Welcome to the King of Steaks also known as the tender show-stopping Tomahawk Steak
This post may contain affiliate links. Please see our affiliate disclosure for more details.
What is a Tomahawk Steak?
This glorious cut of meat is actually a large ribeye steak that is specifically cut with about 8-12 inches of the rib bone left on it.
The bone is “Frenched”, a culinary term that means it is trimmed of fat and meat. The Tomahawk steak is meant to look like the handle of an ax. It’s the same technique that is used on a rack of lamb.
The bone is intended to give it the “wow” factor however it also helps insulate the tender meat while it cooks.
The Tomahawk steak is extremely tender and buttery, with beautiful marbling. It’s also relatively simple to make!
Because of its size and 2″ thickness this steak requires a different cooking method than a regular sized steak, which usually just gets a quick sear on the grill.
We chose the indirect “reverse sear” method for our Tomahawks and we’ll show you how to do it, with step-by-step directions, so you will get it just right every time!
Preparing Ribeye Steaks for Reverse Sear
There are 2 steps to preparing the steak, which need to be done ahead of time, so be sure to allow time for this important step.
Step One – Salting and Dry Brining
- The first step to prepping this big steak is salting it liberally with kosher salt.
- Allow the salt to sit on the steak for 12-24 hours in the refrigerator uncovered. Place the steak on a rack on top of a baking sheet for best results.
We have found that salting (dry brining) improves the texture and flavor of nearly every type of red meat, not just steak. Why? Its science at work. When the salt is applied to the uncooked meat the juices inside the meat are drawn to the surface. The salt then dissolves into that liquid, forming a kind of brine that is then slowly reabsorbed into the meat.
The end result is an incredibly tender, moist, buttery steak loaded with flavor. This method works well on pork chops too.
Step Two – The Seasoning Rub
- Once the steak is done with the 12-24 hour salt brine take it out of the refrigerator and let it come to room temperature
- Prepare the rub mixture which is a thick paste of olive oil, paprika, black pepper, and crushed garlic
- Coat the entire steak and the bone area with the rub, return to the rack, and let it sit for about 15 minutes
- Preheat the oven to 200˚F
How to Cook a Tomahawk Ribeye Steak:
Because of the size of this steak the reverse sear method is the perfect way to cook it.
Reverse searing involves slow roasting the meat in a low temperature oven, to bring it to the desired internal temperature, and then finishing it with a quick sear on the grill to create a delicious crust and lock in the flavor.
Step-by-step for Reverse Searing Meat in the Oven:
- Place spice rubbed steak in a 200˚F oven, on a rack, over a baking sheet to catch any juices
- Start preheating the grill to medium-high while the steak is in the oven
- Check the steak after about 30 minutes, but it will likely take closer to 40 minutes to cook
- We highly recommend using an instant-read thermometer to check internal temperature
- Cook until the internal temperature reaches preferred doneness:
- Rare = 120˚F which is a cool bright red center and pinkish toward the outside
- Medium Rare = 125˚F which is a warm red center but still very pink and slightly brown toward the outside
- Medium = 130˚F which is a warm light pink center with outer portion brown
- Remove steak from the oven and move it directly to the grill
- Sear for 2-3 minutes on each side to lock in flavor and develop a crust
- Let steak rest for about 5-minutes uncovered before slicing. The temperature of the meat will continue to rise about 5°F during this time (also known as “carryover cooking”)
How long should you let steak rest?
Resting steak is an important step because the heat of cooking pulls the juices in the meat toward the surface.
If you immediately slice into it after cooking, all of those flavorful, amazing juices will end up on the plate, not in your steak. Allowing your steak to rest will give the juices time to sink back in throughout the meat, keeping it moist and flavorful when serving.
How many servings are in a Tomahawk Steak?
The steak in our photos weighed in at 2.8 pounds (45 ounces). Once we cut the steak away from the bone we had about 32 ounces of meat. This easily served four people (plus the bone for the pup!)
