Reverse sear côte de boeuf on the BBQ

Published 9 November 2026 · Last updated 9 November 2026 · Tested by Ben Austen

Ingredients

• 1 côte de boeuf, about 1.08kg and 5cm (2in) thick
• A good amount of salt
• A thin strip of oak, for smoke
• Charcoal and a firelighter or two

Equipment

• A barbecue that can cook indirect at about 140°C (285°F) with the lid down, then get up to about 250°C (480°F) for the sear. I cooked on a Monolith TWO 55 with the split set-up: a half-moon deflector on one side and a low grid over the open coals on the other. Any kamado, or a kettle with the coals to one side, will do the same job.
• A leave-in thermometer with an alarm. I used my ThermoPro TP20, and an instant-read for spot checks.
• Foil, for the rest.

Method

1. Light the barbecue and set it up for two zones.
2. Add the wood and wait.
3. Salt it well.
4. Cook it indirect.
5. Take it off and get the grill hot.
6. Sear it over the coals.
7. Rest it in foil for about 20 minutes.
8. Carve it off the bone and slice it.

Key takeaways

• Pull it at 42°C (108°F) and let it climb. Mine went up another 8°C (14°F) while I got the grill hot for the sear, so it was at 50°C (122°F) when it went back on.
• Wait for blue smoke before the beef goes on. The first smoke off the wood is thick and white. It probably takes 5 to 10 minutes to turn thin and almost see-through, and if you rush it the smoke flavour can be a bit acrid.
• Empty the drip trays before you open the vents for the sear. Old fat from earlier cooks flared up on mine.
• A split set-up means the deflector can stay in for the sear. The deflector side works like an oven and the low grid over the coals does the sear.
• One côte de boeuf this size feeds three adults, maybe four.

Côte de boeuf BBQ: the cook in full

It’s an expensive, big piece of meat, and with one of those you’re always worried about overcooking it. Mine was a 1.078kg Blackgate côte de boeuf of Irish beef from Booker, about 2 inches thick, and I seasoned it with salt and nothing else. There’s so much meat that you don’t need to worry about oversalting it.

I cooked it on the Monolith with the split system: a half-moon deflector on one side and the other side open. Partly I was just trying it out, but it makes sense. You’ve got a low grid just above the coals to sear on, and the deflector side works like an oven. I filled the charcoal basket, lit it with firelighters and put one thin strip of oak on the coals. I waited for the thick white smoke to turn blue, and the steak went on over the deflector side about 12 minutes after the oak, with my TP20 probe in and the alarm set for 42°C (108°F). The dome sat at about 140°C (285°F).

The alarm went off about 50 minutes later and I took the steak off. I pull at 42°C because I know it’s going to rise. While it was off, I opened the vents to get the grill up towards 250°C (480°F) for the sear, and the steak climbed 8 degrees to 50°C (122°F). The sear isn’t on for long, about a minute a side over the open coals, and the deflector stayed in on the other half.

Then it rested in foil for about 20 minutes. When I checked it after the rest it was at 53–54°C (127–129°F), pink right through when I carved it.

The fat flare-up, and the drip trays

When I opened the vents to get the grill hot for the sear, I’d left the drip trays in, and the old fat in them went up in a big flare-up. The steak wasn’t in the grill at the time. I’ve done three, four or five cooks on the Monolith now without emptying the drip trays, so it was my own fault. Not much fat comes out of a steak, really. I think most of it was from older cooks.

I was pretty calm about it. I knew what the problem was, so I kept the lid closed and went in with a clear plan. I took the first grid off, then hooked the fat tray out with the second one. If you’re not confident doing that, shut all the vents and shut it down. I didn’t, because I still wanted to sear the steak. What you should be doing is cleaning your drip trays out.

Côte de boeuf cooking time

My 1.08kg côte de boeuf was on the barbecue for about an hour in all, then rested for about 20 minutes. Go by the probe, not the clock. This is how it went:

Time from going on	Inside the meat	What I did
0	Not measured	On over the deflector side, dome about 140°C (285°F)
About 50 minutes	42°C (108°F)	Took it off and opened the vents for the sear
About 1 hour	50°C (122°F)	Seared it about a minute a side over the coals
After about 20 minutes’ rest in foil	53–54°C (127–129°F)	Carved it

Côte de boeuf vs tomahawk

I’ve reverse seared both on a kamado. The tomahawk looks cooler, because it’s got a big bone, but it’s also much, much bigger to cook. I think you’d struggle with a big tomahawk on something like a MiniMax, and doing two of them would be difficult. I’d probably go côte de boeuf.

	My côte de boeuf	My tomahawk
Weight and thickness	1.08kg, about 5cm	1.232kg, 6cm
Indirect phase	About 140°C (285°F), split set-up	About 150°C (300°F), deflector in
Pulled at	42°C (108°F)	42°C (108°F)
Sear	About a minute a side	Ninety seconds a side
After the rest	53–54°C (127–129°F)	51.5°C (125°F)

Buying côte de boeuf

Mine was £28.56 from Booker, a foodservice wholesaler that serves caterers, retailers and other businesses. The label said £26.49 a kilo. If you can’t buy there, I’ve compared UK online butchers for BBQ.

What I learned

If you’re doing your first one, a leave-in thermometer makes it so much easier.

Next time I’d get better meat. I did wonder what the quality of the Booker beef would be like, and it was lovely, but you could get higher-quality meat. I’d empty the drip trays first. And I could have put the coals in the low side of the basket only, which would have been better for fuel.

What to serve it with

I had it with my wife and the kids, with cauliflower purée, Brussels sprouts, kale and a jus.

Variations

I think a côte de boeuf would absolutely work on a kettle. Without a split system, you take the whole lot out for the sear, which is how I did my tomahawk on the Big Green Egg Large. It’s absolutely fine.

Related

• Monolith TWO 55 review — the kamado I cooked this on.
• Tomahawk steak on a kamado — the same reverse sear on a bigger bone.
• BBQ rib of beef — another big beef cut on the barbecue.
• Smoked Thor’s hammer beef — another cut I bought at Booker.
• The best UK wireless thermometers — leave-in probes, if you haven’t got one.

FAQ

How long should I cook 1kg of côte de boeuf?

Go by the probe. My 1.08kg one took about 50 minutes at about 140°C (285°F) to reach 42°C (108°F), then about another 10 minutes off the heat while the grill got hot, a minute a side on the sear and about 20 minutes’ rest.

How do you cook côte de boeuf on the barbecue?

I reverse sear it. Cook it indirect, away from the coals, until it reaches 42°C (108°F), then sear it hard over the coals and rest it. With a cut this thick I don’t think anything else guarantees success.

Côte de boeuf or tomahawk?

I’d probably go côte de boeuf. The tomahawk looks better, with the big bone, but it’s much bigger to cook.

What do you serve with côte de boeuf?

I had mine with cauliflower purée, Brussels sprouts, kale and a jus.

Can you cook côte de boeuf on a kamado?

Yes. I cooked mine on a kamado with a split set-up: indirect over the deflector side at about 140°C (285°F), then seared over the low grid on the other side.

Disclosure and provenance

I paid for the beef myself. The Monolith TWO 55 is on loan from Que Fresco, the UK distributor. None of the links here are affiliate links, so nothing here earns a commission.

Sourced from the 8 November 2026 cook log — a 1.08kg côte de boeuf reverse seared on a Monolith TWO 55 split set-up.