Recipe updated: April 16th, 2024
Put away the steak knives folks, this recipe for beef eye of round steak is not only a tasty steak, especially with the right seasonings, but it is simmered until it is super tender. It is an easy recipe to make, just season, brown, then it simmers for a few hours. And the best part is the kiddos can eat it. The steak cuts with a fork. Steak knives are not needed!
Some great side dishes that go with this round steak recipe include boiled baby potatoes and baked beans. Homemade potato salad, Rice a Roni with cheese, corn on the cob, homemade mac and cheese, air fryer potato wedges, roasted corn salsa, tortellini pasta salad, buttered cauliflower, and mashed potatoes are also other favorite side dishes with this steak. A garden salad or fresh vegetables are also a good choice of side dishes too.
🔪 Key Ingredients
- 4 medium-sized beef eye round steak
- 1 tablespoon of 100% pure canola cooking oil (or your favorite)
- 1/2 teaspoon of Johnny’s seasoning salt
- 1/4 teaspoon table salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
👩🍳 How to Make Eye of Round Steak
These step-by-step instructions are accompanied by detailed photos for enhanced clarity and guidance.
Step 1. Brown the Steaks
Turn the burner on medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon of 100% pure canola cooking oil, olive oil, or whichever is your favorite vegetable oil to the frying pan together with 4 medium-sized beef eye of round steaks.
Note: These eye of round steaks came straight out of the freezer because I decided at the last minute I wanted to make this recipe for dinner. If your steaks are already thawed, the browning time may take a little less than the 20 minutes mentioned below.
Step 2. Turn the Steaks
While the eye of round steak cooks, sprinkle 1/2 teaspoon of Johnny’s seasoning salt together with 1/4 teaspoon of table salt, and 1/4 teaspoon of ground black pepper over the top of the steaks. Continue to fry the steaks on medium-high heat for about 20 minutes until they are browned, give or take a few minutes. You may have to turn the burner down to medium heat. At this time, you can add any of your favorite seasonings too.
Step 3. Keep Browning the Eye of Round Steak
Every few minutes, keep turning the steaks over in the frying pan while browning them.
Step 4. Poke Holes in the Steaks
While the steaks are browning, poke the steaks in a couple of spots with a fork so the heat can cook the inside of the steaks.
Step 5. Brown for Twenty Minutes
Usually, steaks brown in about 20 minutes, but that could depend on the type of stove you are cooking on. If you have a gas, electric, or induction stove, keep in mind the difference in heat each one can produce.
You can serve the steaks now if you like medium-rare steaks. But if you want a tender steak that requires no steak knife while eating it, follow the remaining cooking instructions below.
Note: The CDC (Center for Disease Control) advises cooking meats to the right temperature. Whole cuts of beef should reach an internal temperature of 145 degrees Fahrenheit. Then they should be allowed to rest for 3 minutes at room temperature before carving or eating. This temperature is high enough to kill germs that can make you sick. The easiest way to check the internal temperature for the degree of doneness is to use an instant-read thermometer. Insert the thermometer in the center of the meat.
Step 6. Add Water and Simmer
After browning, fill the frying pan with water to cover the steaks. Reduce the heat and simmer for about 3 and 1/2 to 4 hours. When the water level goes down in the frying pan, keep adding more water.
Step 7. Let the Water Evaporate
About 30 minutes before dinner time, let the water evaporate from the frying pan. Do not add more water to the frying pan. Place the eye of round steaks on a paper towel to absorb any oil you don’t want to eat, then serve. The photo below shows the eye of round steaks after simmering for about 3 and 1/2 hours until they are so tender that you can leave the steak knives in the drawer.
💫 Recipe Variations
- There are different kinds of steak that can be used for this recipe instead of the eye of round steak. For example, top round steak, T-bone, top sirloin, or any other lean cut of meat.
- Add any of your favorite seasonings besides the ones used in this recipe such as onion powder, Kosher salt, garlic salt, or garlic powder.
- Toss in some raw sliced onions or green beans in the frying pan about five minutes before the steak is done.
- A lot of folks like to sprinkle a little bit of steak sauce or Worcestershire sauce on their steak right before eating it.
🙋 FAQs
Put any leftover steak in an airtight container or a ziplock bag in the refrigerator. We usually don’t have any leftover steak, but if we do, I use a small ziplock baggie. If we have any leftovers, we always try to eat them within three days.
I have never put any leftover steak in the freezer after I have already fried it in the frying pan, so I am not sure if you can or how it would taste after it has thawed. If you have done this, leave a comment and tell us how that turned out.
💡 Final Thoughts
There are many different ways to prepare cuts of beef and the cooking time can vary too. A few cooking methods are broiling in the oven, grilling on the BBQ, or putting the steak in a Dutch oven (a heavy-duty pot with a tight-fitting lid) and placing it in the oven to bake for a few hours. Another method is searing the meat in a hot pan for a couple of minutes at a high temperature.
You can also use a slow cooker, a crock pot, or an air fryer. All of these cooking methods are easy to do and taste delicious. This recipe for eye of round steak is a slow cooking method in the frying pan on the stove. I call it simmering the meat for a few hours.
📄 Recipe Card
Recipe for Eye of Round Steak
🫕 Equipment
🧂 Ingredients
- 4 beef eye of round steak (medium-sized)
- 1 tbsp canola oil
- 1/2 ts Johnny's seasoning salt
- 1/4 ts table salt
- 1/4 ts ground black pepper
👩🍳 Instructions
- Add the canola cooking oil to the frying pan.
- Add the beef eye of round steak to the frying pan.
- Sprinkle Johnny's seasoning salt, regular table salt, and ground black pepper over the top of the steaks.
- Brown the steaks on medium-high heat for about 20 minutes. Keep turning them in the frying pan.
- Poke the steaks with a fork a couple of times so the heat can cook the inside of the steaks.
- After browning is done, fill the frying pan with water to cover the steaks.
- Simmer for about 3 and 1/2 to 4 hours. When the water level goes down, add more water.
- About 30 minutes before dinner time, let the water evaporate from the frying pan. Do not add more water.
*️⃣ Recipe Notes
- You can cook the beef eye of round steak however you prefer, but the longer the steak simmers, the more tender it will be.
- When there is still a little bit of water left in the frying pan, you can toss some raw onions around the steak. Saute the onions for a few minutes to get the onions tender and hot.
💑 More Steak Recipes You Will Love
- Pepper Steak – This is a recipe you will want to make over and over again. Slow simmering sirloin steak with sliced onions, and yellow, red, and orange bell peppers. Seasoned with soy sauce, salt, black pepper, Lawry’s seasoned salt, and garlic salt. Topped with sliced tomatoes and served over a bed of white rice.
- Flank Steak – This flank steak is broiled in the oven. There are nine different seasonings. Light brown sugar, chili powder, paprika, table salt, ground black pepper, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, ground mustard, and ground cumin.
- Steak Kabobs Marinade for Grilling – This steak recipe is a meal on a stick with sirloin steak, red bell peppers, yellow bell pepper, red onions, and 13 different seasonings. So good!
- Recipe for Philly Cheesesteak – Oh how I love this Philly cheesesteak. Any lean cut of beef such as rib-eye, round, or sirloin, chopped yellow onions, slices of Provolone cheese, olive oil, chopped red bell pepper, and one teaspoon of Lawry’s season salt all piled onto a soft hoagie roll. So delicious!
A wife, a mother to a son and a daughter, and a grandmother to three granddaughters. Flo loves sharing recipes passed down from her own mother, her mother-in-law, and her grandmother as well as new recipes created with her daughter, Tamara Ray.
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