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Recipe · Reverse-sear · Advanced

Reverse-sear tomahawk on the kamado

A 1.4 kg tomahawk, probe in the centre, ceramic at 110°C and a 90-second final sear. The Sunday cut I pull out when my in-laws walk onto the terrace.

Tomahawk de buey al estilo reverse sear, hueso largo y carne caramelizada
Prep
90 min
Cook
75 min
Servings
4 servings
Temperature
110 °C

Ingredients

  • premium tomahawk steak, 1.2-1.5 kg (rubia gallega or similar)1 ud
  • kosher coarse salt (not fine)2 cda
  • freshly ground black pepper1 cdita
  • extra-virgin olive oil (to brush before searing)1 cda
  • crushed garlic cloves (optional, to rub after searing)2 dientes
  • fresh rosemary1 rama
  • flaky sea salt, Maldon-style (to finish)1 pizca

Method

  1. 01

    Temper 1h

    Take the tomahawk out of the fridge, pat it dry and leave it uncovered at room temperature for 1 hour. A cold steak takes far longer to come up to temp and the reverse-sear loses precision.

  2. 02

    Dry-salt 30 min before

    Season with coarse kosher salt on every face 30 minutes before loading the kamado. The salt dissolves, penetrates and reabsorbs — you season deep without drawing moisture. Add pepper only at the end, before the sear: pepper at low heat turns bitter.

  3. 03

    Set deflector and stabilise 110°C

    Light a single zone of charcoal (Minion method), set the deflector and stabilise the kamado at 110°C indirect. It takes 25-30 minutes. Do not load the steak until the chamber probe holds steady for 10 minutes.

  4. 04

    Indirect phase with probe

    Stick the Bluetooth probe into the geometric centre, away from the bone. Lay the tomahawk on the grate and close the lid. Cook until the probe reads 50°C internal — anywhere from 50 to 60 minutes depending on the steak and outside temperature. Do not lift the lid.

  5. 05

    Pull and rest 10 min

    Move the tomahawk to a board and let it rest, uncovered, for 10 minutes. This partial rest stabilises the juices before the sear and, more importantly, buys you time to ramp the ceramic without carry-over running away.

  6. 06

    Ramp up to 350°C

    Remove the deflector with gloves (heads up: it is heavy and very hot). Open the bottom damper 80% and the top vent fully. In 8-10 minutes the ceramic clears 350°C. If you own a GrillGrate or a cast-iron plate, this is the moment to drop it in for thermal mass.

  7. 07

    Pepper and oil

    Brush the steak with a very thin film of olive oil on both faces and pepper generously. The oil conducts heat in the first seconds and helps the pepper stick.

  8. 08

    Direct sear, 90 seconds per face

    Place the tomahawk over the direct zone. Time 90 seconds untouched, flip with tongs (never a fork) and another 90 seconds. Then stand the steak on edge over the fat strip for another 30 seconds. For diamond grill marks with a GrillGrate, rotate 45° at the 45-second point on each face.

  9. 09

    Final 5 min rest and carve

    Move the tomahawk to the board, rub the top with a crushed garlic clove and a rosemary sprig. Rest 5 minutes. Cut the meat off the bone with a boning knife and slice the steak across the grain, finger-thick. Finish with Maldon flakes.

About this recipe

Reverse-sear is the honest method for cooking a 1.2-1.5 kg tomahawk without gambling: you bring the interior up slowly to 50°C probe with the ceramic at 110°C, pull the steak to rest, open the vents to 350°C and sear 90 seconds a side. The result is edge-to-edge even, with real Maillard crust and none of the grey band you get with a classic "hot pan first" approach.

Why reverse-sear beats the classic method

The classic method sears first over fierce heat and finishes in the oven; that forces a temperature gradient from crust to centre and leaves a grey, overcooked ring under the bark. Reverse-sear flips it: the steak tempers for 1 hour at room temperature, is dry-salted 30 minutes ahead (the salt dissolves and reabsorbs), goes into the kamado with the deflector at 110°C indirect and only hits the sear once a Bluetooth probe reads 50°C internal — roughly 50-60 minutes. Out it comes, rests 10 minutes, and meanwhile you crank the ceramic by opening the bottom damper and top vent.

