FLsmokin

So instead of doing boneless Ribeyes on my new Akorn (reverse sear) like I had originally planned, I decided I wanted Xmas dinner to be perfect so I decided to go safe with sous vide and then sear over high heat on the grill (I had never cooked on a kamado before, and didnt wanna screw it up lol). I fired up the grill and took it to 375° and cooked the baked potatoes on it for just over an hour (temp fluctuated a few degrees but stayed between 375 and 390) while the sous vide worked its magic on the steaks (cooked them to 120 degrees, a beautiful rare). I then removed the top grate and diffuser from the akorn and opened up the vents and let her get scorching hot (about 550 on the dome thermometer, the coals had to be around 700°) then seared the steaks on a 17" Weber grate that sits right above the coals on the stone tabs. Holy friggin cow, took about a minute and a half per side and looked great. Great char, and the fat was like cracklin' bacon. After a short rest, each steak was topped with a pat of black truffle butter, and we went with sauteed morel mushrooms, asparagus, and baked potatoes for sides. Easily the best steaks I've ever made at home. I'm not sure if the pic shows it, but they were perfect wall to wall med rare. I wish I had taken a pic of the steaks directly off the grill, but the gf plated them up while I was shutting down the grill and cleaning up a bit. Theres some really nice char under those morels... Next cook is probably gonna be a pork butt this weekend.

First cook wasnt really a cook, it was a just a sear. I cooked a couple of 1 inch thick boneless ribeyes sous vide to 120 IT, then seared them on the akorn just above RIPPING hot coals on a weber grate that sits on the stone tabs. I then topped the steaks with a pat of black truffle butter, and went with sauteed morel mushrooms, asparagus, and baked potato for sides. Turned out amazing. I wish I would have taken a pic of the steaks fresh off the grill after searing but the gf plated them up while I was shutting down the grill (the morels are hiding some beautiful char). Anyway, heres a little peek:

Ive found here in Florida, the humidity most of the year is not a good combo with grill covers. They trap the moisture and actually speed up the rusting process. Ive always kept my grill in the garage or under a covered patio and theyve alll lasted me quite a while,

Thanks, gonna season it tomorrow when my thermometer gets here. Already added felt gaskets to the bowl lip and the lower vent, I figured it couldnt hurt and it took all of 10 minutes while I assembled the grill. Also took the front latch off and bent it a bit to get a little better seal, and wrapped a small strip of foil around each of the ash pan latches so it pulls the pan up a little tighter than it did out of the box. Im ready to go!

Hey folks. I live in Tampa and have been a gas grill/electric smoker guy for years, and the GF got me an AKORN for X-mas. Its put together and ready to go, but I cant use it til next weekend. Grrrr. lol Planning on doing a ton of reading here and posting when I do some grilling!