How to serve this steak:
Because the giant bone makes the Tomahawk larger than life you should definitely include it in the presentation. It’s the bow tie on the tuxedo.
- First cut the steak away from the bone
- Then slice the meat, against the grain, into slices
- Arrange the meat back around the bone so it appears to still be on the bone and serve on a large platter
Great sides to serve with steak
A great steak needs amazing side dishes to go along with it and here are a few of our favorites:
- Since the grill is already hot try our easy Grilled Caesar Salad or we served it with our Grilled Artichokes with Lemon Dill Aioli
- Grilled Corn on the Cob with Sweet Chili Sauce is always a perfect match
- Our nice light summer Strawberry Spinach Salad pairs well
Your Sommelier Wine Pairings:
It only makes sense that the King of Steaks should only be paired with wine royalty!
When pairing wines with this delicious masterpiece you should look no further than a rich robust full bodied Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon.
These beautiful Cabernet’s make a wonderful pairing for this tender, buttery, steak lovers dream dinner.
The Bordeaux region of France also produces some beautiful Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot blends that make an equally stunning partner for our Tomahawk master.
Want to Save This Recipe?
Enter your email & We’ll send it to your inbox. Plus, get great new recipes from us every week!
By submitting this form, you consent to receive emails from The Art of Food and Wine.
How to Cook a Tomahawk Steak
Equipment
- Grill
Ingredients
The steak:
- 2.8 pounds Tomahawk Steak with bone attached
- 2 Tablespoons Kosher Salt
Ingredients for the Rub:
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 1 Tablespoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon black pepper, freshly ground
- 4 cloves garlic, crushed or minced
Instructions
- Liberally salt the steak all over with kosher salt.
- Place steak on a baking sheet (on a rack if you have one) for 12-24 hours uncovered in the refrigerator.
- Remove steak from refrigerator and allow to come to room temperature. (The internal temperature of the steak should be 65- 70˚F before cooking).This is an important step so don't skip it. This can take up to 2 hours depending on how cold the steak is and how much it weighs.
- Preheat the oven to 200°F. (if your in a time crunch cook it at 250℉)
- Prepare the rub mixture which is a thick paste of olive oil, paprika, black pepper, and crushed garlic
- Coat the steak liberally with the spice rub and let sit for about 15 minutes on the rack.
- Cook steak, on the rack and baking sheet, until the internal temperature reaches your desired doneness. Use an instant-read thermometer for best results. (The cooking time can be anywhere from 35-50 minutes, but can be longer depending on the thickness/size of your steak and the internal temperature when you start cooking)– Rare = 120°F (cool red center)– Medium Rare = 125°F (warm red center)– Medium = 130°F (warm pink center)NOTE: The time will vary depending on the cut of your steak and your individual oven. No two are ever the same.
- When steak is almost done cooking in the oven start the grill and heat to medium-high.
- Remove steak from the oven and transfer it to the preheated grill. Sear evenly on each side for about 3 minutes to obtain grill marks.
- Remove from the grill and let the steak rest, uncovered, for 5 minutes.
- Cut steak away from the bone, and slice against the grain into 1/2-inch pieces. For best presentation arrange the cut steak around the bone.
Notes
- Every steak is cut a little differently so using an instant-read thermometer will help you get the best results.
- Be sure to allow the steak to come to room temperature before cooking them (70˚F). This is an important step so don’t skip it!
- The steaks used for our testing were 2.8 pounds.
- Cooking time will vary based on the size of your steak, so this is just a guide.
- If you don’t have fresh garlic for the rub you can substitute 1 Tablespoon of garlic powder.
Randy Miller
Undoubtedly the best steak we have ever had. The only change we made was to cook on the grill the entire time. Our grill was able to cook at 250°. We kept the meat away from the flame. Then when the temp of the steak got to 117°, turned up the heat, moved them meat to the flame for two minutes on each side and was perfect. The most difficult part was letting it stand for 5 minutes.
