Reverse Sear Tomahawk Ribeye ON a Cast Iron Pan

Reverse Sear Tomahawk Ribeye Ingredients

• 1 massive tomahawk (at least 2 inches thick)
• Salt
• Pepper
• Aluminum foil
• Cast iron pan

Why Reverse Sear?

Why not sear first then smoke? Because once we sear the steak, it won’t take on much smoke. But we need to do the searing because the browning of the meat creates that beautiful flavor crust but also caramelizes the proteins (which is the key to the char tasting so great). So instead of searing first and then smoking, we imbue the meat with smoke, THEN sear.  The meat comes up to temp much more slowly than searing first and we get a more even cook with that beautiful coast to coast color. And with using a cast iron pan, we get coast to coast char as well. Win, win, win!

Don’t believe me on the reverse sear? I’m not the only one! 

Let’s get after it

Reverse Sear Tomahawk Ribeye Prep and Grilling Instructions

Season the tomahawk with salt and pepper and wrap the bone with some aluminum foil. 

Next up get the grill going.

The kamado grill is set up for indirect cooking with a plate setter installed.

Target temp inside the grill is 250-275.

Before we get to the searing on cast iron, we’re going to put some good old oak smoke flavor into this massive chunk ‘o beef:

Once the steak reaches 120 degrees internal temperature we’ll pull it and prepare for the sear action:

At this point in the recipe the steak was set aside, the grill grate lifted and the plate setter removed to achieve direct fire grilling.

We opened the vents but breaking out the Electro Torch again to fan the flames gave us a raging fire in a heartbeat, or two.

The trick to searing a tomahawk steak on a cast iron pan

So what is this trick to getting an even sear on a massive tomahawk? We placed the cast iron pan in the inverted position (upside down) to yield maximum surface contact for the beef without having to struggle with an unbending bone:

The target temperature was 550 degrees and it was HOT! The seasoning of the skillet was pretty much baked off.

If you don’t have an infrared thermometer to give you the temp, hold your hand a couple inches above the cast iron pan, if you can hold it there for just one Mississippi, then it’s hot enough. If you can hold it there for 3 or 4 Mississippi then it’s not hot enough, so keep stoking that fire.

Also, some really good hand and arm protection might be a good idea. Welding gloves that go to the elbow are a good idea here.

Once it’s hot enough slap that slab of beef down on the bottom side of the pan:

The tomahawk was dropped onto the blazing cast iron pan bottom. The reaction was quite sensational. Here’s some video of that magic:

Please use caution when flipping as the hot juices can ignite and splatter at this temperature.

Wanna closer look at that steak fog?

How was the sear action?

Just look at that flavor crust! Mr. Maillard himself would be proud:

Steak Temps

• Rare Steak Temp: 120F-125F
• Medium Rare Steak Temp: 130F-135F
• Medium Steak Temp: 140F-145F
• Med. Well Steak Temp: 150F-155F
• Well Done Steak Temp: 160F or more, but seriously, just order the chicken

Finally, let the steak rest for 5-10 minutes.

How did the tomahawk ribeye steak turn out?

I’ll wait while you zoom in.

Indeed, the Reverse Sear Tomahawk Ribeye was as good as it looks:

Reverse Sear Tomahawk Ribeye Recap:

Reminds me of some of the steaks I’ve seen done with the trendy sous vide method then grill finished. Edge to edge beautiful color but with the bonus of that delightful smoky and charred flavor that one can’t get with sous vide. If you give this a try I’d suggest only attempting this with a steak 2 inches thick or more. Thin steaks will likely be overcooked, unless of course you’re going for medium, medium well or well done. Then, knock yourself out.

It all begins with starting a hot fire. Thanks Electro Torch!

One more bonus pic:

If you have any questions or comments about this Reverse Sear Tomahawk Ribeye, feel free to leave them below or send me an email.

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We are very proud to partner with the Electro Torch from HomeRight on this post. We honestly use this torch every single time we grill and we also use them to stoke the fireplace in the winter time when huddled around the hearth.