Premium ribeye steak on butcher paper at a meat counter, showing rich fat marbling under warm light

Beef Hit $9.64 a Pound and Brisket Has Nearly Doubled in Two Years -- The 2026 Grilling Season Has No Margin for a Bad Cook

Beef hit a record $9.64 a pound and the US cattle herd is at a 75-year low. Brisket has nearly doubled in two years. Every cook is high-stakes now -- and the failure point at home is almost never the recipe.