Recipe by Simon Street – Executive Chef, The Boatshed Restaurant at The Regatta Hotel in Brisbane

A tomahawk steak is a real head turner. This recipe allows the steak to be the star of the show. I like to serve it with a chimichurri sauce, which is like a South American version of pesto.

Chimichurri is loaded with herbs and has a zesty, zingy flavour. I love placing a spoonful of chimichurri on a freshly grilled steak, and hearing the sizzle as the aroma and flavours are released.

Serves 3-4

Ingredients

For the steak:

  • 1 tomahawk steak, at least 1kg 
  • A neutral oil
  • Good quality flaked salt
  • An assortment of colourful peppers
  • A slice of lemon, to serve

For the chimichurri sauce:

  • 3 tbsp of fresh coriander
  • 3 tbsp of fresh parsley
  • 3 tbsp of fresh basil
  • 3 tbsp of fresh mint
  • Half a medium chilli
  • 1 tsp of garlic, crushed
  • Half a lemon, juiced and zested
  • 50ml of olive oil

Method

For the chimichurri sauce

Step 1

Roughly pull apart the herbs, but keep the stems on to add flavour. Blend all ingredients together in a food processor, and add salt and pepper for seasoning. Put to the side.

For the steak

Step 1

Let the steak come to room temperature before cooking. (Here’s why). 

Step 2

Preheat the char grill until very hot.

Step 3

Brush the steak with a neutral oil and give it a generous sprinkle of salt. Place the steak on the grill and cook on one side for about 15 minutes, controlling the heat to develop a nice crust on the meat. Rotate the steak at a 90 degree angle to get the classic criss-cross pattern – this will be your presentation side.

Step 4

Turn the steak over to seal the other side, cooking for only about 5 minutes.

Step 5

Remove the steak from the heat and let it rest it on a warm plate for at least 15 minutes.

Step 6

While the steak is resting, cook the peppers on the char grill until the skins are blackened. Remove the peppers and place them in a bowl, covering with cling wrap to let them sweat. This will allow the skin to peel off easily.

Step 7

Peel the skins from the peppers – you can run them under water to help with this – and pat dry with kitchen towel. Place to the side.

Step 8

Return the steak to the hot grill again to finish cooking. Cook to desired doneness. For a medium rare steak, the time will take approximately an additional 10 to 15 minutes. 

Step 9

Serve the whole tomahawk with the extended bone, chimichurri, a side of roasted peppers and slice of fresh lemon.