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Faux Prime Rib

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Prime Rib is one of those coveted cuts of meat that is infrequently served at home by families for several reasons, the expense, the length of time it takes to properly prepare, etc- but here’s a poor man’s prime rib recipe that tastes like the real thing; at a mere fraction of the cost, roughly less than $1.50 per person!

This poor man’s prime rib is as tasty as any fancy prime rib but you won’t be feeling the dread of having spent $16 or more per person to enjoy it.

faux-prime-rib

Using Cheaper Cuts of Meat

Contrary to popular belief, you can take cheaper cuts of meat and turn them into delicious meals with minimal effort. For instance, this recipe takes about five (5) minutes of preparation time. Eye of round roast is usually one of the least expensive cuts of meat you can find and is cut from the beef hindquarters.

A round steak is sold in 3 different “cuts” -which are the Bottom Round, The Top Round (which can be a steak or a roast labeled London Broil), and the Eye of Round (again, sold as steak or roast). For the sake of this mock prime rib recipe, we recommend the Eye of Round as it is the Most Tender cut of the three and will yield the delicious flavor and tender results needed to achieve the perfect faux prime rib!

faux-prime-rib

Case in point, this eye of round roast was $2.99 per pound, which is by far the lowest price for any USA raised beef in our area. This one roast will easily serve 8 people a hearty 8oz serving which equals about $1.48 per person for an (almost) Prime Rib Dinner.

faux-prime-rib

You’ll Need:
1 Eye of Round Roast (3-4 pounds)
1 Tbs. Cracked Black Pepper (Freshly Ground)
1/2 tsp Thyme
1 Tbs Garlic Powder
1 Tbs Onion Powder
1 tsp Coarsely Ground Salt
1/4 tsp Crushed Rosemary

Preheat the oven to 500F (Yes, 500F). While it is preheating, Combine all of the spices in a small bowl, mixing well.

Place the top round roast in a casserole dish and rub it vigorously with the seasoning mix, make sure to rub the ends with seasoning too. Turn the roast so the fattiest side is facing UP.

faux-prime-rib

Place the meat in the oven and reduce the temperature to 475 F. Cook the meat for 7 minutes per pound. (For a 3 lb roast, cook it for 21 minutes, a four-pound roast cook it for 28 minutes).

Once the meat has cooked for the appropriate amount of time, immediately SHUT Off the oven but DO NOT OPEN THE DOORS. Leave the Roast in the oven for another 2 1/2 hours.

Do NOT Open the Oven doors at any time until the very end or it will NOT Cook Properly. The internal temperature of the roast should be 145 F when you take it out. Cover it lightly with foil and let it rest about 10 minutes before slicing it thinly. Serve with baked potatoes and salad or any other side dish you prefer.

faux-prime-rib

Your Thoughts?

We’d love to hear your suggestions and thoughts too, please feel free to share them in the comments below!

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28 thoughts on “Faux Prime Rib”

  1. a great recipe with an excellent rub. at &1.50 per adult serving, this is a frugal feast. Au gratin potatoes would be an excellent side. And if you want to make it extra fancy a steamed green vegetable would add great color.

    The leftovers (if any) could be used in your wonderful stuffed pepper recipe or in a steak sandwich we love our prime rib with horseradish and sour cream.

    Makes you feel wealthy on a budget!

    Reply
    • I tried this last week and wanted to post how delicious it was…my son who loves good beef loved it. I used a top round and followed the instructions…I did have to use regular salt and Tarragon as I was out of Kosher/sea salt and Thyme. Absolutely delicious and cheap…meat bought on BOGO.

      I have been using your techniques to lower grocery bills and have gone from probably 1000 a month easy (maybe more) to 350 per month…in November and December (both holiday months).

      This month, it will be less I think. We do not hunt and had a small garden…next year a bigger garden should help lower the bill further. We have been spending way to much period…we have three kids and a handicapped person living with us…teens and adults…picky teens at that…six in all.

      We are on our way to an emergency fund and did not tap our credit line in December.

      This is a first…we have always used our credit line and then spent forever paying it off…we also had a 500 car repair and a ticket for hov lane violation (did not know you need ez pass these days for this lane) and managed. thanks for this great website and have a nice day.

      Reply
    • Think eye of round roast would be okay? Have this on sale here this week.

      I don’t see why it wouldn’t, just make sure it doesn’t exceed 3 lbs. You want it to cook all the way through.

      Reply
      • I’m confused…the recipe calls for “eye of the round” roast, yet someone asked if “eye of the round” roast would work. What cut of meat should be used for this recipe?

