Reverse Sear Cowboy Steak
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Try your hand at this Reverse Sear Cowboy Steak that’s slow smoked for a ton of moisture and flavor. With bold, tangy seasonings in a delicious crust topped with a bright, zesty chimichurri sauce, you’ll be surprised by how easy it is to grill such a mouthwatering ribeye!
Reverse Sear Cowboy Steak for Two
A cowboy steak is a beautiful cut of ribeye, well marbled for an abundance of flavor. Reverse seared, it’s deliciously tender and has a stunning presentation. It’s hard to grill a cut of meat and get that moist, pink center, but this reverse sear steak recipe does it perfectly.
I recommend serving this meal for two with some buttery mashed potatoes and with my delicious chimichurri sauce. All in all, this dish is bright, buttery, bold, and boasts insane flavor. And it’s way easier than you think!
We’re using Montreal Seasoning in this recipe. You can buy this premade or simply make your own steak seasoning. This recipe for seasoning is great on all grilled meats, so I highly recommend keeping some on hand. Try it out with my perfectly grilled ribeye or even on these baked potato wedges.
INGREDIENT NOTES AND SUBSTITUTIONS
- Cowboy Cut Steak – A “cowboy steak” or “tomahawk steak” is really a bone in ribeye. It’s a thick cut tomahawk with a long, rather than short, bone. It takes a bit longer to get to temperature than your traditional ribeye, but that extra smoking time makes all the difference in flavor.
- Montreal Seasoning – This premade seasoning does all the work for you. It’s a mix of coarse salt, black and red pepper, garlic, onion with a hint of orange zest.
- Mashed Potatoes – This traditional side is the perfect pairing for a well-seared ribeye! I like the instant mashed potatoes for styling, but you can absolutely make a homemade mash if you’d prefer.
- Chimichurri Sauce – An optional garnish for this dish that adds an entire new dimension of flavor. Blend all of the following ingredients together with an immersion blender or food processor to prepare:
- Herbs – We’re using flat-leaf parsley, cilantro, and mint here for a fresh, herbaceous mix.
- Seasonings – Minced garlic and red pepper flakes will give your sauce a strong body and slight heat.
- Red Wine Vinegar & Lemon Juice – These ingredients will make our chimichurri tangy and bright, which is just what our cowboy steak needs!
- Olive Oil – Use extra virgin olive oil for a high-quality, aromatic sauce base.
- Salt & Pepper – Start with the recommended measurements and then add to taste if desired.
HOW TO MAKE A COWBOY STEAK
- Bring Meat to Room Temperature. Take your steak out of the refrigerator an hour before cooking.
- Season the Ribeye. Generously coat each side of the steak with Montreal Seasoning, pressing into the meat so that it sticks. Do this before preheating so that the meat has time to absorb the flavors of the seasoning.
- Prepping & Preheating. Set your Traeger to 225°F and hit “Super Smoke.” Preheat for 15 minutes.
- Grill Once. Lay your steak directly onto the grill and cook for 45 minutes. Once its internal temperature reaches 115°F, remove from the grill and let rest for 10 minutes. While the meat is resting, change the Traeger heat to 500°F.
- Grill Twice. Grill your ribeye once more for 5-6 minutes on each side, or until its internal temperature reaches 130°F for a perfectly medium-rare center.
- Let the Meat Rest. Remove from the grill and let rest for at least 10 minutes.
- Slice & Serve. Top with butter before slicing and serve with my optional blended chimichurri sauce.
Why is it called a Cowboy Steak?
The name comes from the cowboys themselves. Back in the day, cowboys would use the long bone of the ribeye as a handle to hold and eat. We’ll be slicing our cowboy steak to serve, but you’ll still get that classic presentation.
How can I be sure that I have the right cut of meat?
You can ask for a tomahawk steak, cowboy steak, rib steak, or a bone-in ribeye at a butcher or at a high-end grocery store. Be sure to call or check ahead at your local grocer to make sure that they have it.
It also has a distinct appearance: a long bone, thick cut, and clear marbling are your key indicators. To be more specific, the bone should be at least 5 inches long and meat about 2 inches thick.
How long does it take to reverse sear a cowboy steak?
Between the preliminary grilling, rest time, and final sear, it takes approximately 65 minutes to reverse sear a tomahawk steak.
The long bone of the tomahawk makes it take slightly longer than your traditional ribeye, but the additional flavor and juiciness of the meat makes it absolutely worth it!
How do you reverse sear a tomahawk steak?
You need to first cook the ribeye on a smoker at a low temperature, giving the meat a while to come to temperature. We do this for two reasons: to retain moisture and to ensure a perfectly pink center.
After letting the meat rest, which is also important for maintaining as much moisture as possible, we crank up the heat and sear each side.
With this method, we can get both a nice, crusty sear and a juicy center. It is particularly helpful when cooking a large, thick cut of meat, like our tomahawk ribeye. It’s worth the wait, for sure!
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Reverse Sear Cowboy Steak for Two
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 lb Cowboy cut steak Ribeye Tomahawk
- 2 tbsp Montreal Seasoning
- 2 tbsp butter
- chimichurri sauce (blended), optional
Instructions
- Bring steak out of the refrigerator 1 hour prior to cooking.
- Season the steak with Montreal Seasoning on both sides, pressing the seasoning to adhere.
- Pellet Smoker: Set Traeger to 225°F and hit Super Smoke. Preheat for 15 minutes.
- Place steak directly on clean grill grate and cook 45 minutes, until internal temperature reaches 115°F. Remove steak from grill and let rest 10 minutes. Change Traeger heat to 500°F in the meantime.
- Place steak back on the grill for 5-6 minutes per side, or until internal temperature reaches 130°F-135°F for medium-rare (See Note 1).
- Remove from grill and let rest 10 minutes. Top with butter before slicing and serve with optional chimichurri.
Video
Notes
- 125°F (52° C) for rare, 135°F (57° C) for medium-rare, and 145°F (63°C) for medium.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Made this for myself on Fathers Day and I must say I really loved making it this way. Reverse sear is a great way to go. Thanks Kevin! I gave 4 stars because I did it with a rib eye. A tomahawk at Costco was too expensive.
OK! Whatever steak you use, this method is fantastic. Thanks Jim.
This reverse sear method is my new go to for any steak, but this was a show stopper and made me look I knew what I was doing. Thanks Kevin
Me too Barry. Thanks for taking the time to come back and let me know. Cheers!
Great one Kevin, it turned out just like I like it and I loved how easy it was. Thanks for the recipe and great video.
So happy you enjoyed this recipe Steve, it’s one of my favorites (if I can find tomahawks on sale)!
For the amount of money it costs for one of these bad boys I was a little reluctant, but this turned out fantastic! Simple and easy directions and the video was great. Another hit at making me look good Kevin.
So glad I could assist! Thanks for coming back to let me know Curt!
Best steak I have ever had. This was USDA Prime for Costco and I have never had such an incredible steak in my life. Tender, juicy, mouth watering. I will never cook a steak any other way.
It is a thing of perfection… and with a baked potato – Heaven!
Any chance this could be done in an air fryer??
I’m afraid I have never used an Air Fryer on this type of steak Tedd.