A juicy, thick prime rib or T-Bone is a wonderful thing indeed – and sharing a large steak, rather than smaller individual steaks, means you can build up a thoroughly charred crust while keeping the inside beautifully pink.
All thick steaks are brilliant for the barbecue, though prime ribs and and T-bones can easily be cooked using the pan-and-oven method too (a tomahawk is best on the barbecue as the long bone doesn’t easily fit in a pan!).
This type of cooking is where a meat thermometer can be really helpful, as you want to ensure the centre of the steak has come up to temperature in such a thick piece of meat.
Just what do we mean by thick? We’re talking 4-5cm thick, which is usually 800g-1kg in total weight on the bone.
Whatever method you’re using to cook your steak, take it out of the fridge at least an hour before you start cooking.
Get your barbecue ready to cook – this means hot, glowing embers, not flames or embers. Position your grill rack so that it is relatively close to the heat.
Have ready a roasting tray, which you can warm for a few minutes over the heat of the grill – this is to rest your steak at the end of cooking.
Pat the meat dry with kitchen paper and, just before cooking, coat the surface of the meat with oil and season generously with kosher salt (or ground sea salt). Place onto the rack and grill for 2-3 minutes per side, until you have a nice charred crust. Take the steak off and take the internal temperature; if it needs cooking more, place the steak back onto the grill, moving the rack further away if you need to reduce the heat level and prevent burning.
Once the steak is cooked to your liking, place it onto the warmed oven tray and cover with foil. Let it rest for 15 minutes before carving.
Preheat the oven to 170°C and place a roasting tray inside to warm.
Place a large, heavy-based frying pan to warm over a high heat. Pat the meat dry with kitchen paper and, just before cooking, coat the surface of the meat with oil and season generously with kosher salt (or ground sea salt).
Place the meat fat-side-down in the pan and sear for 2-3 minutes to allow a little of the fat to render. Then sear 2-3 minutes each side – don’t move the meat around too much, just let it develop a good amount of char.
Place the seared meat onto the warmed roasting tray and place in the oven for 12 minutes per 500g (if your steak weighs 800g, then it’s 19 minutes – 800 divided by 500 multiplied by 12). When the cooking time is over, remove from the oven tent with foil and allow to rest for 15 minutes before carving.