        Reply
  2. love this suggestion! i will serve with herb baked potato (i rub potatoes with olive oil, and a spice mix [i use salt, pepper, thyme, oregano, basil, onion powder, garlic powder, and parsley] then bake at 350 for about an hour. I think also, I agree with MabelMartha, that some steamed veggies would be lovely.

    I’m thinking some spinach cooked with little green onions and diced tomato.

    If I have some I may even add some New Zealand corned beef to the spinach (amazing!). Dessert? Maybe some Apple Pie Cookie Squares, or Lemon Meringue Pie…

    Reply
  3. cooking as we speak. can’t wait to try it. going to have french dip sandwiches made from leftovers tomorrow night.
    going to serve tonight with leftover garlic mashed potatoes and steamed spinach.

    Reply
  4. ooh, my! one of my absolute favorite things!:springsmile:

    i do believe this recipe will make it into this month’s menu! like…this weekend, if i can find a nice one. um.

    my tummy just started grumbling, & my mouth is watering.

    and it’s 2:30am.

    Reply
  5. thank you for sharing that you made it and it was good. just because it looks good i still wonder so anyone who has made it and liked it thank you for saying so .

    Reply
    • Thank you for sharing that you made it and it was good. Just because it looks good I still wonder so anyone who has made it and liked it thank you for saying so .

      Hi Jody, welcome to the site! I definitely understand the hesitation in trying “online” recipes. I try to be as straight up as possible- I’ve had a few … um.. not so great experiences too- like my Booby Feet Day(strike that, more like WEEK). Usually though, if a recipe is a fail, we dump it into the frugal Flops category here, or I don’t waste time posting it at all.

      Of course, I realize that everyone has different tastes and just because we like it doesn’t mean everyone will.

      Reply
  6. loved this recipe made it with regular salt and tarragon instead of kosher/sea and thyme (did not have it). i have gone from well over a 1000 to 350 for December 2013 and November 2013 grocery bills following your technique…thanks so much ! We are feeding teens and adults by the way so this is remarkable and no complaining either.

    Reply
  7. i had to research this because i’m not too familiar with cuts of beef. lol for anyone else who can’t find it in the store, it looks like it is often called london broil.

    Reply
  8. my anniversary is coming up the end of this month, dh loves meat, beef in particular. i am thinking this will be a perfect meal; the beef, some garlic-y scalloped potatoes, steamed buttery lemony asparagus, homemade yeast rolls, and some decadent dessert am thinking chocolatey just cause the rest of the meal was planned with his taste preferences. will have to start browsing for desserts over the next week.

    Reply
  9. great timing! my army son coming home from 2 years in Germany and looking forward to some home cooking! This is right up his alley!

    For future reference, if I am cooking a smaller roast (since its usually only 2 of us)….for a 1-1/2 to 2 lb roast, would I stick with the prescribed
    2-1/2 hr “rest in the oven” timetable or adjust it to less?

    Reply
  10. i cooked this last night, the flavor was great, but it was tough as heck. it was a 1.75 eye of round, so based on the 7 min per lb I cooked it at 475 for 12 minutes and left it in the (off) oven unopened for 2.5 hours. Pretty sure I followed the instructions to the letter, so I’m not sure if i’m missing something here or I just got a real bad piece of meat.

    Reply
    • I cooked this last night, the flavor was great, but it was tough as heck. It was a 1.75 eye of round, so based on the 7 min per lb I cooked it at 475 for 12 minutes and left it in the (off) oven unopened for 2.5 hours. Pretty sure I followed the instructions to the letter, so I’m not sure if I’m missing something here or I just got a real bad piece of meat.

      I would think if the roast is smaller then you’d not only decrease the cooking time but also the ‘off’ time as well as it continues to cook. I’m thinking maybe leave in 1 hour 15 minutes for a roast weighing 1.5 pounds.

      Reply
  11. The recipe was followed to the letter. At the end of the 2 1/2 hr wait, the internal temp of my roast was 120°. What should I have done differently?

    I used a 3 lb.

    eye of round roast.

    Reply
  12. The rub is fantastic! The final product was amazing. I really didn’t expect such a cheap cut of meat to work out so well, but it was delicious.

    I have to say that we actually tried this twice, the first time, the meat was tougher and wasn’t fully cooked, but then we bought an oven thermometer and discovered that the temperature wasn’t working properly.

    The second time around it was perfect.

    Reply
  13. I made this today for contractors lunch…it turned out wonderfully …sliced for sandwiches. It was tender and delicious. I made a four pound eye of the round…I also inserted a meat thermometer that had an alarm when it hit 145.

    Reply

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