Wood-Fired Tomahawk Steak

What is a tomahawk steak

Very simply, it's a reverse-seared steak cooked over a longer period. You start by hanging the tomahawk over a low heat with a light smoke for around an hour — this renders the fat down and drives wood smoke deep into the steak, giving it a great mahogany colour. To finish, you sear it for an amazing crust.

A tomahawk steak is cut from a rib of beef. It's a ribeye with at least five inches of French-trimmed rib bone left attached, giving it the look of a tomahawk axe.

Where to buy

You can get a tomahawk from any good local butcher. If you want to order online, here are a few options:

HG Walter — London
Meat Men — Somerset
Farmison & Co — Yorkshire

Tools

Cordless drill and drill bit
Meat hook
Fireproof gloves or tongs
Temperature probe — Meater and Thermapen are the best options out there

Method

Step 1: Set up the grill

Remove one of the V Grill sections to allow space for the tomahawk to hang over the embers, leaving the remaining two V Grills for searing.

Step 2: Build the ember bed

Start the fire in the ember maker and let it burn down to embers. The top-down method works well for this — see our earlier post on lighting a fire for wood-fired cooking.

To start with you want a small bed of embers to hang the tomahawk over, then build the bed up as the cook goes on, ready for searing at the end. The aim is to keep the fire in the ember maker going throughout, providing a regular flow of embers.

Once your ember bed is ready, add chunks of wood directly onto the embers.

Step 3: Drill the bone

Make a hole near the top of the tomahawk bone. You want it to hang around 10–15cm above the embers, so position the hole relative to the size of your steak. A cordless drill works well — just drill into a scrap piece of wood, not your chopping board like I did.

Top tip
Drill several holes so you can adjust the height if needed during the cook.

Step 4: Season

Rub the tomahawk with olive oil and sprinkle with a liberal amount of salt.

Step 5: Hang it

Add the steak to the meat hook and hang it on the crossbar above your bed of embers. Then sit back and watch.

Step 6: Let it render

Hang the tomahawk over the embers for 45 minutes to 1 hour. It will start to turn a mahogany colour.

Step 7: Build heat for the sear

About 20 minutes before you plan to bring the tomahawk off the hook, add some more wood to the ember maker ready for searing.

Step 8: Pull at 49°C

Once the internal temperature reaches 49°C, remove from the heat using tongs or fire gloves and set to one side.

Step 9: Sear

Build up your ember bed and lower the grill to its lowest point. Add the tomahawk to the V Grills, turning regularly to create a good crust all round, and adjust the grill height as needed.

Step 10: Rest

Once you have internal tempture of celsius remove and rest for around 10-15 minutes before serving

The cook