Hello Dead Meat Society,

Yesterday was National Hot Dog Day. Hopefully, you celebrated accordingly. Drop this week's glizzy (or non-glizzy) cook 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,Β the Memphis World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest crowned a back-to-back Grand Champion for the first time in 42 years… and changed the GOAT debate forever.

Plus,Β Portland is doing Texas-style BBQ and an original DMS community recipe forΒ reverse seared steaks.

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!

  1. Our weekly DMS Smokeshow winner will receive a FREE Stars & Stripes DMS T-shirt, PLUS…

  2. Each month, one of the weekly DMS Smokeshow winners (the best of the best) will have $1,000 donated to their local food bank

πŸ‘‘ This Week’s Champ

This week’s Smoke Show Champ is Chris Duke for his smoky, saucy, and sticky pork tenders. Shared via the Dead Meat Society Facebook Group.

πŸ₯ˆ Honorable Mention #1

Honorable mention to Coy Goodnight for his prime rib. Watching that spin all afternoon was time well spent. Shared via the Dead Meat Society Facebook Group.

πŸ₯‰ Honorable Mention #2

Honorable mention to Zayne Walter and his tasty big green egg cook. 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 GOAT Debate

With the World Cup in full swing, there's plenty of debate about "the GOAT."

But we don't care about soccer. Here in the Dead Meat Society, we're more likely to stand around the pit debating who is on our BBQ Mt. Rushmore.

Myron Mixon, Robert β€œBig Bob” Gibson & Al Frugoni come to mind.

But it's becoming increasingly difficult to leave one man out of the conversation: Heath Riles.

Why? Because in May, he did the unthinkable. He became just the second back-to-back grand champion in the 48-year history of the Memphis World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest. He’s the first to do so since 1984.

In case you're more of a casual cooker, the Memphis World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest is part of Memphis in May. Think: hundreds of pros trying to impress judges scoring on appearance, taste, and tenderness.

It is, without question, the Super Bowl of competitive BBQ.

Built different

Bon AppΓ©tit's Sam Stone had the chance to sit down with this living legend and his wife. His significant other shed some light on the blood, sweat, and tears that go into being the best…

"We used to cook 30 to 40 weekends out of the year. There were weddings we didn’t make it to, birthday partiesβ€”all the things, but also all that winning got us to where we are today. You know, the name…”

Those are the sort of quotes you hear from football WAGs.

And that isn't the only thing Heath has in common with top-tier athletes. He's capitalized on his success "off the field."

His rub has turned into a $10M, 18-person business. They've got distribution deals with Walmart. And he’s pretty confident it will cross $15M this year.

Oh, and did I mention he's building a media empire?

So, who’s your GOAT?

DMS’ CMO (Chief Meat Officer… because did you really expect DMS to have a Chief Marketing Officer?) was putting in overtime this National Hot Dog Day.

Colin Barker ranked four dogs and crowned a winner. Was he right about the Seattle Dog?

Instagram post

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.

πŸ₯© PORTLAND BBQ: Texas-style BBQ is taking root in Portland, Oregon. Texas Monthly went to check it out, which means Texas is keeping an eye on the up-and-coming competition.

πŸ₯© GRILL FAVORITES: Americans were surveyed on their favorite things to grill. The top answers may make you question every pitmaster around you.

πŸ₯© CHIP BUNS: Try or pass? Pringles released three chip-flavored hot dog buns for National Hot Dog Day. Limited edition, extremely divisive.

πŸ₯© STAY SAFE: Grilling is always the right answer. Except maybe… when there's a drought, and your neighbor just lost his house because a spark hit a dry tree. Stay safe out there. Keep your extinguisher handy always.

πŸ₯© GOOD SMOKE: Smoked party wings that will derail your entire afternoon. Don’t say we didn’t warn you πŸ‘‡

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…

πŸ₯“ NOMAD RODEO: A portable grill is a non-negotiable item. Do you have your favorite?

πŸ₯“ BETTER STEAKS: A few things on this list you already know. But you should know them all if you want your steaks to improve.

πŸ₯“ BRISKET WRAP: 165Β°F or 195Β°F? The argument is over.

πŸ₯“ GEAR UPGRADES: Bon AppΓ©tit dropped a list of grilling gear upgrades for 2026. Might be time to grab a few things.

πŸ₯“ BBQ EXPERT: We know a beginner when we see one πŸ‘‡

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.

Who doesn’t love a great steak? The nice thing is you don’t have to go to a ritzy steakhouse to enjoy a great steak. You can do it at home. Here’s one of our favorite reverse-seared steak recipes (plus, some ways you can tweak it based on your cooking setup).

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.

At least the skull spatula made the cut. Thanks for the share, @thisolgrill1977

Instagram post

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.

As part of our commitment to community, we will donate 10% of net profits to charities that matter.

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