Katrina Zito is the former Executive Chef of St. Anselm, and a former Assistant Culinary Producer at Condé Nast. She is currently based in Portland, Oregon as a private chef.
There are a lot of ways to overcook a steak on live fire, and most of them come down to the same thing: walking away and hoping for the best. A tomahawk ribeye — or any ribeye cut to 2 inches or thicker — demands something different. It asks you to stay present, to read the fire, and to make adjustments in real time. Get that part right, and the steak takes care of itself.
Chef Katrina Zito has cooked more than a few of these, and her approach is built around one principle: the fire is the ingredient. Here's how she does it.
Start with the right cut — and handle it simply
Go thick. A 2-inch tomahawk or bone-in ribeye is ideal; anything thinner won't develop the crust you're after before the interior overcooks. The bone-in presentation isn't just visual — it protects the meat and helps it cook more evenly.
Most tomahawk ribeyes you'll find at a butcher or quality grocery have been wet-aged in cryovac bags for two to three weeks or more, and that's fine for this application. They're the bright red, well-marbled cuts you're probably picturing. If you happen to be working with a dry-aged ribeye, a few things change: use less salt, expect it to cook faster (the aging process removes significant water content), and pull it earlier, since it will rest up more quickly.
On prep: you don't need to tie it. If it's butchered well, the eye of the meat will be fully attached to the bone, and that's exactly what you want. The one exception is the deckle — that fat cap where the bone meets the meat. If there's a large, thick piece of fat there, don't slice it off entirely, but carve it out in a wedge so it won't catch fire on the grill. A small amount of fat there is fine; a large thick piece is asking for trouble.
As for oil — skip it entirely. The ribeye has plenty of intramuscular fat to take care of itself, and adding oil to live fire is a fast track to an aggressive flare-up. Same goes for pre-salting. Kat's approach is to salt right before the meat hits the grate. A wet-aged ribeye isn't particularly tough and doesn't need the extended treatment; for a dry-aged cut, season even more conservatively, since the aging process has already concentrated the flavors.
Build a fire that gives you options
This is not a one-zone cook. You need a ripping-hot side for searing and a medium zone you can shift to when things get active — and they will. Set up your charcoal accordingly: a dense, hot bed on one side and a slightly pulled-back configuration on the other. Once the steak is on, you'll be managing coals throughout the cook, so think of your fire setup as a starting point, not a final arrangement.
The charcoal you use matters more than most people realize. Thaan's Thai-style charcoal burns hotter and longer than standard briquettes, with less ash and a cleaner smoke profile — which means more consistent heat zones and a better-tasting crust. For a long cook like this one, that sustained burn is worth it.
The Frame is purpose-built for exactly this kind of active cook — you can raise or lower the cooking surface as the fire shifts, which takes a lot of the guesswork out of managing heat zones on a large piece of protein.
Cook actively, and manage the fire without fear
The biggest mistake Kat sees from less experienced cooks is letting flare-ups go unchecked. The image of a steak engulfed in flames looks dramatic, but it's doing damage — the heat is too direct, too aggressive, and it's charring the outside long before the interior is anywhere close to done. If your steak catches fire, move it. Flip it. Get it to the elevated grate or off the heat entirely until things settle. Don't be afraid to interrupt the cook; the steak is forgiving, and a 30-second rescue will not ruin it.
From there, the work is in building an even crust. Flip the steak every couple of minutes — not once per side, but actively, checking the color and adjusting position as you go. You're not going for dramatic grill marks; you're going for an even, deep mahogany crust across the entire eye of the meat. That takes roughly 10 minutes per side. Once you have good color and crust on both faces, scoot your coals down to create a more moderate heat and cook through to your target temperature.
Total cook time is generally 30 to 40 minutes, but use it as a rough reference point, not a timer.
To render the fat cap, hold the steak on its side using tongs and let the edge sit over the heat for a couple of minutes. You're looking for that outer fat to soften and get some color.
Pull it at the right temperature — and check carefully
Ribeyes are marbled enough that temperature probing requires a little technique. Fat pockets can read several degrees higher than the surrounding meat, so don't take one reading and call it done. Insert your probe lengthwise into the center of the eye — going in parallel to the steak, a couple inches deep — and check two or three spots before you commit to a reading.
For rare, you're pulling at 95 to 100°F internal. For medium-rare, pull at 110°F. If your fire is still running hot, carryover will be significant, so err on the earlier side.
Rest it properly
Set the steak on a wire rack — not directly on a cutting board — and let it rest for 15 to 20 minutes. A large ribeye releases a lot of liquid, and the rack keeps it from sitting in its own juices on one side while the other steams. You're looking for a steak that's warm but not hot, and a significant amount of accumulated juice on the pan below.
Finish with a good finishing salt. The ribeye has enough fat and flavor to carry it from there; a baste of compound butter is optional and largely unnecessary. Slice on a board and serve as-is.
What separates a good cook from a great one
It's not technique — it's adaptability. If you put the steak down and flip it after a few minutes and there's no color, add coals or move it to a hotter zone. If your fire is running too aggressive, pull back. Live fire cooking asks you to stay in conversation with what's happening, and the cooks who get the best results are the ones who aren't trying to stick to a plan — they're responding to what's in front of them.
The steak is more forgiving than you think. The fire is less predictable than you expect. Pay attention to both.