Eye of the round roast

This isn't really a recipe, but more of a bragging opportunity to tell you about the amazing roast beef I made on the weekend. I had an eye of the round roast in the freezer, and was looking for an interesting way to cook it. As you may know, it's not the most exciting cut of meat, but it can be fairly inexpensive.

I stumbled on a foodie forum where folks were talking about a cooking method from Cook's Illustrated that transforms this mundane cut of meat into a tasty, juicy roast. I gave it a try, and the results were amazing. I can't even find a written recipe to share with you, but here are the general instructions.

1. Coat meat in kosher salt (I used about a teaspoon and a half), and rub in well. Wrap meat in plastic and refrigerate for 24 hours.

2. The next day, bring meat to room temperature. Preheat oven to 225F. Unwrap and dry well (the salting process will draw out a bit of juice). Coat lightly in olive oil and sprinkle all over with black pepper. No need to add more salt.

3. Sear all sides in a hot pan for about 10 minutes. Once seared, put in oven for about an hour to an hour and a half, until the internal temperature reaches 120. Then, turn oven off and leave meat until temperature raises to 130. I skipped this last part, because my meat was already at 125 when I checked it at just over the hour mark. Ovens are notoriously different, so you'll have to gauge yours.

4. Let meat rest for 15 to 20 minutes before slicing. The resulting roast is tender, moist and has an excellent beefy flavour. I'll definitely be using this method again.