Cyndy
What a great idea. Thanks for sharing that method!
Marlene Frame
What did I do wrong it was way to salty for us, everything else went as planned
Cyndy
Hi – sorry to hear that it was too salty. The salt should have completed dissolved into the meat after brining for 12-24 hours. Next time I would recommend salting less liberally and when you are done brining wipe the surface of the steak with a paper towel to blot up any salt that might be remaining. I’m so glad the rest went well.
Barbara
fantastic recipe! thanks 🙏
Lee Herskowitz
Wow! Thanks for the guidance, BUT as Cindy says the 200 at 30 or even 40 minutes is not even close for a significant tomahawk! After turning the temperature up to 350 and holding it for another 15 minutes, finally gave up and put it on the BBQ and cooked at 500 for another r 5 -8 minutes on each side to get a perfect med rare pair of steaks. They were awesome and after letting them sit for another 5 minutes excised the bone and sliced the eye to find perfect tender steak!. I would never have thought of doing the dry brine or letting it sit overnight ut it was a s tender as a filet. Went well with a 30 year old cabernet from Napa!
Carl in Boston
Steps 5 and 6 are confusing.
#5 Coat the steak with the rub…
#6 Prepare the rub mixture…
Cyndy
Good catch – fixed it! Sorry for the confusion.
Jossie Calderon
dang, my steak came out neat. thanks and favorited
Cyndy
Glad to hear it – thanks!
Patricia
This was hands down the best steak me and the hubby have ever eaten. WOW!
Leora Thompson
Should I wait until my steak is at med rare, and THEN sear it? Will this not over cook it? Also, can I sear it on a very HOT pan on my stovetop instead of the grill? Thanks! Steak is dry brining as we speak 🙂
Cyndy
Hi – you will only sear for a few minutes which will raise the temperature about 5 degrees. So my suggestion is to cook it in the oven until it’s about 118 then sear which should give you a finished temperature of 120-123 degrees (medium rare).
Yes, you can absolutely finish cooking it on the stove top!
Good luck and be sure to let the steak come to room temperature before putting in the oven. If not, kick the temperature of the oven up to 225-235.
Alice
Do you wash the salt (dry brine) off, and dry the steak before adding the spice rub?
Cyndy
Hi – most of the brine should be absorbed into the meat by then. If you see any remaining salt on the meat then I would recommend brushing it off before adding the spice rub, but no need to wash it off. Hope that helps!
Keith M
Great recipe with the exception of the oven temp/time. For that time frame, 200 degrees is way too low, at least for the three times I’ve tried it. Other than that, this is a great blueprint for a fantastic meal!
Cyndy
Thanks for your feedback Keith! Always good to know what works/doesn’t work for each individual chef since every steak and oven is different.
Teresa
I come back to this recipe for my every day steaks, maybe a New York and of course a ribeye. If I’m in a hurry, I salt the steak in the morning before work ( okay golf ) and one hour before I want to serve dinner, I up the temperature to 325 for the reverse searing which takes a little less time 45 minutes and then I throw it on the grill for four minutes each side. I serve it with the sautéed mushrooms from this site and my husband thinks I am a true gourmet. The paprika seasoning is the key as well. I can never find Sweet paprika so I use regular or smoked.
Cyndy
Great tips on your reverse sear temperature Teresa – we use the seasoning for all of our steaks here too. You can definitely use regular paprika in place of sweet (or smoked – yum!). If you buy Hungarian paprika it’s generally the same as sweet but has more flavor than some of the other ones on the shelf at American stores. We can usually find Szeged brand in tins or order it on Amazon. Here’s the link: https://amzn.to/3FOQdqt
Sara
This cook method didn’t quite work for our cold climate. The ambient temperature in our kitchen was 70 degrees. After 4 hours, the steak was at 62 degrees so we gave up and put it in the oven (no, we didn’t get sick). After 1 hour in the oven, we increased the oven temperature to 210.
