Nothing worse could happen on your grill than overcooking the perfect cut of expensive beef. Let me share my horrible mistake with you.

Look at that beef. It’s a perfect three pound Tomahawk Rib Eye Steak I picked up for Memorial Day Weekend at L. Halteman in Reading Terminal Market. I had some guests over for dinner and planned on saving the Rib Eye for last. By the time we made our way through hamburgers, shrimp, flank steak, a case of beer and a box of cupcakes, our stomachs were a little less interested in the Tomahawk than our eyes were. Which was totally fine by me because – more steak for me! The next afternoon I prepped the grill and steak for what I though would be an epic photoshoot for Eat Up! Kitchen.

How to properly cook a $60 Tomahawk Rib Eye Steak (what I had planned on doing).
Desired finished temp is medium rare – 132°F. This steak should be deep pink inside with a dark char on the outside. Prep a charcoal grill with natural charcoal and hickory logs on one side leaving the other side cool. Season steak liberally with Oil and Maldon Salt. Grill steak on cool side of grill with the lid closed until steak reaches 10-15 degrees below (120°F) your desired temperature. Use a quick read thermometer to test the temperature of the steak. Flip steak every 10-15 minutes for even cooking. At 15 degrees below finished temp, stoke the coals to generate as much heat as possible (flames are good) then move the steak to hot side of the grill to char the outside – no more than 1 minute per side. Maybe put the steak directly on top of the coals. You should end up with a perfect smokey (and instagrammable) steak with a salty charred crust.

How NOT to properly cook a $60 Tomahawk Rib Eye Steak (how I screwed up).
Don’t use twice as much salt as you think you need and completely forgot the oil. Keep busy and clean up while the steak is cooking. How did I end up with TWO opened cans of beer? Decide at the last minute to make a side sauce for the steak. Was that last flip at 3:30 or 3:40? Start making the sauce just as the steak is nearly done. Where did my thermometer go? WTF – the steak went from 109 to 127, 132, 14… JFC! Ugh, this is not the right focal length for this photograph. Smear warm butter all over your steak just as you’ve removed it from dirty hot coals so it looks like there’s literally mud on your steak. Okay – that does taste incredible but I still screwed it up. It should taste twice as good as this.

Tips for Grilling.
Tip #1: Think ahead and prepare well in advanced. Don’t let yourself get distracted.
Tip #2: Write things down. Set a timer.
Tip #3: Use a wifi connected temperature probe.
Tip #4: Be completely ready to eat before you grill.

Needless to say, I didn’t think ahead as much as I had thought. I knew what I wanted out of the steak but didn’t think forward enough to sitting down and eating it. I got distracted with other things so by the time I got back to the steak it was already 10 degrees over my finish temp. It was a really great medium cooked smokey steak but it wasn’t what I had planned. Stay tuned for round two!