Sous Vide Tomahawk Steak

melted compound butter on a ribeye steak

5 from 1 vote

Making a juicy, flavorful, extra-thick tomahawk steak is foolproof with my sous vide tomahawk steak. You'll not only get a perfectly cooked steak, but it'll have a gorgeous sear as well!

Prep Time5

Cook Time3 5

Total Time3 10

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: American

Servings: servings

Calories: 506kcal

Author: Eden Westbrook

Equipment

1 sous vide bag roll to make a custom side sous vide bag
1 sous vide circulator
1 Vacuum Sealer
1 cast iron griddle I often refer to this as the 'plancha'

Ingredients

1 tomahawk steak 32 ounces at least
2 tablespoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon black pepper fresh ground, slightly coarse
1 tablespoon grapeseed oil or other high heat oil

Instructions

Sous Vide the Tomahawk Steak

Generously season all sides of the tomahawk steak with the kosher salt and black pepper. It's a big piece of meat, season it well.
1 tomahawk steak, 2 tablespoon kosher salt, 1 tablespoon black pepper
Vacuum seal the steak and bone entirely in a sous vide bag.
Set the sous vide circulator to 125 degrees F for medium rare and place it into a water bath large enough to hold the steak. Place the steak into the water bath and cook for 3-4 hours.

Sear the Tomahawk Steak

Once the steak is done in the sous vide bath, remove it from the bag onto a plate lined with paper towels. Dab the steak dry with paper towels. The drier the steak, the better the sear.
Place a large cast iron griddle on the stovetop and bring to medium high heat. Pour on the grapeseed oil and wait until the oil is shimmering hot before placing the steak flat onto the hot griddle.
1 tablespoon grapeseed oil
Sear each side for about 1 minute per side, you want a beautifully dark golden brown on each side. Use tongs to carefully lift the steak up and sear the sides as well for at least 30 seconds. You want to render the fat on the side well.
You can slice and serve the tomahawk immediately. Remove the bone carefully with a sharp knife, then slice the ribeye for serving.

Notes

Storage and Reheating Instructions

Storage: Store the leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.

Reheat: I recommend sous viding slices of the steak to a temperature of 120ºf for about 5-10 minutes. We don't want to cook it, just rewarm it but doing it in the oven or a microwave would definitely overcook our steak.

Pro Tips

You want the final internal temperature of the steak to be a little over 131 degrees for medium rare. Don't do medium rare? Use the sous vide technique to cook the steak 10 degrees above your degree of doneness.
If you really want a crazy juicy, well-seasoned piece of meat...try giving it an overnight dry brine. All you need is to generously the steak overnight in your fridge uncovered or simply a few hours at room temperature before cooking, then start the recipe.
Try butter basting it. Use a heat-safe silicone pastry brush if you do, but some butter melted in a saucepan with herbs and smashed garlic? Whew. Brush it on like you're trying to drown it toward the end of the searing time, right after you flip it. And make sure you turn the heat down to low so you don't burn the butter!
Don't have a vacuum sealer? Try the water displacement method using a heat-safe resealable bag or sous vide bags! This submersion technique pushes the air out of the bags below the water line. Need some visuals? Check out this video showing how to use this method for sous vide bags.

Nutrition