Thought I'd share how I do a reverse sear on a tomahawk steak using a Weber Kettle.
The steak is a full bone in ribeye, with a long bone attached, looking like a tomahawk. Hence the name. I want to cook this to a medium rare inside, but with a crust with slight charring on the outside. The best technique to do this is by reverse sear. A thin steak, typically less than 1" (2.5cm) thick can be cooked to medium rare by searing on a hot skillet, and cooking till the interior temperature is just shy of 120F or about 48C. But a thicker steak like this 1.5kg tomahawk is too thick to cook evenly through. By the time the interior temperature reaches 48C, the outside will have been badly charred. Or slow cooking to reach an even medium rare will not leave a delicious crust on the outside. But first things first.
I begin with a seasoning of the meat. Start with patting the meat dry with paper towels. I only season with salt and pepper. A good piece of meat will show itself with little added flavours. I use only flaky sea salt, or kosher salt, or any kind of salt with flakes. Normal table salt is not useful, salt draws out the moisture from the meat, and the table salt will melt making a brine. It is also easier to over seasoned resulting in a very salty steak. For this 1.5kg steak, I use about 1 teaspoon per 500g, so about 3 teaspoon. Liberally coat all surfaces of the steak, including the sides. Taking care not to rub the salt into the meat, but just pat it on. Leave it lightly covered for at least half an hour. I tend not to add the pepper yet, till just before cooking. This process is known as dry brining. The salt will draw out the moisture, and then be reabsorbed into the meat, penetrating it all the way. The salt also reacts with the meat fibres, making them more tender. When complete, the meat should not be sitting in a pool of brine, but just moist.
Next, prepare the charcoal. Here I use a chimney with briquettes. The coals need to be very hot, and will look like they are coated in white. And I pour the hot coals onto half of the Weber Kettle. This creates a hot zone / cool zone cooking within the BBQ.
The meat is then seasoned with a generous amount of fresh ground black pepper and is placed on the cool zone. I stick a meat thermometer deep into the tomahawk. The air vents on the Weber is fully opened at the bottom, and about half open on the top vent. Place the lid so that the vent openings are directly over the steak on the cool side. This forces the hot air to flow over the meat, cooking it with convection. Indirectly.
This should get the temperature in the kettle when closed to about 350F or 180C. For such a thick piece of meat, I do not rely on timing, but rather the interior temperature. I use a simple, inexpensive meat thermometer. A piece of meat this size will take about 60-90 mins to cook. So I do a turn over of the tomahawk about 45 mins into the cook. I use a small plate below the meat with a small lump of butter and also to catch the melted fats from the steak. I use a small brush to apply this melted fat to the tomahawk periodically, so it does not dry out. The fat also adds flavour. When the thermometer reads 120F or 48C, the tomahawk is removed from the Weber.
And allowed to rest for about 5 to 7 minutes. While resting, the residue heat within the meat will continue cooking, and the temperature will rise about 7F or 5C.
After the rest, the fire is brought up to a very high heat by adding more briquettes, and fanning it. After the rest, the tomahawk is returned to the Weber, but this time to the hot side for the sear. This will typically take a minute on each side.
After searing, the tomahawk is again rested for about 5 minutes. During this rest stage the meat temperature does not rise further, as the searing is done under high heat, and does not fully penetrate the thick steak. It only charrs and creates a nice brown crust on the outside. This second rest is essential because the meat needs to relax and reabsorb the moisture. If we cut a hot steak, we will release the juices, and the meat will be dry.
After the rest, carve, and serve. Sometimes a small sprinkle of sea salt and fresh ground pepper is added for flavour.
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