How to Reverse Sear Tomahawk Steak on a Kamado

Cooking tomahawk steak is a real treat because it’s such a delicious cut of beef. It’s a very tender cut which has a perfect amount of marbling of fat running through it. The fat renders down during the cook and will give a fantastic taste.

I like to cook tomahawk steak using the reverse sear method in my Kamado Bono Grande. I cook the steak slowly at a low temperature over indirect heat to start. Once it reaches my preferred internal temperature, I crank up the heat and sear the outside. You can read my complete guide to cooking the perfect steak here and my steak dry rub here.

Rub Recipe

When I’m cooking tomahawk steak, I keep my rub really simple and use just two ingredients: sea salt and freshly cracked pepper. This allows the flavour of the delicious tomahawk to shine through. It’s an uncomplicated rub which will compliment any steak.

• 50% sea salt
• 50% freshly cracked pepper

You can of course add your own twist to your steak rub. Try out these popular additions:

• Onion powder
• Garlic powder
• Cayenne pepper
• Chilli flakes

The Reverse Sear method

• Season the tomahawk steak with rub and rest it in the fridge for 1 hour or more
• Fill your kamado with charcoal, light and aim for a temperature of between 120-135 °C (250-275 °F) with some smoking wood
• Configure the kamado with one deflector plate installed so that you’ll have one grill grate with indirect and the other with direct heat
• Place the steak on the indirect side, turning occasionally, until it reaches an internal temp of 52 °C (125 °F)
• At 52 °C (125 °F), remove it from the grill and wrap in foil for a few minutes
• Open the top and bottom vents fully to crank up the heat as high as you can
• Once the temperature has stabilised, put the steak back on the direct heat side of the grill for 1 min per side with the lid closed. This will give your steak a delicious char flavour.
• Take it off the grill, cover with foil and allow it to rest for a few minutes (1 min per 100g)

Here is a a great video from Kamado Joe which shows the technique of reverse searing:

Do you have your own technique for cooking tomahawk steak?

I ‘d love to hear about it. Put it in the comments section or email it to me. I’ll try it and let you know how it goes!