A ribeye is one of my favorite cuts of meat, but it doesn't hold a candle to a smoked tomahawk steak. If you're familiar with the tomahawk, you know it's the same cut as a ribeye. But there are a few key differences.
One, the tomahawk steak, has a large bone attached. If you're really hungry, you can use that bone as a handle and just eat the whole steak caveman style. The Tomahawk steak we are showcasing in this post was three pounds - a touch too big to eat solo.
The other big difference between a ribeye and a tomahawk steak, is the size, which I already alluded to. Most ribeyes you buy at the store are 8-16 ounces. A tomahawk steak is much larger. Ranging in size from 2-3.5+ pounds!
Table of Contents
Preparing a Tomahawk Steak
Anytime you can get your hands on a good cut of meat like this, you want to make sure you do everything you can to make sure the end result turns out just perfect. It took about 7 hours total for me to prep and smoke this steak, so plan accordingly. That might sound like a lot of time, but trust me, it's totally worth it.
Approximately 7 hours before you want to serve the tomahawk steak remove it from its packaging and liberally salt one side of it. I placed the steak on a grill rack over a foil-lined pan, and then put it in the fridge for 90 minutes.
After 90 minutes remove the steak from the fridge, flip it over, and repeat the salt and fridge process. This process pulls moisture out of the steak that combines with the salt and then gets sucked back into the meat. We're dealing with a thick cut of meat here, and it's one of the big keys to building an amazing flavor profile with this steak.
Smoking a Tomahawk Steak or "Cowboy Steak"
When you're ready to smoke the steak apply your rub to both sides, and then place it in your smoker. The lower the temp here, the better. I smoked this tomahawk at 180 degrees with oak pellets.
Let the tomahawk smoke at 180 until the internal temperature hits 110 degrees. This took about 3 hours for my three-pound tomahawk steak. Use a quality temperature probe like the Thermoworks Smoke to keep track of temps without opening the lid of your smoker. I placed the probe about an inch from the bone. As close to the center of the cut of the meat as I could.
When the Tomahawk Steak hits 110 internal temperature remove it from the smoker. Adjust the temperature of your smoker up to 450 degrees. While the smoker is coming up to temp combine 3 tablespoons of melted butter with a clove of minced garlic, and a ½ tsp of thyme.
When the smoker is up to temp brush both sides of the tomahawk steak with the melted butter mixture. Then place the tomahawk steak directly on the grill grates. Let the steak continue to cook at high heat until the internal temperature gets to 120. At 120 flip the steak, and then pull when the internal temperature hits 130-135 degrees. It took my tomahawk steak about 30 minutes at high heat to get to temp.
Now here is the really hard part. You have to sit and stare at this steak for 15 minutes before you slice into it. After you've let the steak rest get ready for your tastebuds to be incredibly happy.
Slice the steak thin, and get ready to hear your friends tell you this is "the best steak they've ever had".
You might recognize the method I outlined in this post. It's similar to the reverse sear that I use when I cook smaller cuts of steak. If you're looking for other steak ideas check out my dry aged beef post too!
Smoked Tomahawk Steak
Ingredients
- 2.5-3 # Tomahawk Steak
- 2 tbsp kosher salt
- 1 tbsp Nick's Beef rub
- 3 tbsp melted butter
- 1 clove minced garlic
- ½ tsp thyme
Instructions
- Liberally salt one side of the steak and let it sit in the fridge for 90 minutes.
- Flip the steak and repeat the salting process.
- Prepare smoker to smoke at 180 degrees.
- Season both sides of the steak with Nick's Beef Rub
- Place steak in smoker and let it smoke until internal temperature hits 110 degrees. Monitor temps with a Thermoworks Smoke.
- Pull steak from smoker and adjust temperature of your smoker to 450 degrees.
- Combine melted butter, garlic, and thyme and then brush both sides of steak.
- Return steak to smoker and let cook until internal temperature hits 120 degrees. Flip steak and brush more butter on surface.
- When steak's internal temperature hits 130-135 degrees remove from smoker and let it rest for 15 minutes before slicing thin and serving.
Video
Nutrition
Wow, thanks for this awesome Tomahawk steak recipe! We love some good, well-cooked steak around this area. Who doesn't? Keep up the great work!
Thanks for the comment Andrienne!
Overdone for my taste
Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment, John. Is it overdone for your taste in the pictures? Or when you cooked it for your self?
One of the things I love most about steak is that you can cook it to the doneness preferred by the people you are serving...
Trying this today; I'm a veteran smoker but never thought of doing a tomahawk. Looking forward to it ????
Can't wait to smoke a tomahawk steak for the first time. It looks delicious. I'll definitely be using this recipe as guidance. Thanks man
Thanks for sharing this. I’ve smoked a prime rib and now I’m going to try this next weekend.
You're welcome!
Thanks for the recipe! I gave this a go last night, the girlfriend and I was very pleased.
NB: A 1kg tomahawk took me about 90 minutes to come to 110F.
Thank you very much!!! Surprising my hubby with smoked tomahawk steaks tonight. This recipe is amazing!!
Salt it then out in the fridge. I learned this technique about 2-3 months ago and it completely changed the steak game. I usually let it sit overnight with the salt applied. Just don’t go over board or you will have a very salty steak. Pull out of fridge and let come to room temp before cooking. Hope this helps.
After salting the steak do you let it come to room temp or straight to the smoker?
Hey mate,
I’m going to cook this on a Kamado joe,
Should it be cooked on direct heat or not?
I’m assuming in direct?
Cheers
Hey mate,
Should this be cooked on direct heat on indirect?
I’m assuming indirect!
Yes, indirect!
Use thing recipe twice both time perfect !
My wife say the best steak ever!
AWESOME
I followed this exactly and oh my gawd....best tomahawk EVER. Thank you so much!
YES!!!! I'm glad you liked it!
Tomahawk Steak is one of my absolute favourite. Have never tried the smoked one yet...looks really juicy and tender. Might have to invest one smoker!
Hello again, followed the recipe last time. Had issue with the butter part. Brushed the butter on as indicated and placed back on the smoker. Smoker definitely did not like butter. Caught fire, got to temp extremely fast, think in part that the whole smoker was on fire ???? got a great sear. But do you have any other suggestions for the butter and garlic?
Help ! Do you rinse the salt off before applying rub ? Is it ok to leave steak in fridge with salt overnight prior to cooking ?
I'm planning this for tomorrow evening... What is Nick's Beef Rub?
I do something similar. Where i differ is I use a mesh rack. I salt and pepper the whole steak then leave it unwrapped on the rack for 1-4 days to dry brine. As long as it's exposed to air on all sides it just gets better with time.