I’d seen tomahawk steaks around several times but never felt the urge to buy one until this past weekend. I was looking for something to post that I hadn’t done before, and this was a good-looking piece of meat for only $32. I did a little research on how to prepare it and decided on the reverse sear method.

The Dry Brine

After a bit more research, I decided to dry brine the steak first. I salted it and placed it on an elevated rack in the refrigerator — the salt draws some moisture to the surface, which helps tenderize the steak in the process. This one went 8 hours, though with proper planning you could go as long as 24.

I then seasoned it with a Jack Daniels beef rub I had on hand.

The Smoke

I cooked this one on my 18″ Weber Smokey Mountain, running on charcoal with a small amount of hickory for smoke. My target smoker temp was 225°F, and I inserted a probe to track when the steak hit 125°F internal. The water pan stayed empty for this cook.

Once it reached 125°F, I pulled it and let it rest 30 minutes. It had taken on some good color and a great aroma.

The Sear

For the sear, I removed the middle section of the smoker and dropped the grate directly onto the charcoal. Once separated and with plenty of air getting to them, the coals came right back to life. I seared the steak about 2 minutes total, flipping a couple times for even cooking and to try for some decent grill marks.

After pulling it off, I let it rest another 10 minutes before slicing.

The steak was a perfect medium rare, it was very tender and tasted great.

For me, you have to have potatoes with a steak like this — I went with tater tots in the air fryer. It was an awesome meal. I had plenty of leftover steak the next day, which I sliced, sealed, and warmed back up sous vide at 129°F.

Want to see this same reverse sear method on a more everyday cut? Check out my Reverse Seared Strip Steaks post. Reverse Seared Strip Steaks