Country Style Slow Cooker Eye of Round
Eye of round is a flavorful but very lean muscle, so the key to this recipe is low heat for a long time. Make sure that you are generous with sauce at the end— it helps keep every bite moist and delectable. Serve hot— reheating risks drying out the meat.
Ingredients
1 Eye of Round Roast (2.5 lbs)
1 tbsp Olive Oil for rub, 2 tbsp for pan searing
2-3 tbsp Dry rub (anything tasty— otherwise very generous salt and pepper)
4 medium carrots (approx. 2 cups)- diced
4 celery stalks (approx. 2 cups)- diced
1 large onion (approx. 2 1/2 cups)- diced
1 large shallot (approx. 1/2 cups)- minced
3 cloves garlic- minced
2 tbsp tomato paste
2 cups beef broth
3 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp honey
1/2 cup red wine
2 tbsp cornstarch
2 tbsp butter
2 tsp red wine vinegar
Preparation
This recipe is written for an old-school slow cooker— newer ones allow a one-pan approach for the browning as well as the reduction of the sauce.
Rub Eye of Round Roast with 1 tablespoon of olive oil, then season generously with salt, pepper, and if you wish, a dry rub of your choosing.
Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large skillet over medium high heat until shimmering (use the “saute” or “brown” function if using an all-in-one slow cooker).
Brown roast, turning every 1-2 minutes for 6-8 minutes total. Remove from heat and set aside on a plate. Reduce heat to medium.
Add carrots, celery, onion, shallots, and garlic to pan, stirring and scraping up the browned bits. Cook for about 5-7 minutes, until edges of onions begin to turn translucent. (if using an all-in-one slow cooker, continue to use the sauté function, but lower to medium heat).
Stir in tomato paste until vegetables are evenly coated, about 1 minute. Turn off heat.
Place vegetable mixture into slow cooker and set to 8 hours (minimum) on the low setting.
Add beef broth, Worcestershire sauce, honey, and red wine to vegetables in pot and stir to mix.
Add roast to vegetable and liquid mixture. Cover with lid.
Cook on low setting for at least 8 hours, rotating the roast every 2 hours or so.
After 8 hours, remove roast from slow cooker and set aside. Transfer liquid and vegetables to a medium saucepan and reduce over medium-low heat (it should be at a vigorous simmer) for 15-20 minutes. (we like the veggies in our sauce, but you can also strain out the veggies if you want a smooth, more refined sauce— follow the next steps regardless)
Mix 2 tbsp cornstarch with 2 tbsp warm water until dissolved and add to reduced liquid mixture. Cook for 2-3 minutes while sauce thickens.
Stir in butter until melted.
Stir in red wine vinegar. And you’re done!
To Serve
Slice roast into 1/2 inch slices. Transfer to a serving dish or platter and smother with sauce. Serve additional sauce on the side. (The photo above only shows about half of the sauce in action, so there’s plenty of it— be generous!)
Slice roast into 1/2 inch slices and serve in a deep serving dish smothered in sauce.
Serve like a stew— smother slices in sauce and serve over mashed potatoes or noodles… or on their own.
…the main thing, obviously, is the smothering-in-sauce!