Hello Dead Meat Society,
Heads up for all you wing lovers: National Chicken Wing Day is Wednesday, July 29. So you might want to clear your schedule and drop your best wing pics in the Dead Meat Society Facebook group or tag us on Instagram.
Now, here's what we've been cooking up all week…
First up, 5,000 Americans were surveyed on their biggest grilling sins, and the results were shocking (for the BBQ-obsessed).
Plus, Serious Eats ranked every Weber grill you might buy in 2026, and we’ve got an original DMS community recipe for grilled elote salad.
Every week, we crown the DMS champion of BBQ. And there are only two ways to enter: 1) Submit a pic to the Dead Meat Society Facebook Group 2) Tag us on Instagram. If you aren’t sharing (and competing), what the hell are you waiting for?
And remember, the stakes have never been higher!
Our weekly DMS Smokeshow winner will receive a FREE Stars & Stripes DMS T-shirt, PLUS…
Each month, one of the weekly DMS Smokeshow winners (the best of the best) will have $1,000 donated to their local food bank
👑 This Week’s Champ
This week’s Smoke Show Champ is Ryan Slater for an undefeated tomahawk. Shared via the Dead Meat Society Facebook Group.
🥈 Honorable Mention #1
Honorable mention to Eugene Warren for throwing down some beef ribs. Shared via the Dead Meat Society Facebook Group.
🥉 Honorable Mention #2
Honorable mention to Jason Wilson for pork belly eye candy. Shared via the Dead Meat Society Facebook Group.
Have a Smoke Show submission? Stop wasting your time posting on all those other sites and share it with the Facebook group that gives a damn: Dead Meat Society. Or just tag us on Instagram.
That one story that will make you infinitely more interesting than your know-it-all brother-in-law. Seriously, wtf is that guy’s deal?
THE GRILLING SINS REPORT
It’s not every day that data scientists point their microscopes at our beloved pastime (see: obsessing over great BBQ).
To properly celebrate National Grilling Month (yes, July), the pros over at Talker Research just surveyed 5,000 Americans from multiple states about their grilling habits…
They asked respondents about everything BBQ-related: grilling sins, basic mistakes, and most common customs.
And lucky for us, NY Post shared the full breakdown so we can properly overanalyze like the grilling-obsessives we are.
FIRST, THE SINS…
These are the grilling offenses 5,000 Americans agreed are the most unforgivable:
Touching someone else's grill: 32%. You don't touch another person's grill. Let’s say it again for the father-in-laws who desperately need to hear it. You. Don’t. Touch. Another. Person’s Grill. Mmmmkay? This is not a rule that needs to be written down. And yet…
Skipping the resting: 31%. You cook for hours, pull the meat, and immediately cut into it. The juices run out, the inside dries up. That’s a true sin. Be patient, young
padawanpitmaster.Lifting the lid constantly: 30%. Like dad always said: “If you're looking, you're not cooking.” Every lift drops the temp in your grill, extends the cooking time (ick), and interrupts the process. Stop it, get some help.
WHO'S GOT GRILLING BRAGGING RIGHTS?
The survey broke down who the real grillers are across the US:
Wyoming grills the most. Now listen, this might not sound like much to us, but Wyoming BBQers hit 17 grill days a year, which is four above the national average. (Obviously, we in the Dead Meat Society grill roughly 17 times a month, but good for Wyoming.)
Oregon, Michigan, and New Hampshire have the most self-described “regular grillers.” 61%, 59%, and 58%, respectively.
Hawaii, Mississippi, and Vermont have the rarest grillers. (Imagine living in Hawaii and not hosting a weekly luau, by the way.)
47% of Americans call themselves regular grillers. Which, obviously, leaves 53% of the country off the grill, which we can’t relate to. If you have a loved one affected by a case of non-grilling, we urge you to forward this email to them. DMS can help.
GRILLING IS WHAT BRINGS PEOPLE TOGETHER.
Among all the fascinating results published in this survey (seriously, go check this out), there’s really only one stat that we care about…
48% of Americans said food is the single biggest thing that brings people together at a cookout.
The food, you guys. Food beat out music, being outside, and conversation.
So tell us… which grilling sin drives you the most insane, Dead Meat Society?
DMS’ CMO (Chief Meat Officer… because did you really expect DMS to have a Chief Marketing Officer?) has thoughts on the grilling sins report we shared above.
Spoiler: he only agrees with two of the top three. Think he’s right or wrong?
Like the memes you send back and forth in your group chat, except these won’t get you canceled. Oh, and lots more grill marks.
🥩 CLASSICS WIN: New ideas are fun, but somehow the cookout always circles back to burgers, ribs, potato salad, and the other critical staples. Classics are classics for a reason.
🥩 WHICH WEBER: Kettle, Genesis, Spirit… Weber's lineup has gotten big enough that choosing the right grill can take longer than cooking on it. The good news? You don't have to buy the most expensive one to get great food.
🥩 SUPERMAN SMOKES: Even Superman worries about bark 👇
🥩 WORLD CUP BBQ: Turns out feeding thousands of soccer fans is just another day when you’re a pro 👇
Did we miss something? Share it in the Dead Meat Society Facebook group or tag us on Instagram for a chance to be featured.
Tips, tech & gear that’ll help you beat your friend’s meat. Wait, that came out wrong…
🥓 MEAT SHRINKAGE: There are no dumb questions. And no, your steak isn't disappearing.
🥓 PIG TAIL FLIPPER: Traeger's Pig Tail isn't much to look at, but it makes flipping steaks, chops, and chicken a whole lot easier without squeezing out the juices.
🥓 GRILL WEIGHT: There’s one detail that reveals whether a grill is built to last. If it feels cheap, it probably is.
🥓 GRILL ORGANIZERS: A few shelves, hooks, and storage bins can turn the side of your grill from a junk drawer into a decent workspace. It's amazing how much smoother cooking goes when you're not digging for the thermometer when it’s time.
🥓 WING IT: Dry rub only. No sauce needed 👇
Did we miss something? Share it in the Dead Meat Society Facebook group or tag us on Instagram for a chance to be featured.
Like a Paula Deen cookbook, but with less butter and more BBQ sauce.
Elote, or Mexican street corn, is a wonderful handheld summer food. It’s creamy, crunchy, salty, and has a little bit of heat. But what if we told you could add a grilled flair to elotes? Check out this recipe for grilled elote salad…
It’s all brought to you by our friend, DMS contributor, Jeremy Pike.
Jeremy is a writer and backyard BBQ enthusiast. He enjoys smoking and grilling for his friends, wife, and their three kids just outside Charlotte, NC. He is refining his homemade barbecue sauce while continually improving his techniques on the grill and smoker.
Have a recipe you want to share? Share it in the Dead Meat Society Facebook group or tag us on Instagram for a chance to be featured.
A happy ending just for you.
That’s it for this week. If you make any of the recipes above, you’re legally obligated to share pics on the DMS Facebook Group or tag us on Instagram so we can feature them next week (sorry, we don’t make the rules).
And since the only thing that is better than grill marks and ice-cold beer is grill marks and ice-cold beer with a side of dad jokes, we’ll leave this right here…
The Butcher Shop
Dead Meat Society Merch in the wild.
Flip it. Grip it. Stage it. The Dead Grill Station Kit Bundle gives you control over the meat and the mess, complete with…
Dead Skull Spatula
Dead Grip Tongs
Dead Drip - Tool Mat
It’s not just tools, it’s your grill station, dialed in.
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