The sear: 90 seconds, one face at a time

Once the kamado clears 350°C, the tomahawk goes back on: 90 seconds per face, no fidgeting, plus 30 seconds on the fat-cap edge. Final rest of 5 minutes on a wooden board, then slice thick (a finger wide) across the grain. Carry-over after the sear lifts the centre another 5-7°C — you finish around 57-58°C, which is a perfect medium-rare for a cut this marbled.

In 30 seconds

1.4 kg tomahawk tempered 1h. Dry-salt 30 min before. Deflector, 110°C indirect until 50°C internal probe (50-60 min). Pull, rest 10 min while the kamado climbs to 350°C with vents open. Sear direct 90 sec each face + 30 sec edges. Rest 5 min, slice thick across the grain. Four diners, Sunday glory.

Editor's tips

  • A Bluetooth probe is non-negotiable: the centre of a tomahawk is not where you think, and at 1.4 kg the gap between 50°C and 55°C internal changes the dish. Inkbird IBT-26S or Meater Plus, whatever you own.
  • A GrillGrate gives you proper dark grill lines and spreads heat more evenly, but it is not essential. Without it, the kamado grate at 350°C still marks well — you just clean more drippings afterwards.
  • During the indirect phase do NOT lift the lid, not even for a peek. Every opening drops the chamber from 110°C to 80°C and adds 10-15 minutes to the curve. The Bluetooth probe exists for exactly this reason.
  • Sear sequentially, not simultaneously. One face → timer → flip → timer → edges. If you start fiddling with both faces at once you lose thermal contact and the crust comes out uneven.
  • Cutting across the grain is the difference between a tender tomahawk and a chewy one. Look at the visible fibres before lifting the knife: the cut must be perpendicular to them. Finger-thick slices, no thinner, no thicker.

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FAQ

  • What does reverse-sear actually offer over the classic sear-first method?

    Reverse-sear takes the meat up to the target internal temperature at low indirect heat first, and only then hits it with a fierce sear. That gives you edge-to-edge even pink, with none of the grey overcooked band you get from the classic sear-first method. The Maillard crust also forms faster on a surface already dried by the indirect phase, so it comes out darker and crisper with less risk of overcooking.

  • Is a Bluetooth probe really mandatory?

    For a steak this expensive and this thick, yes. The difference between pulling at 48°C, 50°C or 52°C internal is not cosmetic — it changes the final doneness. A Bluetooth probe (Inkbird IBT-26S, Meater Plus, ThermoPro) costs 40-80 € and lasts years. The analogue probes on a kamado are for chamber temperature, not the centre of the meat. If you only have an instant-read thermometer, check every 10 minutes from the 35-minute mark onward — it works, but precision drops.

  • Without a deflector, can you improvise the indirect phase?

    You can, but you lose consistency. One option is to build the charcoal only on one side and place the tomahawk on the other — turning the kamado into a two-zone grill. Another is to slide a heavy aluminium tray with water between the coals and the grate. Neither matches a ceramic deflector for even radiant heat. If you cook reverse-sear regularly, the OEM deflector for your kamado brand is the most cost-effective accessory after the probe.

  • Does the tomahawk bone affect cooking time?

    Yes, but less than folklore claims. Bone conducts heat more slowly than meat, so the zone immediately next to the bone runs 2-3°C cooler than the rest. That is why we sink the probe into the geometric centre of the muscle, not next to the bone — probe close to the bone and you will pull late, with the rest overcooked. In total time, a bone-in steak adds about 5-8 minutes versus a boneless ribeye of the same thickness.

  • Thick or thin slices when serving?

    Thick. A finger-thick slice (1.5-2 cm) holds internal temperature and keeps the juices in as you chew. Thin, carpaccio-style slices cool in seconds and look visually dry, on top of losing the contrast between Maillard crust and pink centre that defines a good reverse-sear. We serve on a warm platter and each diner takes 2-3 slices. Leftovers go whole, wrapped in cling film, then warmed at 70°C in the kamado the next day.

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