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A tomahawk steak seasoned with both black garlic as well as a salt, pepper, garlic seasoning and then seared on a flat top using the just keep flipping method. This cast iron steak ends up with the most epic flavor crust.
Cast iron can take many forms. The traditional cast iron skillet is always a great choice. There’s also a griddle that can be placed on a couple burners on the stove or out on a hot grill on the back deck. And with the craze of flat top grills, some of which have cast iron tops, there are a ton of options. For this cast iron steak, I’ll be using the latter, my three foot wide flat top grill with the cast iron top.
I’m doing a tomahawk ribeye which has the long bone, so in a cast iron pan is not a great option. The bone sticks out of the side of the skillet which keeps half the steak from touching the bottom of the pan. There is a way around that with this hack, but I’m going with the flat top grill. The griddle is so much easier to control in terms of temps. We also have another fantastic method for grilling a tomahawk – Reverse Seared Tomahawk with Compound Butter.
Cast Iron Steak Ingredients
- 1 tomahawk steak, approximately 32 ounces
- Your favorite steak seasoning (we used SPG seasoning and black garlic)
- Salt, optional
- 2 tablespoons wagyu beef tallow, divided
Season the steak with your favorite beef or steak seasoning. I used both SPG seasoning (SPG just means salt, pepper and garlic) and black garlic.
The SPG seasoning:
And black garlic:
Then, flip over and repeat on the other side:
Additionally, make sure to collect the excess seasoning around the edge of the steak:
Salt only if needed.
Add the Beef Tallow
Then spread a tablespoon of wagyu beef tallow on the top (not pictured)
How to Cook Steak on Cast Iron
The best way to cook a steak on cast iron is the “just keep flipping” method. That’s where we take a seasoned steak, a wicked hot cast iron skillet or griddle, and just keep flipping the steak until it hits the desired doneness. Sear the steak on one side, wait 2-3 minutes, allowing the steak to char a bit. Once it picks up the delicious browning, flip. Then repeat on the other side and again and again until you get to your desired temp.
Other options to Cook Cast Iron Steak
Other options with cast iron involve smoking first and searing second (reverse sear). Here are some steaks smoked on a gas grill and finished on cast iron. And here are some steaks smoked over charcoal and finished on cast iron. One could also reverse sear in the oven by bringing the temp up in the kitchen and finishing off on the stove or on the grill. Additionally, you could sear on cast iron then toss the steak in a 250F-300F grill and smoke/bake indirect until the desired doneness.
Prepare the flat top grill by setting it to between 400F-450F and once it comes up to temp, which takes a few minutes with iron, place the steak tallow side down and slather the top with the other tablespoon of beef tallow:
After 3-4 minutes of browning, flip the steak over onto the newly applied wagyu beef tallow:
And a close up:
Then, sear on the other side for 3-4 minutes:
After 3-4 more minutes flip over again and revel in the flavor crust after only 6-8 minutes:
And sear on the first side some more. We got a great flavor crust the first time around, only 2-3 minutes this time:
After 2-3 minutes, flip again:
Give it a temp check.
Not ready yet:
Here’s a handy steak doneness guide
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
Keep flipping every 2-3 minutes and eventually it will look about like this and be ready to come off the grill after just one more step:
Sear the Fat
Don’t forget the last step which is to crisp up the fat around the outside:
Once the fat browns a bit, pull the cast iron steak off the flat top and let it rest for 5-10 minutes:
And a close up of our tomahawk:
And then slice.
How to Slice a Tomahawk Steak
I begin by carving down along the bone, but not right next to it. I like to leave 1/2 to 1 inch of meat on the bone as it is my favorite part of the steak. Then I slice across the width of the steak into strips:
Take the knife along the bone, but leave some meat on the rib.
Indeed, there’s just something magical about gnawing the meat off that massive bone
Then slice across the width:
Cast Iron Steak Summary
The smoky flavor from a reverse seared steak isn’t there for this one, but it’s still absolutely phenomenal. Spending the entirety of the cooking process developing a flavor crust makes for a boatload of flavor. It also shows that if you have a flat top grill on the back patio you can make a wicked great steak with nothing else other than a set of tongs and a thermometer.
Scroll down below the recipe to see some more pics of this cookout along with a close up of the meat on that bone right before I chowed down.
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Recipe Card
Cast Iron Steak
Ingredients
- 1 Tomahawk Steak Approximately 32 ounces
- SPG seasoning
- Black garlic seasoning
- Salt optional
- 2 tablespoons Wagyu beef tallow
Instructions
- Season the steak on both sides with your favorite steak seasoning
- Slather one side of the steak with a heaping tablespoon of wagyu beef tallow
- Set the cast iron flat top grill to 400F-450F
- Once the cast iron comes up to temp, place the tomahawk steak, tallow-slathered-side down on the hot grill
- Slather the top of the steak with the other tablespoon of beef tallow
- After 4-6 minutes, flip over the beef tallow steak and sear the other side
- After another 4-6 minutes, flip the cast iron steak again
- Then wait 2-3 minutes before flipping again.
- Keep flipping every 2-3 minutes until the steak reaches the desired doneness.
Video
Extra pics of the process:
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