Raise the Steaks is the two hundred-nineteenth episode of King of the Hill. It was first aired on November 18, 2007. The episode was written by Paul Corrigan and Brad Walsh and directed by Robin Brigstocke.
Summary[]
Hank becomes a co-owner of an organic market after he falls in love with their food. However, he soon faces having to interact with free-spirited people and a potential threat that would endanger the food.
Plot[]
At the Hill house, the neighbors have gathered together as Hank prepares steaks. When the steaks are complete and served to the excited guests, Hank quickly notices something is wrong when he is not able to cut his steak. He sees that others are having the same problem or are having a difficult time chewing.
Hank soon makes his way to the Mega-Lo Mart to complain to the butcher only to learn that the meat is pre-cut and wrapped before arriving at the store. Just as Hank is about to leave, Appleseed approaches and informs him of a store that has better meat. Hank makes his way to the 'Co-Op' store and is right away off put by the store's atmosphere. He right away heads to the meat section where he is instantly left breathless at the quality of the meat. However, he is stopped from purchasing anything by the stores founder, Steve, when he informs Hank that he has to be a member of the store in order to make purchases. Hank reluctantly agrees to join. When Steve leaves to get him an application, Hank spots Appleseed and asks him to purchase a few things for him. Appleseed soon meets Hank at his truck and presents the steaks along with tomatoes, carrots, and hemp toilet paper that Hank disposes of.
At dinner, Hank takes the first bite of the organic food and declares it to be so good that grace needs to be said again. The rest of the family soon find themselves captivated by the taste of the food as well. On his first day volunteering at the store, Hank is partnered with Appleseed to stock produce. As they start, Hank points out that Appleseed intends to take the pints of strawberries out one at a time and explains that using a dolly would be much more efficient and productive. A short while later, the two complete their task when Hank spots Sunshine doing a dance to entertain a long line of customers. He suggests they open another register in order to get people through the line faster. As Appleseed goes to open another register, Hank finds himself needing to make an order pick-up as he is the only one able to drive the vehicle. When he arrives at the Co-Op farm Hank instantly enjoys the sight, smells, and condition of the farm and its animals. Later in the alley, Dale makes several jests at Hank for now working with hippies. While Hank denies being friends with them, he does defend the food they sell.
During his next shift at the store, Hank has just finished showing how to rotate stock when Sunshine claims that something is wrong with the register. Hank thinks nothing is wrong but Sunshine points out how much money is in the register even though all their bills have been paid. Hank determines that the money must be left over profit, and this immediately upsets the others since the store is a non-profit. They right away decide to destroy things in order to use the money for repairs but Hank suggests they repair things that are already broken around the store. He then suggests that they remove the membership fees so that the members can have more money to buy food.
The next day at work, Hank is teased by his co-workers about the 'beauty' of his sandwich when he gets a call from the Co-Op that something is wrong. He hurries to the store but finds that the 'problem' is just a businessman shopping at the store. Hank doesn't see this as a problem as he thinks it's good for business in allowing non-members to shop at the Co-Op.
At the next cookout, everyone is enjoying and praising the new food when Appleseed rushes into the yard and tells Hank that the Mega-Lo Mart is trying to buy the Co-Op. Shocked by what he just heard, Hank follows Appleseed back to the store. Hearing that Mega-Lo Mart wants to buy everything the Co-Op owns, Hank believes that the others will be against selling the store only to hear that they want to sell.
At their next meal, the Hill family is upset at having gone back to the food they were eating before when Appleseed arrives to tell Hank that the Co-Op has become like the rest of the Mega-Lo Mart and Steve is slowly turning into a businessman. Not wanting to put up with this, Hank tells Appleseed they need to do something. That night, the two sneak onto the farm and steal some of the animals. The following morning, Peggy finds the animals in the backyard and learns of Hank's plan to keep and breed the animals. Although she is uncertain of keeping the animals, Peggy eventually agrees to keep them.
This quickly becomes problematic when Kahn suspects Hank of hiding the animals and the cows eventually break through the fence to drink from the pool and eat bushes. When Kahn goes to call the cops, Hank calls for Appleseed and has him take the cows somewhere else just before the police arrive.
Some time later, the Hill's have continued keeping up with their garden but are still having trouble with the meat. Hank hears the mail being dropped off and finds a letter from Appleseed. The letter contains a photo of a new calf that Appleseed has named "Hank". Hank smiles at the photo and calls the calf delicious.
Characters[]
- Hank Hill
- Peggy Hill
- Bobby Hill
- Dale Gribble
- Bill Dauterive
- Jeff Boomhauer
- Appleseed
- Sunshine
- Steve Green
- Luanne Platter
- Nancy Gribble (non-speaking)
- Minh Souphanousinphone
- Kahn Souphanousinphone
- Joe Jack
- Enrique
- Donna
Goofs[]
- In the first scene of the episode, Hank takes all the steaks off of the grill and sets them on the table. At first, the plate only has 6 steaks and 4 are quickly snatched up. However, when the camera shifts, the plate seems to have between 8-10 steaks still on the plate.
- As Peggy is asking about the steaks around the table, Peggy is chewing a piece. However, in the next shot as Hank is looking at everyone's plates, Peggy's steak is shown to be complete.
Notes[]
- Bill made a comment about not trusting hippies due to not being responsible. This may be a reference to when he was hanging out with a group of hippies and lived with them for while in the Season 8 episode Phish and Wildlife.
- Appleseed makes his third and final appearance in the series. His first two appearance are in the Season 8 episode Phish and Wildlife and the Season 10 episode Bill's House.
- We learn Hank has no respect for people who eat their steaks well done.
- When Hank arrives at the co-op, a van can be seen in the parking lot with the bears from Grateful Dead on its side. This very same van is seen in the episode Phish and Wildlife, among the other vehicles belonging to the hippies.
- When Peggy walks into the kitchen after Hank takes the cows, she is singing "The Battle of New Orleans" by Jimmy Driftwood.
Stinger Quote[]
- Hank: "It's the best steak I have ever eaten."