There is something about the smell of a roast that says "this is home". On Sundays my Mom would often make roast beef dinner with mashed potatoes, gravy, and homemade pie for dessert. If you would like to serve that wonderful meal for family and friends I have good news for you. It can be done easily and economically.
The trick is how the roast is prepared. I basically follow the directions from Shannon Hayes in her cookbook The Grassfed Gourmet and the roasts are juicy, tender and delicious including less expensive bottom round (rump roast), eye of round, and top round roasts. Below are the directions.
Super-Slow-Roasted Beef by Shannon Hayes
1 beef roast, such as top round, bottom round, eye of round, or sirloin tip.
Herb rub (my favorite) - 1/2 tsp garlic powder, 2 teaspoons coarse salt, 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper - mixed together NOTE: There are many different rub recipes but make sure that a generous amount of salt is included.
Rub the roast with your favorite herb rub or your choice, wrap loosely in plastic, and allow to sit at room temperature for 2 hours.
Preheat oven to 250 degrees.
Place the meat in a small roasting pan, insert a meat thermometer, and cook for 30 minutes. Turn the oven heat as low as you can (most modern ovens do not go below 170 degrees, but if yours will accurately go as low as 150 or 160, so much better). Continue cooking the meat until the thermometer registers 120 to 125 degrees. Because these tend to be lean cuts, I recommend that you do not cook them any further than medium-rare. As a guide, figure on 1 hour and 10 minutes per pound of meat at 170 degrees. (I find that 200 degrees is a better temperature to roast at - it could be my oven since all ovens are different)
Remove the roast from the oven, tent loosely with foil, and rest for 5 to 10 minutes. Carve into VERY THIN slices to serve.