Tomahawk with Guacachurri

A good steak can be prepared in many different ways. But when we are talking about a thick tomahawk, you want to get the absolute most out of it. Because of course, you do not want your beautiful piece of meat to end up like a tough shoe sole on your plate...

Tomahawk reverse sear

My favorite way to prepare a thick steak is the reverse sear. Safe and sound. With this technique, you let the steak cook slowly and evenly first. Then you let it rest briefly before finishing it with a short, high heat sear. This can be done on a cast iron grate, in a pan, with a blow torch or directly over the fire, whatever you prefer. As long as it is short and powerful, with the goal of creating that perfect crust. Want to read more about the reverse sear technique? Read all about it here.

Dry brining the tomahawk

You do not need to do much to the steak itself. Simply dry brine it for one or two nights, also known as dry brining, and then cook it on the BBQ. This gives you the most pure and intense flavor the steak has to offer. Of course, you can serve it with all kinds of sides. Since we are working with a Spanish Charra tomahawk, I (@Rudilicious_Kitchen) served it with my guacachurri. But chimichurri is also a great option.

Preparing tomahawk reverse sear 

1. Remove the steak from the vacuum packaging and pat it dry with kitchen paper. 
2. Season the steak generously with fleur de sel or, if you do not have it, sea salt. Do not be too conservative, this is a thick steak.
3. Place the steak on a wire rack in the refrigerator. The rack allows the steak to dry evenly while the juices drawn out by the salt are reabsorbed into the meat. 
4. Let the tomahawk rest in the refrigerator for one or two nights.
5. About an hour before cooking, take the tomahawk out of the refrigerator and let it come to room temperature.
6. Light the BBQ and set it up for indirect grilling. Ideally, you create a setup with both an indirect and a direct zone so you do not have to reconfigure later. Heat the BBQ to around 120 degrees.
7. Once the BBQ is up to temperature, insert a thermometer into the steak and place it on the indirect side. If you have both zones, position the bone side toward the direct heat to protect the meat.
8. When the tomahawk is about 5 degrees below your desired final temperature, remove it from the BBQ and wrap it in aluminum foil.
9. Now it is time to sear the steak. Choose your preferred method. In this case, we assume you will use the same BBQ.
10. Open the vents fully to bring the BBQ up to a high temperature.
11. After 10 to 15 minutes, remove the steak from the foil and pat it dry with kitchen paper. This helps achieve a proper crust quickly.
12. Sear the steak over direct heat. If the BBQ is hot enough, this should take no more than about one minute per side. The goal is a beautiful crust. 
13. Remove the steak from the BBQ and finish with freshly ground black pepper. Serve immediately, no further resting is needed.
14. Tip: serve the steak with guacachurri (based on a recipe from Rudiliciouskitchen.nl), which is essentially a classic chimichurri combined with mashed avocado and finely chopped tomato. Latin American flavors at their best. Perfect for steaks and also great on a burger.

ENJOY!

Tomahawk