As a longtime BBQer, I’ve learned that a tomahawk steak is more than hype; it’s a favorite steaks choice because the rib bone stays attached to the meat, fully intact, with a long bone that is often cut extra long. Many butchers cut generously thick, keeping the bone still attached, which creates a stunning presentation that looks incredible on the grill. This awesome cut of meat comes from tender rib meat, also known as rib-eye, ribeye steak, bone in ribeye steak, or bone-in rib eye, and it’s the same cut as rib steak, scotch fillet steaks, côte de boeuf, or cattleman’s cutlet in Australia and the States, just sold under other names.
What truly sets tomahawk steaks apart is how that extra long bone changes the experience when you cook up a steak that can taste amazing with deep flavor. Some people scoff at the additional cost and feel they are paying for the bone, but I like to split the smoked bone after cooking and make soup using delicious bone broth or nutritious broth I can consume later. Even when the bone cut shorter, the steak is still rich, but with the tomahawk, the smoked bone, bone in, and bold look feel amazingly awesome, proving why ribeyes remain my top pick on the grill.
Why This Cut Feels Truly Special
What gives this steak its dramatic effect is the mix of prized steak meat and the long bone, something steak lovers instantly notice and favourite for good reason. The meat is generously marbled, with fat that melts as you cook, turning it incredibly juicy with a tender texture and excellent beefy flavour. When a steak hankering hits, it’s hard to beat a thick-cut piece, not the economical scotch fillets but those nice thick ones you get from butchers, with a massive bone, impressive size, and the mighty Tomahawk Steak that instantly demands attention because of the extra-long bone.
Some think you’re paying for weight you can’t eat, but the wow factor is real when people ooh, aah, while it cooks, unlike chicken breast, then swoon at the first bite. It’s not all show; this is steak royalty, deeply juicy, with the right amount of fat marbling, packed as a premium cut you pay serious $ for at steakhouses, often $200+, so I prefer to cook at home. After I researched and tried numerous methods, the best and easy standout was the reverse sear method, starting in the oven and finished on the BBQ, a technique made famous by J. Kenji Lopez-Alt in 2007 for Cook’s Illustrated. The FAQ, bottom of the post, chatter, background, and testing explain why the rib-eye or scotch fillet shines this way.
Where to Find a Quality Tomahawk Steak
I feel lucky because after a little searching, I have several options nearby, including a grocery store, Costco, and a trusted butcher that all carry tomahawk steaks. You’ll often see them pre-cut in the butcher’s case, or sliced, packaged, and ready to go, but my favorite place by far is still the butcher, where I can get them custom cut one from the center of the rack with the biggest spinalis muscle on top for the best flavor, as thick as I like, making it the right place to get a tomahawk steak.
What to Look for Before You Buy
What you need to look for starts with color, choosing bright red meat without dark spots or brownish spots, since lights in the meat case are designed to make meat look better, so always pull your steak out and check it away from the others in regular light for an amazingly fresh product. Next is marbling, the amount of fat laced throughout the meat; if you were trained to think fat is bad, change your state of mind, my friend, because marbled fat means flavor—yummy, delicious, melt-in-your-mouth flavor. For ribeye steaks, I pick a steak with a large spinalis muscle, a clear top part, a well-marbled eye in the center, and I often find tomahawk steaks at butchers, fresh produce outlets like Harris Farms in Australia, while in the States they’re more common, available at large grocery outlets, including Costco.
Best Way to Cook a Thick-Cut Steak
In my experience, the best way to cook a tomahawk is reverse searing, because when you cook a steak at low temperature in the oven or smoker, it reaches just below rare, then you finish it by searing or grilling, which is particularly popular for thicker cuts of steak. This method helps prevent overcooking the outer layers, while ensuring the center hits the desired level of doneness, making it a great way to get a consistent steak, an evenly cooked steak, and a beautifully seared crust; since it’s so thick, you must reverse sear it, and as mentioned above, we’re using the reverse sear method, going from oven to the BBQ, and if there’s no BBQ, no problems, just use the oven grill, broiler, following the directions in the recipe card, and please use a meat thermometer to nail the doneness because this is not the time to guess.
