We’ve made it to October: baseball matters and football’s going strong. Show us your best tailgate cookout efforts in the Dead Meat Society Facebook group or tag us on Instagram to contribute to the community.

Now, here’s what we’ve been cooking up all week…

First up, modern butchery subscriptions mean your favorite shop doesn’t have to be down the street. Also, rotisserie chicken is making a comeback, and nuggets are sweating. Plus, some must-try recipes for steak fajitas, Cajun smoked turkey wings, and a Southern peach cobbler that is so good it could be the main course.

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?

This week’s Smoke Show Champ is Ken Wood for being an overachiever with these double-bone pork chops stuffed with mushrooms and cheese. Shared via the Dead Meat Society Facebook Group.

Honorable mention to Michael Smauldon for these pristine slices of brisket. Shared via the Dead Meat Society Facebook Group.

Honorable mention to Randy Williams for an A+ first-time pork brisket. 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 modern world of butchering is evolving rapidly in the internet age, and we meat enthusiasts have some choices to make when it comes to where we spend our hard-earned protein budgets.

Snake River Farms just got the Bon Appétit treatment, and spoiler: they passed the taste test. The premium beef brand, known for its American Wagyu, has gained a reputation (the good kind) amongst those who feel comfortable ordering their meats online.

Per Bon Appétit, everyone should pony up for an online meat subscription.

But here’s the thing, Snake River’s success says something bigger about where we’re headed as meat eaters.

The internet used to feel like the enemy of traditional butchers. Now it’s becoming their biggest tool. Shops we’ve featured in the Dead Meat Spam newsletter before, like Gore’s Meats, and other independent butchers and farmers all over the country are entering the ecommerce scene, using online stores, subscriptions, and pre-order systems to reach us loyal meat nerds.

It’s truly the best of both worlds. When the craftsmanship stays local, but the customer base doesn’t have to be, quality prevails, right? Well, that’s certainly the hope.

Fancy packaging and slick websites are great, but none of it works without good meat. Snake River’s model seems to produce a good product, at least as far as Bon Appétit was concerned.

We’d love to see a world where local farmers aren’t pushed out of the market by big subscription brands, but can get their quality work to their whole community.

When local butchers learn to use the same playbook as bigger ecommerce brands, they don’t have to sacrifice the story, the relationships, or the trust that built their reputations. They just make it easier for people to buy the good stuff from the right hands.

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.

🥩 BARKSIDE DOWN: Apparently, gravity’s a flavor enhancer. Tasting Table swears ribs ride better bone-side down. Study up for the perfect bark.

🥩 ASHES TO BBQ ASH: In 2025, Texas barbecue lost some beloved pits that stopped smoking for good. Let’s have a moment of silence for these fallen icons. Great things don’t last forever. Patronize your local pitmasters.

🥩 CHICKEN RUN: Eater says rotisserie chicken is the new trending chicken tender. Might be time to get that rotisserie attachment for your grill (scroll down).

🥩 ODD RIBS: Goat ribs may not be your usual BBQ pick, but that’s exactly why old-school pitmasters love them. They’re slim, lean, and full of sharp flavor.

🥩 BRISKETSTEAK: Half Philly, half Texas, all attitude. Smoked brisket and melted Cooper Sharp just made the cheesesteak a smokehouse staple 👇

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…

🥓 BRINE TIME: The line between dry meat and divine succulence is about 30 minutes in a brine. A saltwater brine, to be exact.

🥓 HOMEGROWN…ISH: “Product of the USA” doesn’t always mean what you think. Turns out, some meat stickers have been known to be misleading. Dig into the fine print of what these labels actually mean, then support your local butcher instead (maybe even through a subscription service).

🥓 IRON GRIT: A dull skillet kills crust. A well-seasoned one builds it. Bon Appétit breaks down how to layer polymerized fat in a cast-iron.

🥓 SMOKER CRED: If you’ve ever trusted strangers online, here’s your next leap of faith. A list of the 30 best smokers recommended by users made the rounds on Reddit. What do we think about the list? 👇

🥓 SPIN CYCLE: Have you sprung for a grill rotisserie yet? Don’t watch this unless you’re ready for a new toy 👇

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.

Fajitas loud enough that the neighbors should hear the steam.

This is how you get juicy jumbo wings.

Put that pie on a smoker. It’s proof that BBQ doesn’t end when the meat’s gone.

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…

No meat for sale. But definitely not vegan.

You asked for (more) merch. So we cooked some (more) up. SO much more to come.

As part of our commitment to community, 10% of net profits are donated to charities that matter.