Recipes / Meat
Reverse-seared tomahawk steak
A thick bone-in rib steak cooked slowly with the lid closed on a kettle braai, then seared hard over fresh hot coals and carved off the bone.
- Prep
- 15 min
- On the fire
- 1 hr 15 min
- Plan ahead
- 2 hours in the fridge with the rub, then 1 hour out before cooking
- Serves
- 3 to 4
- Done at
- 145°F (63°C)
Ingredients
Method
Cooking on gas?
- Set up for indirect heat: light the outside burners (or one side of a two-burner grill) and leave the burner under the food off.
- Close the lid and adjust the lit burners until the lid thermometer reads the temperature in the recipe. Put a drip tray under meat.
- Gas holds a steady heat, so you can skip any step that adds fresh coals. Go by a thermometer in the food rather than the clock.
- For a smoky taste, put a handful of wood chips in a smoker box, or a foil parcel pierced with a few holes, over a lit burner while the grill preheats.
- Rub the steak with the oil, then with the salt, pepper, paprika and garlic powder mixed together. Refrigerate it uncovered for 2 hours and take it out 1 hour before cooking.
- Set up a kettle braai for indirect cooking, with the coals on one side and the lid vents half open. Aim for about 120°C (250°F) under the lid.
- Put the steak on the side away from the coals and close the lid. Turn it every 15 minutes for 45 to 60 minutes.
- Take it off when a thermometer in the middle reads 8 to 10°C (15 to 18°F) below the doneness you want. Rest it uncovered for 10 minutes.
- While it rests, add fresh charcoal and open the vents to get the coals very hot.
- Sear the steak directly over the hot coals for 2 to 3 minutes a side, then hold it on its fat edge and against the bone for a minute each. Brush with the butter, using the rosemary as a brush.
- Cut the meat away from the bone, then slice it 1 cm (1/2 inch) thick across the grain.
Done when: the crust is dark and a thermometer in the middle reads 63°C (145°F), the safe temperature for whole cuts of beef. Many braaiers prefer medium-rare at 54°C (130°F); for that, pull it from the indirect side at about 46°C (115°F) before searing.
Tips
- Wrap the exposed bone in foil during the slow stage if you want it to stay pale for serving.
- No kettle braai? Bank the coals on one side of an open braai, keep the steak on the cool side and cover it loosely with a foil tent.
- A digital probe thermometer left in the steak takes the guesswork out of the slow stage.
The tomahawk is a rib-eye steak cut with the whole rib bone left long and cleaned, which makes it look like a hatchet. It is too thick to cook over hot coals from the start, so the reverse sear cooks it gently first and browns it at the end. The setup is the same as in our kettle braai indirect guide.
Source
Adapted from Lockdown Recipe of the Day: Reverse-seared Tomahawk Steak at Daily Maverick and Reverse-seared tomahawk steak with fresh pico de gallo salsa at TASTE.