Kingsport residents unveil new food truck

KINGSPORT — Kingsport residents Vicki Nelson and Bill Nash recently opened a new food truck, Cast-Iron Smokehouse.Their food truck serves smoked meats, such as pulled pork, chicken, turkey, ham and brisket. Nelson said they use their Southern Pride SPK-500 smoker to also smoke side dishes like mac and cheese, green beans, baked beans, coleslaw and even desserts.Nelson and Nash have previously owned other restaurants, but they decided they wanted to try something different in the Tri-Cities. Nelson used to cook for friends, neighbors and community members who encouraged her to branch out into something more."When I was in the military with my husband, whether it be in Okinawa or California, we would always bring in the military troops and I would feed them," said Nelson, one of the founders and owners of Cast-Iron Smokehouse. "I loved it."Nelson has strong ties to the area, with her family owning Rowe's Pharmacy in Kingsport. She said it took them about a year and half to turn their concept into a reality, with their first operating weekend kicking off in September.Nelson works as project manager and estimator for a demolition company, and Nash works as data engineer for the Department of Homeland Security. The food truck serves as a part-time gig while they continue to work their full-time jobs throughout the day."I'm busy every week, and I'm doing catering, which I didn't expect," Nelson said. "It's kind of crazy because we're both full-time in our normal jobs."Nash smokes the locally-sourced meat during the day while he works from home, and Nelson said she takes the meat and prepares it from that point on once she comes home after work. She also cooks the side dishes and does the baking.With Nash's prior experience in a lab, Nelson said he's good at knowing how things work together. She said he creates the sauces and rubs they use on the meat for their food truck."He's got it down to literally a science," said Nelson. "He does the brining and he has all these timers and he sets them. He puts them on the smoker and he does the rubs just right."According to Nelson, a pulled pork butt can take five to six hours to smoke, then it has to rest for several hours. Nash usually will let the meat sit all night and keep it wrapped until it is served to keep it from drying out.She said the community has already shown their support for the new endeavor since opening weekend. Nelson said they have received calls from people in Knoxville and Nashville expressing interest in their food truck, but she wants to keep the food truck local for now as they continue to work in the Tri-Cities area.Nelson hopes people will give their food truck a try as their business begins to grow."We promise that it will curl the hair on your toes," Nelson mentioned. "It is honestly that good."Menu selection and truck schedules are posted to their website. For more information about Cast-Iron Smokehouse, visit https://www.castironsmokehouse.com/.