Reverse Seared Tomahawk Steak
For me, the reverse sear starts when a piece of meat is cooked indirectly at a lower temperature, usually between 200°F and 275°F, until it nears the desired doneness. I first learned this when I wrote a masterclass on the reverse sear method—if you check it out, you can learn everything you need to know about why this approach works across a variety of methods for cooking tomahawk steak. I personally prefer to reverse sear my steak on a smoker, because the method ensures the inside of the steak is perfectly cooked from top to bottom, without dry edges on the outside or a raw hunk of meat in the middle, which in the worst case scenario turns dry and charred all the way through.
Steps to the Reverse Sear
- Season the steak by coat heavily with salt and pepper on both sides, ideally a day before, so the salt penetrates the surface and builds flavor the meat.
- Cook on a wire wrack in a low temp oven or smoker, letting the meat slowly comes up while using a meat thermometer to test for internal temperature.
- Cook until just under rare, around 110*F, then remove the steak at about 10°F below or about 10 degrees from target internal temperature.
- Crank up the heat on the grill to High or preheat a 12-inch cast iron skillet, then return the steak to the smoking hot grill or skillet.
- Quickly sear each side with a hot sear at the end of the cooking process for a perfectly charred finish.
- The most important thing in perfecting this method is a quick-read internal thermometer like ThermoWorks ONE for perfect steaks every time.
- After you heat a cast iron to medium high and sear on all sides until golden brown, rest for 10 minutes before slicing and serving.
Dry Brining: Is It Worth It?
Dry Brining: Is It Worth It may sound fancy, but from my experience it’s really easy and fits perfectly into the reverse sear method I mentioned earlier, acting as a clear roadmap to steak Nirvana and what I call the best steak you’ve ever had. Rather than submerging the meat in a salt water solution, I utilize a dry brine by sprinkling kosher salt on the outside, then resting uncovered on a wire rack in the fridge for several hours or up to 24 hours in advance, which helps dry out the surface, help tenderize, keep the meat moist during cooking, and produce an amazing sear while adding flavor. If you want more info, check out an article on dry brining steaks by BBQ Legend Meathead Goldwyn, especially if you’re pairing this step with the reverse sear method.
Seasoning Options for Big Steaks
When I cook a steak, I look at different options, and if you feel adventurous, proper seasoning matters a lot. Be liberal because Tomahawk steaks are notoriously thick, a big cut of beef that needs enough seasoning to truly season well and taste amazing when reverse seared.
Simple Ways I Season Big Cuts
- I keep it classic with salt & pepper, using kosher salt, cracked black pepper, and garlic powder
- For balance, I trust a salt and pepper base that is perfect on beef
- I often use Beef Rub or a Homemade Steak Rub for reverse-seared ribeyes
- You can buy great blends from the Hey Grill Hey Store I’ve used before
- I first tried this at the Steak and Cake celebration, chasing a Guinness World Record, and I still read comments for new ideas
Ingredients You’ll Need
This steak overview starts up-close-and-personal with Tomahawk steaks that look impressive raw and even more impressive when cooked, a special bone-in Tomahawk bone-in ribeye steak pictured at 2.6 lb, 1.3kg, 3-pound, 2–4 pounds, with a thickest part of 5 cm, 2″ thick, showing fresh meat, raw meat, clear butcher details, and helpful information on what they are, why special, where to get them, and size, saved in an expandable section so you are not scrolling forever while your butcher preps pads of tbps butter, cut into pads, seasoned butter, oil, and garnish for a perfect cook using salt, pepper, black pepper, salt and pepper, kosher salt, coarse salt, Maldon salt, teaspoons, Tablespoons, favorite steak rub, Hey Grill Hey Beef Rub, optional sprinkle generously with garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika, and finish with a simple garnish.
