Many argue that a ribeye is the undefeated champion of all steak cuts. If that’s true, then a tomahawk ribeye is the champion of champions. Our recipe gently brings the meat up to the ideal internal temp for medium rare, while bathing it in maximum smoke. Then we hit it hot and fast with a fiery sear to get the ideal texture and color.
What is a Ribeye Steak?
As the name would imply, the ribeye comes from the rib cage area of the cow. Specifically, in the primal section of the animal, between ribs 6 through 12. The meat you see in your steak is attached to the outside of the rib, and located towards the spine. This area of the cow collects more intramuscular fat, resulting in the beautiful marbling inherent in the ribeye steak.
A tomahawk ribeye steak is ribeye where the bone is still attached to the steak. Additionally, at least 5 inches of the bone extends out from the steak. This portion of bone has been “French trimmed”, which removes all the meat from the bone and gives it the clean look of a tomahawk axe handle. Typically, tomahawk steaks are also cut thicker than your standard ribeye (about 2 inches).
Ready to tackle this? Here’s what you’ll need:
Ingredients
- One 4-5 lb Bone-in Tomahawk Ribeye Steak
- Olive Oil
- Your Favorite Beef or Steak Seasoning
Equipment
- 1 Offset Smoker, Pellet Grill, Ceramic Grill, or Charcoal Grill
- 1 Cast Iron Skillet
- Meat Temperature Probe
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Prep the Ribeye Steak
As always, we want to give our meats at least a once-over before we get them on the barbecue or grill. Some meats, like a brisket for instance, require a ton of prep work before they’re ready for a successful cook. Thankfully, a ribeye steak should not be one of those meats. Really, it should come just about ready to go from your local butcher or grocer. That said, check it out to make sure there aren’t any loose pieces of meat or fat, and that the steak is generally of even thickness throughout. If there are small loose pieces of meat or fat, simply trim them off, as these will likely dry out or even burn during the cook.
Some quick tips on where to get a tomahawk ribeye. This is a somewhat specialty cut, and it’s likely that your average supermarket will not carry these regularly. They’ll most definitely have ribeye steaks, and maybe even bone-in ribeyes, but tomahawks are harder to come by. Try a specialty butcher a smaller grocer with a quality meat counter. If they don’t have them in-stock, ask the butcher to special order one for you. The other great place (that you may not suspect) is Costco. I’ve found their meat, poultry, and seafood to be of excellent quality, and one of the only places in my area with a large selection of USDA Prime grade beef. I’ve seen tomahawk ribeyes there on many occasions.
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Season the Ribeye Steak
Now it’s time to get your favorite flavors on the meat. Steak rubs, salt and pepper, garlic powder, and lemon pepper are all fair game. BUT, don’t overdo it! This is an incredibly delicious and nicely-marbled cut of steak as is, and it really doesn’t require all that much seasoning. The last thing you want is to ruin a $50 piece of Prime grade beef because you accidentality added too much salt. Sometimes, a light touch is best.
Check out some of my favorite ribeye seasonings below. My current favorite? A combo of Spiceology Cowboy Crust – Espresso Chile Rub and Lillie’s Q Brisket Pepper, with a touch of kosher salt.
Rub a couple teaspoons of olive oil on the steak to act is a binder. This will help your dry rub adhere to the meat. Sprinkle a light coat of seasoning on both sides of the steak, and gently press it into the meat with your hand. That’s it – we’re ready to get this bad boy cooking.
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Smoke the Ribeye Steak
The cooking method we’re using in this recipe is known as a “reverse sear”. This means that we’re bringing the meat up to our desired internal temperature first, and then quickly searing the outside hot and fast to get a great char and texture. This is the reverse of the typical grilling method where the meat is seared over high heat at the start of the cook, and then moved to an area of the grill with indirect heat to finish cooking.
You can totally do either method here. I’ve found that I have a bit more control over the cook with a reverse sear. Sometimes with a standard sear-first approach, I’ve unintentionally continued to cook the outside of the meat even when it’s over indirect heat. This can result in a dry, or even burnt crust.
Get your BBQ or smoker running at around 225-250. Mesquite, oak, and cherry woods have all worked really well for me in the past, but don’t stress too much about the type of wood. Insert a temperature probe into the ribeye, coming in from the side and aiming for the tip of the probe to end up dead center in the circular cut of meat.
