Welcome back, meatheads. Thanks for all your support and feedback. Keep it coming.

Now, let’s see what’s on the menu today…

First up, they’re fighting down in Texas again. Also, you might want to visit one of these James Beard Award winners. Plus, some killer recipes for St. Louis ribs, steak kebabs (with fish sauce butter…), and a grilled cheese dog that’ll knock your socks off. Let’s get cooking.

Every week, we crown the champion of BBQ from the Dead Meat Society Facebook Group. If you aren’t sharing (and competing), what the hell are you waiting for? Join now!

This week’s Smoke Show Champ is Philippe Caturegli via the Dead Meat Society Facebook Group

Honorable mention to Will Hendershott via the Dead Meat Society Facebook Group

Honorable mention to Ryan Westphal 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 group that gives a damn: Dead Meat Society.

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?

Put a brisket on the smoker, crack open a cold one, and settle in for a fascinating documentary to watch this weekend.

Here’s a story we can all relate to…

You know that one guy in the neighborhood who thinks he knows BBQ like you do? Well, then you know the feeling of a BBQ rivalry. (Don’t worry, your ribs are better.)

It’s a story of betrayal, families, tension, feuding, and smoking that’s been going on for decades down in the official Barbecue Capital of Texas: Lockhart.

KXAN in Austin, TX has put together a new documentary that chronicles the impact of the great Texas BBQ rivalry. It’s well worth watching this weekend.

A few highlights…

“Black’s Barbecue” and “Terry Black’s Barbecue” are still at it, having their family feud moment in broad daylight over which one of them is the greater pit master. This family argument is as hot as the fire in the smoker. So hot that there was apparently a family argument at a funeral once. Yikes.

Even if you’ve never visited the Lone Star State, we’re all familiar with the city of Lockhart. Its presence is so closely tied to TX BBQ that it was named the Barbecue Capital of Texas in 1999 by the TX House of Representatives. And it makes sense, considering Lockhart’s been a staple in the barbecue game for the last 150 years.

The coveted Texas Monthly Top 50 list only comes out once every 4 years, and some familiar Lockhart names were missing from the list… which only causes more (entertaining) drama.

But whether you dig the rivalry or not, there are at least 3 things this documentary is going to inspire you to do:

Enjoy the watch.

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.

🥩 STEAK-CATION: Must be steaks on the brain 👇

🥩 SMOKIN’ HOT: A great smoker tells a great story. What does your smoker build look like? Check out this one courtesy of Kyle Walker in the Dead Meat Society Facebook Group 👇

🥩 WINNER WINNER SMOKED CHICKEN DINNER: The 2025 James Beard Award Winners have been announced. (Don’t worry, this newsletter will win the media award next year.) If you live near one of the winners, you should probably go visit.

🥩 FREEDOM PRICING: Planning your 4th of July BBQ? Here’s what you can expect to cost more this year… yay.

🥩 NEW PROJECT: Ok, so obviously we’ve got to make this, right? 👇

Did we miss something? Submit a link for next week’s Feed.

Dead Meat Society is all about community. We’re here to support and uplift the pursuit of delicious meats and the people and brands who are doing it right.

Today, let’s Meat and Greet…

Grilling Geek Spices is a small-batch spice mixologist that focuses on all-natural ingredients and high-quality seasonings. It’s a family operation that seems to truly care about making cooking the adventure it deserves to be!

They’ve got a rub for pretty much anything you can imagine. Let’s see what the Dead Meat Society thinks: grillinggeekspices.com

Know someone who deserves to be featured? Send us their info for next week’s Meat & Greet.

Tips, tech & gear that’ll help you beat your friend’s meat. Wait, that came out wrong…

🥓 D*MN, GIRL, THAT’S THICK: Not you, the steak. Nothing better than a thick cut of steak, but we all know they can be tricky to cook to temp perfectly. Check out these tips to help cook that steak that’s thicker than a bowl of oatmeal.

🥓 DON’T BE SALTY: If you’re not careful, a marinade’s saltiness can get away from you. Try some of these tips to fix it.

🥓 FOR SHAME: It’s ok, don’t feel guilty. We all need to grill up a frozen burger from time to time. (It’s still better than giving up and picking up McDonald’s.) If you’re gonna do it, at least pick up a frozen burger that ain’t half bad like these ones.

🥓 BRISKET-STYLE: Need a 2nd opinion on this. What do we think about cooking a ribeye like it’s a brisket?

🥓 BIND IT UP: A hot take on using a binder here 👇

Did we miss something? Submit a link for next week’s Bar-b-IQ.

Like a Paula Deen cookbook, but with less butter and more BBQ sauce.

There are sooo many takes on how to smoke ribs nowadays. This one is solid.

Huh? Yes, it says fish sauce. And it sounds good.

At first, it seems like a recipe to whip out when the kids are being picky. But then you realize, “Hey, I want one five of those.”

Have a recipe you want to share? Submit it for next week’s Butcher’s Block.

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 send us a picture and give feedback so we can feature it 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 merch. So we cooked some up. SO much more to come.

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