| Steak Cut | Weight & Size | Seasoning | Prep & Source |
| Tomahawk steaks | 3-pound | salt | butcher |
| Tomahawk bone-in ribeye steak | 2–4 pounds | pepper | butcher details |
| bone-in steak | 2.6 lb | kosher salt | fresh meat |
| thickest part | 5 cm | black pepper | up-close-and-personal |
| steak overview | 2″ thick | garlic powder | where to get them |
| impressive raw | 1.3kg | Maldon salt | expandable section |
Step-by-Step Reverse Sear Process
Prep & Temperature
Start with the tomahawk steak from the fridge or refrigerator and let it sit 1–2 hours to reach room temperature. This avoids a cooled center and helps a juicy steak cook evenly inside before the finish. I always check the plate, rack, and baking tray are ready before moving ahead.
Slow Roast for Even Inside Cooking
Set the oven for semi-slow roasting using a rack and baking tray, cooking at 140°C, 120°C fan-forced, or 285°F for 40 to 45 minutes until 50°C or 122°F for medium rare, the default optimum doneness. This prevents a sweating underside, overcooked outer band, and keeps the meat fibres from drying out.
Smoke Option for Extra Flavor
If using a smoker, preheat grill or smoker to 225 degrees F, add oak wood, hickory, or alder for pronounced smoke flavor, place the steak on grill grates, close the smoker lid, and cook until 115 degrees F for about 1 hour. Always check temperature with an internal thermometer.
Searing on BBQ or Skillet
For the crust, preheat BBQ until screaming hot or use a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Lightly oil both sides, manage flare-ups from tomahawk fat, and use BBQ sear sides, grill side, or flat plate side depending on heat. Sear 3 to 4 minutes per side, 6 to 8 minutes total, until deep dark brown, 55°C / 131°F, adjusting heat, off the heat, or switch flat plate side to avoid a burnt crust.
Butter Baste & Doneness Control
Move the steak to a separate plate, preheat skillet, add 2 Tablespoons salted butter until melted and bubbling, then return the steak to sear 2–3 minutes per side. Pull at 125 degrees F rare, 135 degrees F medium rare, 145 degrees F medium, 155 degrees medium well, or 160 well done, using salt, pepper, Beef Rub, Hey Grill Hey Beef Rub, and press seasonings with your hand, not just sprinkling.
Resting, Slicing, and Serving
After cooking, rest 10 minutes on the counter or plate, letting juices be re-absorbed instead of leaking when you cut into steak. The temperature will rise by 3 degrees to about 53°C / 127°F, giving great crust, rich charred smoky flavour, and the best result. Finally, slicing, eating, and truly rest and enjoy the steak make all the steps worth it.
How Long to Cook for Perfect Doneness
With a tomahawk steak, the reverse sear method takes approximately 1 hour, but the exact time will vary with each cut of meat as the steak cooks. I never rely on watching the clock; instead I gauge temperature using an instant-read meat thermometer while I cook beef in the oven or smoker, then take the steak off when it reaches temperature, ready to sear and rest for juicy results like restaurants and chefs aim for.
The recommended level of doneness is perfect medium rare, the default doneness, but always cook to the doneness you like. I track internal temperature, final internal temperature, pull temp, target temp, and final temp, letting the steak rise after resting for 10 minutes after being pulled out of the oven or off the BBQ, then remove steak, rest, and slice once the temp continues to rise.
| Doneness | Pull Temp | Final Temp |
| rare | 115 degrees F | 125 degrees F |
| medium rare | 53°C / 127.4°F | 56–58°C / 133–136.4°F |
| medium | 135 degrees F | 145 degrees F |
| medium well / well done | 150 degrees F | 160 degrees F |
Resting and Serving Tips
After cooking, let the Steak rest on a rack, using the same rack it was roasted on, so the internal temperature can rise to 57°C or 135°F for perfect medium rare; do not fret if it’s slightly higher because Tomahawks are an exceptionally juicy cut, and even at 60°C they stay medium and eats like medium rare. When ready to serve, cut into 1 cm or 0.4″ thick slices, add steak sauce of your choice, as pictured throughout with Cowboy Butter, other sauces, and options listed below.
Nutrition