What in God’s name is a Tomahawk steak? If you have to ask, don’t despair. I have never heard of it until late this year when we had dinner at Eddie V’s and the way it looked and tasted has haunted my mind since. From that, I kept hunting for other places that have it. There’s not a lot. And I am speaking from Houston, which is easily the steak capital of America (it may actually be Dallas, but, pretty close).
So before I proceed any further, I want you to behold how it looks. It’s huge. It’s called Tomahawk because it resembles a Tomahawk axe. It is an on-the bone Rib Steak, cut from the fore-rib with the entire rib bone left. The long bone is french-trimmed, leaving an amazing presentation, and dinner table discussion point. As it is bone-in Rib Steak, it has quite a large amount of inter-muscular fat, which gives it a load of flavour when cooked, as flavours are released from both the huge bone.
A Tomahawk cut can’t be less than 2 inches thick. End to end, it’s about 18-20 inches long and weight about 3-4 pounds of yummy,marble-y goodness.
Because it is really thick, this is not something you can just slap onto to the grill. Chances are, you would cook (and char) the outside of the meat, leaving the inside cold and horribly undercooked.
So the trick is by first doing indirect grilling. By definition, indirect grilling is a barbecue cooking technique in which the food is placed to the side of the heat source instead of directly over the flame as is more common. This can be achieved by igniting only some burners on a gas barbecue or by piling coals to one side of a charcoal pit. Set the grill at 250, then cook for about 30-45 until heat registers at 110. Low and slow is key. After which, remove meat then let rest while you set your grill to 600.
So this is how me and my family spent the first day of 2017—by eating. No surprise there. But we did venture into the new and the wild. True, good things come to those who wait. But better (and more amazing) things happen to those who get off their butts and pursue the things (and food) they love. I have always been proactive kind of person. I fear that if I get anymore proactive than I am now, I might have a seizure. But for as long as I can, you can bet that I will. Here’s to more food adventures in 2017. Cheers!!!