Here’s what I predict will move the barbecue world in 2026:
Barbecue Trends 2026
Move over beef tomahawks. Make way for flank steak (and other less expensive steaks).
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Declarations from Washington to the contrary, inflation is still wreaking havoc with our wallets. My grocery bills are way higher now than they were last year—especially when it comes to beef. And if there’s one thing I’ve learned in life, prices go up, but they rarely come down. So in 2026, we’ll be looking for value, not bling, and affordable steaks like flank, sirloin, and flatiron will find a welcome place on our grills. For that matter, so will beef alternatives like pork shoulder steaks and tenderloins—a fraction of the price of their bovine counterparts.
Move over kettle grills. Make way for Santa Marias.
These charcoal and wood burners with raisable and lowerable grates are taking the grill world by storm. Mega-influencer Derek Wolf introduced his new Fyr grill earlier this year, and he can’t keep it in stock. Kalamazoo does a lively trade with its magisterial Gaucho grill, and Yoder has come out with some awesome Santa Marias too. Named for Santa Maria, California—the birthplace of the tri-tip—the Santa Maria grill boasts an ingenious pulley system that lets you raise and lower the grate with the turn of a crank or flywheel. That means greater heat control when grilling steaks, chops, seafood, and vegetables. Is it possible to indirect-grill on a Santa Maria? Raise the grate to its highest position and cook tougher cuts wrapped in foil.
Move over brisket. Make way for “trisket.”
No, it’s not a cracker. The trisket is the latest way barbecue folks are fighting the high price of what used to be a budget cut: brisket. Instead, get yourself a tri-tip—that flavorful triangle of beef cut from the bottom sirloin. Season it with salt and pepper (or your favorite barbecue rub) and smoke it low and slow as you would brisket. Rich, smoky, beefy flavor at a fraction of the price.
Move over griddles. Make way for braseros.
Picture a giant stand-up round or square griddle with a large hole in the center. In that aperture, you build a wood fire over which you position a grill grate. You’re grilling over a smoke-scented wood fire in minutes. But the real genius of a brasero is that it doubles as a griddle where you can cook eggs, pancakes, fragile fish fillets, and fried rice—foods you simply can’t cook on a conventional grill. One popular brand is Arteflame. Look for more brasero imports from Europe in the coming year.
Move over fresh meat. Make way for frozen.
There will never be a substitute for great fresh meat from your local butcher. But frozen meat has lost the stigma it had when I came of age in barbecue. Today, some of the world’s most prestigious meats come frozen, from A5 wagyu from Japan to prime brisket points from boutique ranches in Colorado. The secret is to thaw frozen meat slowly in the refrigerator—overnight for steaks; several days for larger cuts like brisket—rather than the flash-thawing impatient guys like me used to do in a bowl of warm water.
Move over grill brushes. Make way for chain-mail grill cleaners.
It doesn’t happen often, but on very rare occasions a wire bristle strays from your grill brush and winds up in your food—or worse, your innards. For a while, we turned to wooden scrapers, but they never cleaned as well as grill brushes. Enter the chain-mail grill cleaner, which scours your grate without leaving deadly bristles behind. Our go-to is the GrillFighter. It makes quick work of the grease and crud that accumulates on your grate. Just rinse it off with a hose after each use.
Move over soy sauce. Make way for nuoc mam.
Soy sauce has long been a barbecue mainstay—used in all manner of marinades, wet rubs, barbecue sauces, butters, and bastes. But more and more grillers are discovering fish sauce, a Southeast Asian condiment made from salt and fermented anchovies. Think soy sauce on steroids, with rich umami undertones. It sounds strange until you think of Caesar salad (made with anchovy dressing) or bagna cauda (the Italian vegetable dip made with anchovies, garlic, and cream). When mixed with other ingredients, fish sauce doesn’t taste fishy. My favorite brand is Red Boat—I use it all the time.
Move over dining out. Make way for elevated entertaining at home.
A bright side to inflation? More and more of us are entertaining at home on high-tech grills like the Weber Summit FSX38, which has a built-in broiler—great for finishing shellfish and steaks. When you consider the cost of sitting in traffic, valet parking, and gratuities you’d pay at a restaurant, you can spend more time and money entertaining at home and still wind up ahead. Like Mrs. Raichlen says, “I always prefer a home-cooked meal to going out.”
Move over fried rice. Make way for fried noodles.
One of last year’s barbecue trends was the arrival—make that the explosion—of the stand-up griddle, which we used to cook foods you simply can’t do on a grill: pancakes, eggs, and fried rice, to name a few. Armed with some leftover spaghetti and a hot griddle, I made fried noodles recently. The thin strands of egg pasta—now crunchy and crisp—came as a revelation. Incidentally, griddle-fried noodles are a longstanding delicacy in Japan, where they go by the name of yakisoba.
Move over cauliflower. Make way for cabbage.
Yes, according to the blogosphere, the new it vegetable is… cabbage—replacing the cauliflower and Brussels sprouts of yesterday. Roast it whole in the embers. Cut it into wedges and grill it. (Insert a bamboo skewer to keep the wedges from falling apart.) Grill it or smoke it before you shred it to make the best coleslaw on the planet.
Move over Austin. Make way for Atlanta.
Atlanta’s barbecue scene got a huge boost with the arrival of John Lewis—the one-time Aaron Franklin acolyte who wowed Austin barbecue buffs with the peerless smoked meats at his La Barbecue in Austin and current Lewis Barbecue in Charleston. Now he brings his personally built smokers, his infinite patience (his brisket cooks for 18 hours), and a pedigree that includes stints at Franklin Barbecue and a recent Bibb award from Michelin to a city that’s no slouch when it comes to food. “We believe barbecue is all about patience,” Lewis said recently. “Atlanta, you’ve waited long enough to indulge—it’s salvation time.” Amen!
And in case you’re wondering, here’s how John Lewis makes his signature hatch chili corn pudding!
Move over nightclubs. Make way for restaurants.
One new trend I absolutely hate is loud music and DJs in restaurants (be they barbecue restaurants or not). Part of the joy of dining out is conversing with your family and friends at the table. A restaurant should be a place to relax, restore, and discover, not a damn discotheque. (Ava, Aviv, and other new restaurants in Miami: I’m talking to you.) I encourage you to complain as loudly as I do.
The scrooge has now left the room. Happy New Year!
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