Tyson
Your comment is awaiting moderation.
You mentioned *crushed garlic. After I mix the rub… Do I put the garlic chunks on the steak as well?
Or just the actual oil that was mixed with the garlic, and toss the large garlic cloves?
Or would it be better to mince the garlic and include it in the rub?
Cyndy
Yes, use all of the crushed/minced garlic when you coat the steak. The rub mixture is a thick paste of olive oil, paprika, black pepper, and crushed garlic and coat the steak.
KansasDave
This was amazing. I had a 43 oz Bison Tomahawk ribeye. It took nearly 3 hours to get back to room tempeature and nearly 2 hours in the oven at 200 degrees. I upped it to 225 the last 30 min. It was great with a lil ketchup. Just kidding! I was a first timer today but I have 3 more and this was the smallest! I also used smoked paprika in the rub as the 3 stores i went to did not have the sweet. I wish i could post a pic! Thank you for the help!
Cyndy
Wow that’s impressive! Glad it was a success.
Wish we could see a picture too!
Steven Jones
🤣🤣🤣🤣ketchup 🤣🤣🤣🤣good 1!!
Katie Mc
OMG!!!! This was AH-MAZING!!! I followed all the steps — and the men for Fathers Day were impressed I pulled this off. I used Costco Steaks which were a little thicker (about 2.5lbs each) so after reading ALL the reviews on this page my cook time was 50 mins at 250 and seared on a 500 degree grill for 2 mins on each side. End result – was simply AMAZING!!! I’ll save the recipe FOR-EVER.
Cyndy
Yea! Love that your Father’s Day was a success. The Costco steaks due tend to be thicker and seem to require a bit longer cook time!
Anthony
Quick Question, do you remove the brine from the Tomahawk steak before you season them?
Cyndy
Hi – we don’t remove the brine. If you are super salt-sensitive then you may want to brush the remaining salt from the surface before adding the rub.
Gigi
Can I use this recipe for 28 day aged tomahawk steak also?
Cyndy
Yes but skip the dry brine because the brine is designed to pull moisture out and since yours is dry aged you won’t need the brine.
Good luck and let us know how it turns out!
Ruthie
I followed the recipe but the timing is way off. I’ve had to keep the meat in the oven way more than one hour to reach temperature! We increased the oven temp as well.
Cyndy
Sorry to hear you had some trouble. Every piece of steak and oven is different so hard to predict. I hope you eventually got to temperature and it ended up being delicious.
Mandy
Can I use Himalayan Pink Salt for the dry brine? Or will that make it too salty?
Thanks!
Cyndy
Yes that should work fine. If you see any residual salt after the brining then I suggest brushing it off.
Tim Davis
Just made it tonight with about 2.6 lb 2 1/4″ thick piece. Brined as described, as I believe in science. Rub just as recipe and the meat was well at room temp. Used newly acquired double/ digital thermometer to monitor actual temp inside Weber closed grill with air temp sensor, keeping it as close as possible to 200 degrees and using probe point to watch internal temp come up to desired.
Not fully trusting all my newfangled abilities, I opted to shoot for medium instead of mu usually preferred medium rare. Pulled it at exactly 130 and while it was phenomenal, next time (coming soon) rare to med at best.
Great recipe.
Tim Davis
Keeping the grill close to 200 resulted in a time frame of around 45 minutes to bring the meat up to searing temp.
Joan
When you put you beef in the oven at 200, should you cover it while is roasting?
Cyndy
No it should be uncovered. Good luck
Cyndy
Thanks for the info and so glad it worked out for you!
Nora O Halloran
Hi can I use smoked paprika instead of sweet paprika. I have the steak with salt in the fridge overnight .
I can’t get to the shops today. I have ever spice in the cupboard except sweet paprika.
Thank you
Nora
Cyndy
Hi – yes you could use smoked paprika. The other option is to just omit it. Can’t wait to hear how it turns out!