An easy way to do get this right is to hold the probe over the surface of the meat where you can see it, align the tip of the probe over the middle of the steak, and then place your forefinger and thumb on the probe right at the edge of the steak. Then, without moving your fingers, insert the probe into the steak until your fingers touch the meat. That way you know the tip of the probe is in the middle!
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Once on the BBQ, remember that we’re cooking to an internal temp, not a specific time. How you like your steak is a personal preference, but I would HIGHLY suggest medium-rare for this delicious cut of meat. For that, we’ll smoke the steak until the temp probe reads around 130 degrees.
While you can go as high as 135 and still get a medium-rare result, I would err more towards 130. This is because the steak will cook just a bit more during the sear (see next step), and we don’t want to accidentally go beyound our target finish temp.
When the steak hits 130 internal temp, take it off the BBQ and bring it inside. We’re now ready to give it some awesome texture and color.
Sear the Ribeye Steak
You may notice that the steak does not have the most beautiful appearance right now. We cooked this low and slow, using indirect heat and no flame. The meat is cooked, and safe to eat, but lacks any char or crust on the outside. Let’s fix that.
Get a cast iron skillet blazing hot over high heat on your stovetop. If you don’t have a cast iron skillet, check out the great options below at all price points. This is such a versatile piece of cooking equipment that comes in handy not only in BBQ, but so many different cuisines.
Once hot, drop 2 tbsps. of butter in the skillet. Definitely have your vent fan on, as this process is going to produce some smoke. Carefully lay the ribeye down in the skillet, making sure that the whole surface has good contact with the skillet and butter. After about 30 seconds (if your skillet is hot enough, this should really only take that long) flip the steak and sear the other side for the same amount of time.
Remove the steak from the skillet and set it aside to rest for about 10 minutes. It should now have a beautiful reddish-brown color, with black char freckled throughout.
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Slice the Ribeye Steak
Let the steak rest for about 10 minutes. This is super important! The steak is very hot right now and all the delicious juices inside are really flowing. A proper rest allows some of these juices to absorb back into the meat fibers. Now when you slice into the steak, more of that goodness will stay IN the steak instead of running out onto your cutting board.
To slice the tomahawk, use a sharp chef knife (see some awesome options below if you don’t have one) and slice along the bone to remove the meat from the “handle”. Next, start at the rounded end and slice even strips across the entire steak. By doing this, most slices will end up with a small section of the delicious fat seam that separates the ribeye from the “crown” or “cap”.
Garnish with a sprinkle of flaky kosher salt, and fresh parsley to add some greenery. Enjoy!
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Smoked Tomahawk Ribeye Steak
Description
Learn how to smoke and reverse sear an epic bone-in tomahawk ribeye steak with our simple recipe. You’ll turn heads this behemoth BBQ eat.
Things You Need
Ingredients
Equipment
Instructions
-
Prep the Ribeye
Remove the steak from packaging, rinse under cool water and pat dry. Remove any loose pieces of meat or fat. Ensure even thickness throughout the meat.
-
Season the Ribeye
Apply the olive oil to the meat to serve as a binder for the dry seasoning. Apply a thin coat of your favorite beef seasoning to the steak, and gently press into the meat with your hand to ensure it sticks.
-
Smoke the Ribeye
Smoke the steak at 225-250 degrees until a meat thermometer reads 130 at the center of the meat. Remove the steak from the BBQ or smoker.
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Sear the Ribeye
Melt 2 tbsp. of butter in cast iron skillet over high heat. Sear the steak for about 30 seconds on each side, or until black char and crust develops. Remove from the skillet and let rest for 10 minutes.
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Slice the Ribeye
Using a sharp chef knife, separate the meat from the bone. Then cut the steak into 1/2 inch strips, starting from the rounded side and working your way across. Sprinkle with flaky salt, garnish with fresh parsley and serve.
Note
Let us know how this recipe turned out for you! Leave a rating and drop a comment below - we love to hear from our readers.
this is the king of steaks!
I tried this on my Trager using a mix of oak and mesquite and it was THE BOMB. Even my wife loved it and is basically a vegetarian. Dope recipe!
This is truly epic!
family went nuts for this!
king of steaks. so good.
MASSIVE
this steak was legit the best I’ve ever made
EPIC STEAK
these are expensive so we don’t do them often. only special ocassions.
this is an epic steak!!!
expensive, but good for special ocasion
the smoke flavor in the steak was amazing
loved it
probably the best steak I’ve ever had
love this method. so easy
Absolutely EPIC
I rubbed a little fresh garlic on along with the dry rub
chimichurri sauce is the perfect garnish
do NOT skip the sear!