Tomahawk steak on the Big Green Egg Large

Published 13 September 2026 · Last updated 13 September 2026 · By Ben Austen

The tomahawk carved off the bone and sliced across the grain
  • Prep2 min
  • Cook43 min
  • Total1 hr 15 min
  • Serves2
  • DifficultyEasy
  • Temperature150°C (300°F) indirect, about 250°C (480°F) for the sear

I had a 1.232kg bone-in tomahawk steak from Waitrose, 6cm thick, salted and peppered a couple of minutes before it went on. It ran indirect at about 150°C (300°F) until the probe hit 42°C (108°F), rested fifteen minutes, then went over open coals at around 250°C (480°F) for ninety seconds a side. It finished at 51.5°C (125°F), a little rarer near the bone, and it tasted brilliant.

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Ingredients

  • 1 bone-in tomahawk, about 1.2kg and 6cm thick
  • Salt, and more than you think
  • Coarse black pepper
  • Lump charcoal
The bone-in tomahawk seasoned with salt and pepper before it went on

Equipment

  • A barbecue that will hold about 150°C (300°F) indirect and then run hot enough to sear.I cooked this on my Big Green Egg Large. Any kamado, or a kettle with the coals banked to one side, will do the same job.
  • Something to cook indirect over.A ceramic deflector on a kamado. On a kettle, the empty half of the grate.
  • A drip tray.Mine sits on top of the deflector with foil in it.
  • A leave-in probe thermometer, if you have one.Optional.

Method

  1. Salt and pepper it just before it goes on.
  2. Set the barbecue up indirect and bring it to about 150°C (300°F).
  3. Put the steak on and get the probe into the thickest part, away from the bone.
  4. Leave it until the probe reads 42°C (108°F).
  5. Take it off and rest it for fifteen minutes.
  6. Sear it straight on the bare grid with the lid up, ninety seconds a side.
  7. Take it off and check it.
  8. Rest it for fifteen minutes.
  9. Carve it off the bone and slice it across the grain.
The tomahawk at the end of the sear on the Big Green Egg, lid open, with flames coming up through the grid under it.

Key takeaways

  • Rest it twice. Fifteen minutes before the sear and fifteen after. Mine gained 4°C (7°F) over the fire and another 5.5°C (10°F) in that second rest.
  • Pull at 42°C (108°F) and it lands around 51.5°C (125°F). You can do it without a probe. I have cooked plenty of steaks that way and it is just harder.
  • I forgot the smoking wood and I should have had some on. It still tasted brilliant without it.
  • A barbecue that will hold about 150°C (300°F) indirect and then open up hot enough to sear will do this. I used my Big Green Egg Large with the deflector and a drip tray in for the low phase, then took both out for the sear. A kettle with the coals banked to one side does the same job.

The cook

The tomahawk on the Big Green Egg Large grid with two baking potatoes, the leave-in probe in the thickest part of the steak
  1. Salt and pepper it just before it goes on. Mine got a heavy coat of both about two minutes before it hit the grate. It is a big piece of meat and it takes more salt than you would think.
  2. Set the barbecue up indirect and bring it to about 150°C (300°F). Deflector in, drip tray sitting on top of it. Mine was at 150°C (300°F) and dropping by the time the beef went on.
  3. Put the steak on and get the probe into the thickest part, away from the bone.
  4. Leave it until the probe reads 42°C (108°F). That took about forty minutes on mine. Go by the probe and not the clock, because the number is the thing that decides how it comes out.
  5. Take it off and rest it for fifteen minutes. Use that time on the fire. Deflector and drip tray out, vents open, and get it up to around 250°C (480°F).
  6. Sear it straight on the bare grid with the lid up, ninety seconds a side. Open flame, no deflector, nothing under it.
  7. Take it off and check it. Mine read 46°C (115°F) coming off the fire.
  8. Rest it for fifteen minutes. Mine went uncovered into a cold oven with the door shut. It came up to 51.5°C (125°F) in there, which is more than it gained over the fire.
  9. Carve it off the bone and slice it across the grain.
The tomahawk searing on the bare grid with the lid up

What to serve the tomahawk with

Two baking potatoes went on the grate at the same time as the beef and came off with it. They take the same sort of time and they are already in the heat, so there is no reason not to.

I made a hollandaise while the beef was on the go. A couple of egg yolks, salt and pepper, white wine vinegar, then hot butter poured in. I had meant to make a béarnaise but there was no tarragon in the house, so hollandaise is what it became.

What I learned

A leave-in probe makes this a million times easier. You set the alarm and wait for it to go off. No opening the dome every few minutes to hand-probe, no back and forth, and the pit temperature stays where you put it.

The tomahawk resting on a wooden board after the sear

Variations

A kettle does this tomahawk steak recipe fine. Bank the coals to one side, run it indirect on the cool half, then rake them flat and sear over the lot.

A thinner steak wants less of the low phase and the same sear. A thicker one wants more of the low phase and the same sear. The sear does not change much.

If you want it medium rather than rare, pull it at about 48°C (118°F) instead of 42°C (108°F) and let the rest do the same work.

Different cuts. The same two stages work on any steak thick enough to need them. A côte de boeuf, a thick bone-in sirloin, a big rib-eye. The thinner it gets, the less the low phase is doing.

Pork. A thick bone-in pork chop takes the same shape, low first and then a hot sear. Pork wants to finish higher than a rare steak, so the pull temperature changes even though nothing else does.

Related

FAQ

What temperature do you pull a tomahawk steak at?

I pulled mine at 42°C (108°F) and it finished at 51.5°C (125°F), which is rare. If you want medium rather than rare, pull it around 48°C (118°F).

Do you need to reverse sear a tomahawk?

On a piece this thick it is the easiest way to get it even. Straight over the fire from cold, the outside is done long before the middle gets anywhere.

How long does a tomahawk take on a kamado?

Mine took about forty minutes indirect at 150°C (300°F), then ninety seconds a side over open coals. Weight and thickness change that, so the probe decides it and not the clock.

Can you cook a tomahawk without a thermometer?

You can, and I would not. With a probe this is an easy cook. Without one, on a piece this thick, you are guessing at a steak that cost thirty pounds.

Does a tomahawk need smoking wood?

Mine had none because I forgot it. It still tasted brilliant.

Disclosure and provenance

I cooked this on my own Big Green Egg Large. Smoke and Lump has no commercial relationship with Big Green Egg and earns nothing from this recipe.

Sourced from the 25 August 2026 cook log — a 1.232kg bone-in tomahawk from Waitrose, cooked to rare on the Big Green Egg Large with two baking potatoes and a hollandaise.