Lynn
I had a 2 # tomahawk from Costco; I cooked it for 40 minutes at 200, and the internal temp was 75 F. I cranked the heat up to 250 degrees, and heated it in increments of 10 minutes, twice plus 5 minutes to get it to 125
Other recipes say oven at 375, so curious if this was possibly a typo for a 200 F degree oven.
Cyndy
Hi Lynn – Thanks for your feedback. One of the factors that could affect the internal temperature is the step mentioned to let the steak come to room temperature before placing in the oven. This can take up to one hour, depending on the size of the steak.
Laurie Lawroski
Wish I could put a pic up came out delicious made little potatoes and saute spinach with an appetizer of shrimp cocktail. I think next time I will use my convection roast at 225. I adjusted a little bit but came out great!
Cyndy
Oh, we wish you could post a pic too! Maybe post a pic on our Facebook page if you are so inclined! Thanks for sharing.
Den Shewman
Hi! Tried this for New Year’s Eve. It was delicious, but took over twice as long S the 40 minutes noted here, even had to bump the oven to 250 near the end to speed the process. Any thoughts?
Thanks!
Cyndy
Hi – giving it some thought I wonder if the bone was a bit thicker in your steak than the ones I normally cook, as that can vary. It can also depend on actual steak size and how accurate the oven temperature is in each oven. I’m glad you trusted your instincts and gave it more time!
Bob
Hi. We tried it too. We didn’t use kosher salt but we survived!
Cyndy
Always good to personalize food to your own tastes! Glad you enjoyed them and thanks for stopping by
cls2160
Having the same issue. Brought it out to come to room temp for an hour, and after 30 minutes at 200 F in the oven I’m only at 80 degrees. Babysitting the oven while the grill continues to simmer. Smells amazing so far.
Synthiya Elise
Every time I found Tomahawk Steak in my table. I really love this dish. It has a buttery flavours which makes my day smoothy and cherish. But all the time i tried it a restuarant. This time i cooked it myself to follow your instructions which makes my dishes really amazing.
Teresa
OMG… this recipe is meant to impress. Great information priot to the recipe and the recipe was very easy to follow. I wasn’t sure about using paprika but the flavors from this recipe were just fabulous. This is my new favorite go to dinner party recipe. Served with vegetables and a salad yummy,,,
Cyndy
Thank you Teresa! So glad to hear you found a new favorite and thanks for the great review!
Sara Welch
This was everything a gourmet meal should be, and then some! Definitely worthy of a restaurant; my whole family loved it!
Jacque Hastert
My absolute favorite piece of meat! We love making these tomahawk steaks whenever we want to feel fancy! Thanks for sharing these amazing tips.
Manuel Grech
Thanks for yhis recipe.
But the best part is how easy to understand it.
Very easily step by step.
Thanks from Malta
Gozo
Cindy Nace
This was delicious! First time having this cut. Followed to the T. Thank you and enjoy!
Cyndy
Glad to hear it was so good!
Kayla Sweatt
Not enough time to slow cook this thick of meat at 200. Ribs take 5 hours at this temp. I gave it a shot knowing that it just didn’t seem right . So had to bump up the temp to get the meat to rare and ready to finish off with searing. The best way is still to sear the meat first super hot and throw into a pre heated oven. It’s a neat idea to reverses it but the temp and time is completely off.
Cyndy
Hi Kayla – sorry the timing was off for you. I hope your steak ended up fantastic with a longer cook time.
maryanne
This was so helpful in understanding how to make the perfect tomahawk steak! I will be utilizing these tips this summer!
Patty at Spoonabilities
Wow!! Just wow! What an amazing steak and absolutely amazing instructions to make the PERFECT steak!
Anaiah
Wowowow! Your Tomahawk steak looks perfect! I am so excited to try this recipe, it looks delicious! Thanks for the tips on salting and brining.