Tomahawk steaks hit the news cycle this week, with unproven claims that Bruce Lehrmann had one weighing a whopping 1.9 kilos – and costing a whopping $361 – courtesy of the Seven Network. So, Good Food asked butcher Troy Wheeler, who owns Melbourne’s Meatsmith butcher shops alongside chef Andrew McConnell, for a tomahawk 101. We wanted to know: if you’re going to splash cash on fancy meat, is this the cut to order?

What exactly is it?

“A true tomahawk is a beef rib-eye [or scotch fillet] on the bone, with the full length of the rib bone … that goes right to the end of the brisket cartilage,” Wheeler says. It’s a huge steak, usually between 30 and 40 centimetres in length, and two to 2.2 kilograms in weight. Sometimes the short-rib meat is left on the bone, other times it’s scraped clean.

What’s the allure?

It’s unsurprising that a steak named after an axe (because it resembles one) is favoured for its showpiece-worthy size and servability. “I reckon it’s all about the theatre, the grandeur of a massive bit of steak that’s carved up and [becomes] the centrepiece of the table,” Wheeler says. “I think [it’s] a bit overrated.” But why?

It’s expensive – and you’re paying for the bone

A tomahawk is one of the more exxy cuts you see at restaurants and butcher shops. Because a rib-eye is expensive in itself, when there’s a long bone added, and you’re paying by weight, it jacks up the price. “I don’t think people realise that,” Wheeler says. “I have this conversation with customers a lot.” Meatsmith charges around $55 a kilo for a tomahawk, which means they’re $150-odd apiece. It can be double or even pushing triple that in restaurants for a steak you can’t even eat in its entirety.

Cooking it well is no mean feat

A fair bit of care and consideration is needed to nail the cooking of a tomahawk at home, particularly if short rib is involved. “On one side of the bone is a rib-eye you want to have medium or medium-rare, with a shorter cooking time … like 20 minutes. The other end is essentially short rib that’s best cooked or smoked slowly and longer,” Wheeler says.

“A lot of people do the reverse sear: cook at a low temp – maybe 48 degrees – for a few hours then seal it off to give it a crust all over. If it’s your first time cooking one, if you’re just looking for novelty, it’d be pretty easy to stuff it up.”

Wheeler adds: “It seems to be a fairly blokey thing. The guys get on the barbecue with this humungous piece of meat.”

So, leave it to the experts, rookie cooks

If you’re hell-bent on eating a tomahawk – but you’re not a confident cook – your best bet is to order it at a restaurant or steakhouse you know will prepare it to perfection.

But there are better bang-for-your-buck cuts

“A slightly more economical alternative is the T-bone,” says Wheeler. He recommends thick-cut, channelling the famous Tuscan steak dish bistecca alla Fiorentina. Slicing up a sizeable T-bone – between 1.2 and 1.5 kilos – is similar to the tomahawk experience.

So, is a tomahawk worth it?

“I’d rather just have the two individual cuts on their own,” says Wheeler, preferring to scrap the tomahawk theatrics in favour of taking the rib-eye and short rib separately. They’re better value, easier to cook, and you don’t have to contend with the bone.