic powder, sugar) and oil for searing.
Do I need a vacuum sealer?
No, you don’t have to use a vacuum sealer. As you probably noticed, I use ziploc bags for most of my sous vide recipes. The trick is called the “water displacement method”: Add your food to a ziploc bag and slowly place the bag into the water. Make sure everything below the zipline is covered by water. Then seal the rest of the bag.
If your roast is too big for one bag, you can cut it into 2 pieces and use 2 bags.
You’ll need a Sous Vide Machine, large pot, and skillet for this recipe.
How to Make Sous Vide Eye of Round
Ok, this is NOT a quick way to turn a tough cut into tender meat. It’s not difficult but it takes time – 16 hours. But it’s totally worth the wait!
No need to take the meat out of the fridge ahead of time. No marinade or brining required! As a matter of fact, you can even cook it directly from frozen (the cooking time is the same)! Here is how it goes:
First, preheat the Sous Vide Precision Cooker to 130°F (54°C). Update: Since I wrote this post I’ve received a lot of feedback from the readers. Some suggested cooking it at 120°F or 130°F (instead of 136°F). I have tested these temperatures, and 130°F is my new favorite temp!
Then season the roast. Whisk together salt, pepper, garlic powder, and sugar. Season your meat generously with the seasoning.
Vacuum-seal the meat and cook! Vacuum seal the seasoned roast, and place the bag in the sous vide warm water bath, cover with aluminum foil and cook for 16 hours. You can leave it in the water bath for extra 1-2 hours.
Sear to finish. When the timer goes off, remove the roast from the bag and pat dry with paper towels. Sear for about 2 minutes per side, just to caramelize the outside. Add more seasoning if needed.
That’s it! It’s impossible to mess up!
Sous Vide Eye of Round Beef Roast Tips
- Don’t skimp on seasoning. It’s essential to season your roast generously before sous vide cooking. It will make your roast more flavorful.
- Cover the pot with aluminum foil. This will minimize water evaporation. Remember to check the water level halfway through to make sure the meat is completely submerged. Add more water if needed. Tap water is ok as the sous vide machine will bring the temperature up quickly.
- Pat dry with paper towels thoroughly before searing. Because moisture on the surface will prevent a caramelized crust from forming.
Serving Suggestions
For this recipe, you don’t need to let your eye of round rest as it is for traditionally cooked meat. I like to serve my sous vide eye of round the same way I serve prime ribs:
Simply carve the roast against the grain and serve with your favorite sauces. My favorites are Arby’s Horsey Sauce and Au Jus.
For the side dish, my top choice is rich and creamy mash potatoes. For greens, Broccoli, Asparagus, and Green Beans pair very well with sous vide eye or round.
If you have leftovers, you can cut them into thin slices or strips, and use them to make French dip steak sandwiches or steak salad.
Enjoy!
More Favorite Sous Vide Recipes
If you love this sous vide eye of round, try cooking one of these tough cuts with your sous vide machine next:
Sous Vide Eye of Round Roast Beef Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 lbs eye of round*
- 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt, (or 1 teaspoon regular salt)
- 1 ½ teaspoons fresh ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
Instructions
- Season eye of round: In a small mixing bowl, whisk together salt, pepper, garlic powder, and sugar. Season your eye of round roast generously with the seasoning.
- Preheat the Sous Vide Precision Cooker to 130°F (54°C)**.
- Vacuum seal: If you don't have a vacuum sealer, you can place the seasoned roast in a zip-lock bag. Vacuum seal the bag using the water displacement technique: Simply seal all but one corner of the bag. Slowly place it in the water bath, making sure everything below the zip-line is covered by water. Then seal the rest of the bag.
- Sous vide cook: Leave the bag in the sous vide warm water bath, cover with aluminum foil, and cook for 16 hours. (It’s important to cover with the foil to minimize water evaporation. You’ll also need to check the water level halfway through to make sure the meat is completely submerged.)
- Sear: When the timer goes off, remove the roast from the bag and pat dry with paper towels. (You can save the juice from the bag, and cook it down to make gravy for the roast).
- Add oil to a large skillet over medium-high heat. Once the oil is hot, sear the roast for about 2 minutes per side, just to caramelize the outside. Add more seasoning if needed.
- Serve: Slice sous vide eye of round against the grain. Serve and enjoy. You don’t need to let it rest.
Notes
- * You can also cook your meat straight from frozen. The cooking time is the same as long as the size is similar. For a larger cut, you’ll need to cook it longer for an extra 6 to 8 hours for a 5-lb roast.
- **I recommend cooking it to a rare or medium-rare doneness. In my original recipe, I set it to 136 F for medium-rare, but I like it even more with 130F, thanks to our readers’ suggestions. Here are some other temperatures:
- 25 °F / 52 °C for rare
- 136 °F / 58 °C for medium-rare
- 145 °F / 63 °C for medium
- 160 °F / 71 °C+ for well-done
- How long to sous vide eye of round? It’s ready after 16 hours, but you can leave it in the water bath for an extra 1 to 2 hours. Avoid cooking it for too long, as your roast can become mushy.
- To reheat leftover eye of round roast: Reheat in the sous vide water bath at 130F for about 1 hour or until the middle of the roast is warmed through.
Nutrition
Nutrition information provided is an estimate only and will vary based on ingredient brands and cooking methods used.
Per Serious Eats, you should not sous vide anything for longer than 2.5 hrs if your temp is <130°F: https://www.seriouseats.com/food-lab-complete-guide-to-sous-vide-steak#toc-temperature-and-timing-charts-for-sous-vide-steak:~:text=1%20to%204%20hours%20(2%201/2%20hours%20max%20if%20under%20130%C2%B0F/54%C2%B0C)%C2%A0
I've always assumed that this is because the aerobic environment of the sous vide is perfect for the cultivation of deadly botulinum bacteria and the botulism toxin they produce. This Reddit r/sousvide post (https://www.reddit.com/r/sousvide/comments/42dubm/the_science_about_botulism_for_sous_vide/) suggests otherwise. Regardless, cooking at 2.5 hrs can result in food poisoning and that can kill someone with other health issues.
TL;DR: You should remove the mention of cooking at <130°F from this page that requires ca. 16 hours of cooking time before someone dies.
I made this last night, and I was absolutely blown away.
I usually buy Eye of Round to make nice, chewy Beef Jerky – but this – OMG.
I cooked it at 131 for 20 hours, and it was literally as tender and juicy as a Prime Rib.
I still can’t believe how great this tasted, and how melt-in-your-mouth tender it was.
The roast came out delicious. Next time, I will lower the temperature to 130 to get a little bit more rare. But I was serving this one to people I don’t know, and it was good.
Hi George, great to hear that. Thanks for letting me know.