Peppercorn Crusted Grilled Eye of Round Roast (2024)

Published: Mar 3, 2021 · Modified: Feb 2, 2023 by Jason C · This post may contain affiliate links · Leave a Comment

Peppercorn Crusted Grilled Eye of Round Roast with a Homemade Creamy Horseradish Sauce will blow you away in just 70 minutes!

Eye of Round might be considered a budget cut of meat but the end result doesn’t have to taste that way – and the only person who will know is you.

We are like you guys – we grill A LOT. Pretty much most weekends you’ll find us firing up something from simple burgers or steaks to fish caught on the Atlantic. We aren’t afraid to grill up just about anything and share it here with you.

This roast came in our Butcher Box order a couple of times and we decided to start playing with it on the grill and can’t wait to share everything we love about this surprisingly tender cut of meat.

Why This Recipe Works

Optimizing a Tough Cut of Meat – Lets not lie and say this is a cousin to a rib eye, because it isn’t. It isn’t the toughest cut but it’s not on the ultra tender list either. Learning how to grill less expensive meats expands your options beyond wings, burgers and rib eye steaks.

Quick and Super Easy – This is a quick and easy recipe to put on the grill even on a weeknight. It isn’t complex or difficult to do so you can come home from work, heat up the grill and season this one up. It’s on the grill about 40 minutes is all so you can either make some Foil Wrapped Sweet Potatoes or Grilled Mexican Street Corn on the grill at the same time or whip up a big salad indoors for the perfect weeknight meal.

🥩 Ingredients

Eye of Round Roast – Eye of Round comes from the rear leg area of the cow and is extremely lean. The lack of marbling lends itself to being a tougher cut of meat and it can also dry out quickly. Learning to cook this delicate roast is not hard and with some tips and tricks, you’ll be able to grill it to perfection.

Multi-Colored Cracked Peppercorns – The peppercorns set we used this time also had crushed up garlic and salt included. You can use any peppercorn seasoning or try one like this, which can be found in the seasoning aisle at your grocery store. You can see in the photos that they are cracked a little bit which makes them great for this recipe. You will want to make sure yours are crushed a little bit to break open that flavor.

Horseradish – To make a creamy horseradish sauce, start with a base of “prepared” horseradish, which you will find with the mayonnaise at the grocery store. Horseradish is a perennial favorite that comes from the same family as mustard and wasabi. Horseradish is a root vegetable that is pungent and fleshy and often used for medicinal purposes. In this case, we’ll take advantage of the amazing flavor profile.

🔥 Grilling Instructions

Step One: Heat the grill to 400 degrees and remove the roast from the refrigerator for about 30 minutes to rest. You want the roast to be close to room temperature before adding it to the grill.

Step Two: Rub the roast with 2-3 tbsp of olive oil and then roll the roast in crushed peppercorns. Press the peppercorns into the roast if they fall off. The oil will help them stick surprisingly well. You may need to add some to the ends by hand.

Step Three: Place the roast over direct heat on the grill and sear both sides for about ten minutes each. After it has been seared, add the eye round to a disposable aluminum pan and place over indirect heat at 350 degrees until internal temperature reaches medium rare or 135 degrees. I added the heat diverter on the kamado grill and closed the vents a little.

⚠️ Warning: This roast will get up to temperature fast, so make sure to monitor it closely. One of the keys to a tender piece of meat is keeping the beef to a medium or medium-rare temperature.

Step Four: Remove the roast and allow it to rest for 5-8 minutes on the counter with a foil tent over it. This allows the roast to keep all the moisture inside as it sets up.

Step Five: Creamy Horseradish Sauce – Combine all the ingredients into a small bowl and mix with a wooden spoon. Place in the refrigerator until ready to to serve. Making this a day earlier helps bring the flavors together even more.

💡 Recipe Tips

When picking out the jar of prepared horseradish, make sure you choose the one that says “prepared.” There are other mixes in the store, but you only want the prepared horseradish.

Don’t overcook the roast. This is one cut of meat that you really are going to want to cook it medium rare to medium and leave it. If and when you cook it more, it can get tougher to eat.

If you overcook it, use our fun trick to turn it into a sandwich mix. We put chunks through a food processor with some mayo, mustard and pickles for a fun Grilled Beef mix. There is no need to let it go to waste if you overcook it.

Slicing tips for a tender bite – Cut the slices off the roast and then cut it into bite-sized pieces AGAINST the grain of the meat. We sliced it a little thicker off the roast (as you will see in the photos) and then sliced it very thin when it was time to eat.

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