An employee showcases a brisket at a Terry Black’s Barbecue restaurant on May 27, 2026 in Lockhart, Texas.
Brandon Bell/Getty Images
Last year, the news of a longtime Texas barbecue joint closing after decades became all too common. Almost 20 smokehouses closed for good, leaving many sad fans missing their go-to barbecue spots. It’s a trend that is at risk of continuing for years to come.
Mija Barbecue in Cedar Hill will become the latest barbecue victim when it shuts down on June 27. The reason? The rising price of beef and a shrinking number of customers who can afford those prices. Yes, places like Snow’s, Burnt Bean and Franklin Barbecue are still attracting longtime followers to line up for hours, but the majority of smokehouses are struggling to make ends meet.
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Brisket, and specifically barbecue brisket, is as ingrained in Texas culture as cowboy hats and armadillos. It’s the most popular item at any barbecue joint, is often how people judge a restaurant’s quality, and there’s a nationwide push to eat more protein, according to Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Platter of barbecue at the Original Roy Hutchins BBQ.
Courtesy of Roy Hutchins BBQ
Texas brisket prices have risen 140% in 6 years
All U.S. farms reported 86.2 million head of cattle and calves as of January 1, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistic Service (NASS). That number is a slight decrease from last year’s total, but, of that total, Texas farmers are seeing an 80-year low, according to Texas Restaurant Association President and CEO Emily Williams Knight.
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“We had a chicken wing crisis in the pandemic, then we had a chicken crisis, we’ve had an egg crisis. Well, you’re talking about weeks to recover. When it comes to cattle, you’re talking up to three years,” Knight said to MySA.
For context, the price of brisket has risen from between $2.40 and $3 per pound in 2021 to between $5.75 and $7 per pound today, according to the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service National Daily Boxed Beef Reports. Meanwhile, the price of ground beef has risen from $2.25-$2.75 per pound in 2021 to $4- $4.75 per pound in 2026.
An example Knight shared showed that if a Texas barbecue operator bought a 14-pound brisket in 2021, it would cost between $34 and $42. Today, they would pay between $81 and $98 for that same brisket, not accounting for labor, seasoning, fuel, shrinkage, and overhead.
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Sausages available at Schulze’s Pit Room in Seguin. From left to right, El Cachete Cohete, mild beef and jalapeno cheese.
Peter Scamardo/MySA
Texas barbecue fans need to eat turkey, pork, sausage
Barbecue fans should appreciate that brisket and beef are not the only things available on the menu. Every barbecue joint offers plenty of turkey and pork, while specials can range from barbecue duck leg to lamb shanks, depending on which smokehouse you visit. The point being, we may enter a stage where, despite brisket being a cultural icon, barbecue joints may need to rely on other offerings to stay afloat.
Bill Dumas, the Sausage Sensei, has been spreading the gospel of barbecue sausage for years and told MySA that sausage is the solution to affordability. Sausage was the original meat in Texas barbecue, brought over by German and Czech immigrants who used every part of the animal. That same method is what more than 3,000 Texas barbecue joints need to use, Dumas says.
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“A brisket can only be sold once. A sausage maker can create value from pounds of a carcass that might otherwise return for less money. That’s not a modern idea, this is the same math the old Texas meat markets were doing 100 years ago,” Dumas said to MySA, adding, “When I hear people talk about rising beef prices, I’m reminded that sausage has been quietly solving this problem for centuries.”
Franklin Barbecue in Austin is considered the country’s best barbecue.
Bronte Wittpenn/Austin American-Statesman
How to help Texas barbecue joints
As it stands, Texas’ barbecue industry likely won’t see any relief until 2028, when the U.S. cattle herd can be fully replenished. The presence of New World screwworms, which limits the amount of beef that can be imported, is also not helping. For any smokehouses that are struggling, Knight recommends getting creative.
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Brotherton’s Black Iron Barbecue is a strong recent example. In January, the restaurant announced it was in danger of closing if business did not increase ASAP. Well, that led to weeks’ worth of sold-out food that kept the business afloat in the summer. Knight says now is the time to not be afraid to ask for help.
“As Texans, we need to lean in, especially around our independent restaurants right now, and visit them,” Knight said. “And if we can’t afford a trip, maybe there’s a small gift card that will put cash in the hands of that operator today. … I think about a place like New England, where I was raised, and if the clam shacks and local fish shops that opened spring into fall closed, we would lose a big piece of our culture. I think that’s what’s at stake here in Texas. It’s certainly economic, but I think we have to lean in and support these barbecue restaurants, because it’s as much of the Texas culture that we’re so proud of, and frankly, it identifies with us across every corner of our state.”