How to Reverse Sear a Tomahawk Steak on the Grill
Easy steps for a perfectly grilled Tomahawk steak.
How to grill the perfect Tomahawk Steak on your first try
I don't normally cook Tomahawk steaks, but recently I had some guests who wanted to try them but didn't trust themselves to cook them. So they offered to buy the Tomahawks if I would grill them.
Obviously I was up for the challenge.
2-1/2” thick Tomahawk Steaks.
I picked up two beautifully marbled 45 oz Tomahawks from my favorite local butcher (who cuts them fresh) and was ready to go. After much research I came up with a plan of attack to reverse sear these monsters and it all worked out to perfection.
I'll share with you my approach, as I would definitely follow it again.
Sea salt on the Tomahawk steaks for the refrigerator.
How to Cook Tomahawk Steaks to Perfection on Your First Try
Step-by-step instructions appear below, but this is the flow for my Tomahawk Steak cooking process.
I began by liberally salting the steaks nine hours before the cook. I've read anywhere from 12 hours to 24 hours, but I can tell you that after nine hours these 2-1/2" Tomahawk steaks were perfectly seasoned.
I let the Tomahawks sit on a grill rack in the fridge for seven hours.
I removed the Tomahawk Steaks from the fridge for the final two hours before cooking to let them come up to room temperature. Most of the salt was gone (absorbed into the meat), but a little moisture remained. Since I was starting these steaks in the smoker, I left the moisture as I knew it would dissipate during the low and slow cook before the sear stage.
Rub added and onto the Big Green Egg at 225°F
Just before putting them into the Big Green Egg for the low heat portion of the cook, I covered both steaks generously with my favorite rub.
To do a reverse sear, I first cooked the steaks in the Big Green Egg using the heat shield (indirect heat method). I inserted a remote probe into the center of each Tomahawk so that I could maintain constant temperature control.
This is critical.
I cooked the steaks in the Big Green Egg over hardwood lump charcoal (no extra wood chips added, as I didn't want to smoke them, just slow roast them with the mellow addition of natural wood smoke).
I was aiming for a final serving temperature of 130°F for medium rare, with a max of 135°F. So to get that, I would need to cook the Tomahawks to less than that initially. This allows for temperature increases that happen during resting and searing stages (both of which will bump up the internal temperature).
As the steaks approached my target pull temperature of 120°F (the temperature to pull them from the low heat), I started two more charcoal chimneys to use in my FireMagic Argentinian-style grill.
This was the second grill that I used for the final searing.
You could also increase the heat of the grill you are using, but I wanted to speed things up by having a second grill ready at full hardwood lump charcoal heat (instead of waiting for the Big Green Egg to climb from 225°F to 600°F+). If you only have one grill, that is what you will have to do.
On the Big Green Egg, I cooked the steaks with indirect heat at 225°F for one hour, at which point the Tomahawks were reading 121°F and 123°F respectively. I thought it might take 45 minutes, but it actually took an hour. Heat was consistent in the Big Green Egg at 225°F for the entire time. I pulled the Tomahawks from the Big Green Egg and set them aside.
While prepping the second grill, the steaks climbed to 127°F and 128°F respectively during resting (the residual heat within the meat). So I now know that a Tomahawk Steak will increase in temperature by approximately 5°F or 6°F while resting.
Searing Tomahawk Steaks over hardwood lump charcoal.
I then lightly oiled each steak with high-heat oil (Canola in my case) and began searing them right over the screaming hot coals. I left the remote thermometer probes in the steaks to keep an eye on temperatures. I kept flipping the Tomahawk steaks every 20 or 30 seconds or so and was able to sear them for approximately four minutes. I was surprised that the internal temperatures of the steaks did not rise more rapidly, but these are thick steaks and they can take it.
When the searing was done, one Tomahawk clocked in at 133°F and one at 135°F. They were done and very well charred, which is what we all like.
The 133°F steak was textbook medium rare—fully and evenly pink throughout thanks to the reverse sear method. The 135°F steak was still pink, but somewhere between medium-rare and medium.
I carved off the bone, then carved off the cap (the best part in my view) and then carved the ribeye. Both steaks were like butter and truly exquisite. These two steaks fed four hungry people and there were leftovers for two more meals at least. So I would says that two 45 oz Tomahawks could easily feed five or six people (with sides).
Perfect even cook on the Tomahawk Steak.
Tomahawk Steak Cooking Timeline
9 hours before cook: liberally sea salt both sides and all edges of each Tomahawk steak
2 hours before cook: Remove steaks from fridge to come to room temperature
Start your cooker and get it to 225°F indirect heat
Add any rub, pepper, etc. to your steaks, insert temperature probes and start the cook
Around the one hour mark pull the Tomahawks at a target temperature of 120°F
Lightly oil the steaks with a high heat oil (canola or similar) and sear the steaks over high heat (600°F+)
Monitor the internal temperature and stop the searing when they reach target temperature or when you have enough sear.
Your Tomahawk steaks should be at your target temperature (130°F for medium rare) and you are ready to enjoy!