How to Cook an Eye of Round Steak (Smokehouse Style)

Sharing is caring!

Most people buy rib eye, sirloin, or porterhouse when looking for a piece of meat to grill.

However, some of the tastiest meats are the cheaper cuts.

The tougher cuts have more connective tissue, so when cooked right, they can be better than a sirloin (trust me).

Learn to make master round eye steak on the BBQ with me. (Along with why I think charcoal grills give you the best flavor!!)

Note: You would be correct thinking that a Weber isn’t a smoker, but if you use the charcoal snake method, you can smoke on your charcoal or gas grill!

Why Use The Round Steak (Isn’t It Tough?)

All cuts of beef have different flavors and prices! 

We have found that notoriously tougher cuts (the ones with more connective tissue) are often the most flavorful.

You just have to have patience and a good strategy. Then your steak will come out plump, juicy and on-par or better than the expensive cuts.

One piece of meat is that usually forgotten is the eye of a round steak.

This cut comes from the midsection of the animal.

The round steak (or known as girello cut) tends to be a tough section to work with.

Little fat and a little flavor is the usual end result of working with this type of steak.

However, once you learn here to master the art of the best way to cook eye of round steak, your friends, family, and wallet will thank you.

Cooking Tip: When you have oxygen surrounding your food, it begins to break it down quickly and the flavors are affected. Try vacuum packing your food, this is a good way to save the quality of your meat and increase the flavor.

Recipe for For Grilling an Eye of Round Steak

Below you will find my 3 steps to cooking a round-eye steak as well as the tools required.

What You Need to Grill Eye of Round Steak

The things you will need to cook this are quite simple. If you follow this you will get the best out of your meat.

Grill, salt block or a charcoal smoker. If your cooking midweek, you can also try cooking your steak in a pellet grill.

Eye of Round Steak – You can purchase a roast and cut your own or pre-cut steaks.

Zip Lock Bag.

Very sharp knife & chopping board.

BBQ Rub.

Fresh Garlic, Salt, Pepper & Oregano.

Step 1: How To Prepare Your Round Steak

1. The very first to do it to remove any excess fat from around the edges of your cut.
   
   The fat is flavour however only when it runs through the meat. The fat on edge can go tough when it cooked. 
   
   Note: Before you start make sure you know how to tell if steak is bad, you don’t want to serve with subpar steak.
   
   
2. Once you have the fat removed, tenderize the steak with salt & pepper, a pinch of oregano and 1 minced clove of garlic. Make sure you season and rub both sides of the meat. 
   
   
3. Next, grab your ziplock bags or vacuum sealer and try to remove as much air as you can.
   
   You now want to place this in the fridge for at least a 8 hours. This allows the ingredients to permeate through the meat.

Step 2: Grilling Your Steak

1. An hour before you plan to grill, put the steaks in a freezer.
   
   Freezing the meat will give you a good sear while slowly cooking the middle part. You don’t need the entire steak to freeze in that hour you just want it to harden up a bit.
   
   
2. The next step is to get your fire started. It is recommended you use lump charcoal or briquettes.
   
   Try using a charcoal chimney to get your fire started, this allows you to get the fire started without the need for lighter fluid.
   
   
3. Once the fire has burnt the coals down to a grey color you can dump them into the grill.
   
   
4. If you end up using lighter fluid, make sure the briquettes are grey before putting your meat on the grill. Grey briquettes will let you know that the lighter fluid has completely burned away.
   
   
5. The best way to cook eye of round steak is to put your meat on the grill but not where the direct heat is.
   
   Direct fire or heat can burn your garlic and leave a bitter taste. Cook for about 4-7 minutes covered with a good air flow, flip your steak and allow for 5 more minutes.
   
   
6. After this time you want to check the meat is cooked. Using a meat thermometer check the thickest part of the meat.
   
   You want to see a consistent reading of around 145-150°F or 50-55 °C. This will put the steaks in the medium rare range and will produce the most flavour.

Step 3: Serving Your Steak

1. Put your steak on a chopping board and cover for 6-10 minutes. This allows the meat to rest and juices to settle.
   
   
2. While you let your steak rest, easily clean your grill by turning it to high for 5 – 10 minutes.

Note: If you are in a rush you can forgo the fridge process however it will affect the taste at the end.

Wrapping it Up

The most rewarding part is seeing the magic you create with this notoriously “tough meat”. 

Once you have mastered the art of the round eye steak, you can move onto other challenging cuts.

You will also find that these cuts are usually the ones left at the supermarket. Plus more often than not, you will get them at a heavily discounted price.

I highly suggest smoking beef roast! Its an awesome twist on a family classic.

Charlie

Still Hungry For More?