3-hour Smoked Flank Steak Taco Prep

For 4 years I lived in an apartment on the 2nd floor—no grill, no smoker, nothing but daydreaming about BBQ.

Last year I finally bought my first house and gave myself a proper housewarming gift: a YS640. I cooked on it so much that within a year I had to reseal the silicone (pizza at 650° with the lid closed… yeah, that’ll do it 😅).

When Wisconsin winter rolled around, I didn’t feel like power washing and resealing, so I “solved” the problem by upgrading to a YS1500. That’s when things got serious.

This year alone I’ve made:

• 110+ full packer briskets
• 60+ pork shoulders
• 110 lbs of pork belly (burnt ends!!)
• countless steaks, chicken, and more

I gave away 95% of what I cooked—mostly fresh, sometimes vacuum sealed. It wasn’t about money, it was about dialing in timing, bark, smoke, tenderness, color… every detail.

Somewhere along the way, the obsession turned into something bigger. I started my own company—Food Star Collision Kitchen—and now I’m saving for a food truck or hoping to find a local bar/bowling alley or anything that’ll let me sling BBQ out of their commercial kitchen.

If you're near the MKE area, feel free to DM me and come try out some of my food!