Grilled Tomahawk Steak

A Grilled Tomahawk Steak is impressive to serve to company, though is simple to make with just three ingredients. This large cut of steak is often eaten at restaurants, but you can easily make it at home, too!

I have seen Tomahawk Steak being reference as the “caveman steak” or “caveman experience”. I guess judging by its shape and size, it’s a pretty primal thing to cook and eat ? but it’s also delicious!

The large size of this steak means you’ll get more tender, juicy meat compared to smaller sizes. It’s obviously meant to be shared – and my chef husband always prefers one large steak to share between several people over individual, smaller steaks. Not only is it more impressive, but it’s also easier to cook to perfection!

Ingredients you’ll need

Here is a visual overview of the ingredients in the recipe. Scroll down to the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post for quantities!

Ingredient notes

• Steak: The steak I used in the photos weighed 2.5 pounds, which is pretty much in the middle of standard tomahawk steak weights sold. Depending on the size of your specific steak, you will need to adjust the cooking time – I recommend working with a meat thermometer here, as this is not a cheap cut!
• Seasoning: I used salt and pepper from the beginning. If you prefer to season your steak with just salt prior to cooking, please feel free to do so!
• Extras: I pretty much always serve steak with homemade garlic herb butter. I didn’t include it in this recipe because it’s not part of the actual grilling, but I highly recommend it!

How to grill tomahawk steak

It’s actually not that complicated to grill this cut of beef – you just need to know the technique (and again, using a meat thermometer yields best results):

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1. Pat the steak dry using paper towels, then season it with salt (and pepper, if desired) all over.
2. Over direct heat, sear the steak for around 3-5 minutes per side (do a quarter turn after about 2 minutes to yield pretty grill marks).
3. Once a nice crust forms, move the steak to indirect heat and allow it to grill for 10-25 minutes, until the internal temperature reaches 5°F below your desired level.
4. Move the steak to a plate and tent it with foil. Rest for 5-10 minutes before serving.

Internal temperature for steak

Before we delve into the chart, please note that the USDA recommends an internal temperature of at least 145°F followed by a resting time of 3 minutes for the safe consumption of steak. However, this will give you medium-done steak which is usually more done than what you’d get at a restaurant if you let the chef do what he wants to do.

Here are average temperatures for different levels of doneness, use lower cooking temperatures than the USDA recommends at your own risk:

• 125°F: Rare
• 135°F: Medium-rare
• 145°F: Medium
• 155°F: Medium-well
• 165°F: Well-done

For reference, I pulled the steak for the photos at 125°F and allowed it to rest for 10 minutes. The final temperature was 135°F, which translates to medium-rare.

How to cut Tomahawk steak

You want to use a sharp-edged, long knife to slice this steak. Do not use a short/blunt knife, you’ll just be hacking away at an expensive piece of meat.

Always cut against the grain. If you look at your cooked steak closely, you can see the direction the fibres of the meat run. You want to slice exactly on the diagonal of the fibres for tender, even slices.

PS If you try this recipe, please leave a review in the comment section and add a star rating in the recipe card – I appreciate your feedback! Follow along on Pinterest, Facebook or Instagram.

Printable recipe