This Inexpensive Cut Of Beef Is The Perfect Prime Rib Copycat

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Here at Foodie, we're all about the best affordable steak cuts ... but this holiday season, the secret to subbing out pricey prime rib might not be a traditional steak but a sliced roast. For many families, prime rib is a symbol of festive decadence, a custom that puts one in mind of a celebration. With grocery prices spiking, however, prime rib may not be in the budget this year. We've covered a cheaper alternative meat cut for prime rib, but we're back, back, back again with a parallel, superb suggestion: eye of round roast. Just like the poor man's prime rib we previously discussed, the secret to making a roast melt in your mouth is how you cook it. A humble roast beef can become as buttery as prime rib, provided you handle it correctly.

While prime rib, like a rib roast, comes from the ribs of cattle, eye of round roast comes from the animal's shoulder. It's a lean cut of muscle that gets a lot of working out, and it cooks quickly to that prized medium-rare degree of doneness that ensures the best juiciness and flavor. The marbling is much finer than on prime rib. This can actually be a blessing for those who dislike the fattiness of prime rib, especially when eating it as leftovers. If you cook on a low temperature and utilize carryover cooking, however, you can serve up a round roast that eats like prime rib for a fraction of the price.

Social media denizens endorse salting your meat and letting it dehydrate in the fridge for 24 hours before cooking. This not only removes moisture, but also tenderizes your roast all the way through. "Low and slow" is the catchphrase when it comes to your oven; ideally, you won't cook the meat at anything higher than 225 degrees, and only until the inside comes up to 115 degrees. Then, you rest the meat and let the magic of carryover cooking bring it up slowly to 130 degrees. This method excites the enzymes inside the meat that account for tenderness. Obviously a great meat thermometer — we like the huge number of high reviews on the ThermoPro TP16 — is an absolute essential.

Most people like a crisp golden sear on their beef, and you need not compromise that in a quest to cook your eye of round roast perfectly. Experts like to cool the roast in the freezer for a quarter hour before searing at high heat in a pan to ensure that no cooking happens to the middle of the roast. To make sure the diameter of the meat is even for consistent cooking, you may want to tie it tightly with butcher's twine, just like you would a tenderloin. Keep in mind that, once it's cooked, eye of round roast should be sliced thinner than you would a rib steak for maximum enjoyment. With a bit of preparation and some tender, loving care, you can cook your eye of round roast so it comes out every bit as succulent as prime rib, without breaking the bank.