The grocery aisles are already 50% Halloween, 50% Christmas, but here, it’s 100% BBQ season. Let’s keep it that way. Post this week’s prettiest plate in the Dead Meat Society Facebook group or tag us on Instagram for a chance to be featured in this newsletter.

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

First up, there’s no shortcut to great barbecue. Bryan Bingham from What’s Tha Deal Barbecue would know. Also, forget trade secrets, this steakhouse literally patented its flavor. Plus, some must-try recipes for a grilled or smoked turkey (we see you creeping up, Thanksgiving), smoked pork belly burnt ends, and cowboy potato skins that basically cover the holy trinity of game day snacks.

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 Beth Dye and her juicy fillets. Shared via the Dead Meat Society Facebook Group.

Honorable mention to Laura Wilson for this roast that is blushing in the middle and proud on the edges via the Dead Meat Society Facebook Group.

Honorable mention to Barry Saadatmand for giving us tailgate envy. 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?

We all dream of being a real pitmaster. We all want to be the next great brisket whisperer…

That is, until you actually open the restaurant, you’re 12 hours into a session, covered in salt, fat, and self-doubt. Luckily, Texas Monthly just dropped an inspirational story that reminds us how every legend starts from somewhere. In this case, with a few dozen failed briskets.

This is the story of Bryan Bingham, the man behind What’s Tha Deal Barbecue in Bryan, TX…

Bryan didn’t grow up in a smokehouse. He was actually working as a trucker hauling beef from Kansas to Florida when a customer rejected a few boxes of briskets that had no one left to claim them. That’s when Bryan got a little obsessed.

A few YouTube tutorials, several BBQ Pitmasters marathons, and roughly 25 orphaned briskets later, he was making magic good enough to go pro.

Now, he’s the owner of What’s Tha Deal Barbecue, serving brisket in the heart of Texas. We can all learn a few things from Bryan…

Many of us are either too intimidated to try brisket, give up after a few bad attempts, or adopt a passing, but not perfect, brisket recipe that we bring out from time to time. Bryan proved that mastery takes time (and a lot of meat). You don’t build skills like that overnight.

If you’re serious about your smoke game, the lesson’s simple: buy another brisket (or 25) and keep going. Each one’s a tuition payment at the school of low and slow.

Bryan didn’t go to culinary school. He went to the church of BBQ Pitmasters reruns. Watching the greats, tasting as much as he could, and tweaking his process until it hit.

Moral of the story: binge your BBQ content guilt-free. Let the family know it’s “continuing education.”

But Bryan did. Now his joint’s pulling crowds, earning praise from Texas Monthly, and proving that passion + patience + persistence = an experience waiting for.

So, if you’ve ever thought about jumping in, whether it’s starting a small pop-up, entering a cook-off, or finally tackling that intimidating cut, consider this your nudge.

Fire up the pit. Burn a few. Learn a lot. You might just be 25 briskets away from glory.

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.

🥩 BARK FEST: Lockhart’s about to smell incredible. Texas Monthly’s BBQ Fest fires up November 1-2 with more pitmasters than you can sample in one sitting (not that we wouldn’t try). If Lockhart’s not in your GPS yet, it should be.

🥩 PATENT PENDING: Turns out you can patent taste. One Connecticut steakhouse locked down its dry-aging process with salt bricks, UV lights, and a lawyer’s signature. Read the full story and see what “intellectual property” smells like.

🥩 NO PATENT NEEDED: Speaking of dry aging, the folks in Montenegro are doing it the way nature intended, hanging hams in the mountains and letting smoke and time do the work. Which method do you trust more, UV lights or mountain air? 👇

🥩 IRON CUT: This one’s for the steak lifers: flat iron steak, fired on the grill, seared for maximum crust and rich flavor without the price tag 👇

Did we miss something? Share it in the Dead Meat Society Facebook group or tag us on Instagram for a chance to be featured.

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…

Jeffrey Schlissel has spent his life chasing flavor. As the chef and owner behind The Bacon Cartel, he’s built a career around food that gets people talking. He’s also an award-winning author, consultant, and host of From the Fire, where he shares stories from the kitchen and beyond.

The Bacon Cartel is a movement centered on four decades of culinary mastery, hand-crafted seasoning blends, and a community of bacon lovers who believe food brings people together.

In his book CRAVEABLE OBSESSED: Journals of a Food Addicted Chef, Jeffrey opens up about the real side of the industry and his passion for helping others through mental health advocacy.

Check out his work and grab a taste of what he’s building 👇

Know someone who deserves to be featured in Meat & Greet? Email us their info or send a message via the Dead Meat Society Facebook group or Instagram.

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

🥓 SMOKED & SOUR: When life gives you lemons, make better BBQ. Tasting Table’s hack tosses dried lemon peels onto hot coals for a crisp, citrusy smoke.

🥓 CUTS COUNT: Not all pork is grill-worthy (hello pork belly & baby back ribs). Know the best cuts (at least according to Chowhound) for your next cook.

🥓 RIB REVOLUTION: KG Barbecue’s ribs throw za’atar, sumac, and smoke in the same pit, and somehow, it works. Watch how these ribs are made and take notes.

🥓 HEAT CHECK: It’s not you, it’s the grill. Hopefully. Either way, this Reddit hack might save your next cook when things start heating unevenly 👇

🥓 MEMPHIS MEAT: Ride along with HowToBBQRight and plot your next BBQ pilgrimage through Memphis.

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.

Not saying you have to cook it this weekend. Just saying it’s never too early to start planning for Thanksgiving.

Pork candy that makes every minute of smoke time worth it.

These potato skins are only slightly dangerous to your self-control.

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.