As Beef Gets Pricey, Dallas BBQ and Burger Joints Get Creative

It’s not just you or the smaller number in your bank account. Everything is more expensive, from the food we put on our tables to the electricity or gas we use to cook it and the beef (and brisket) we serve.

The hard numbers measuring the increases since the pandemic are eye-watering. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Consumer Price Index reflects prices that are about 26% higher overall compared with April 2019. The effect is widespread — no household necessity remains unscathed. 

Food costs are notably higher. According to CBS News, food prices are 17.8% higher today than they were in January 2022, meaning that a $100 grocery bill back then would be $117.80 today. However, in the food sector, the sizzling rise in beef prices is especially noteworthy. To keep our comparisons consistent, a pound of ground beef cost $4.55 in January 2022, according to data published by the Federal Reserve. In August 2025, the price was $6.32, representing a 38.9% increase. Beef costs more today than at any point since the Fed started tracking prices in the 1980s, and in beef-loving Texas, we’re all starting to feel the pinch.

With a pair of restaurants that primarily sell burgers, Maple & Motor’s Jack Perkins is acutely aware of the pressure.

“We’re paying more than double,” Perkins replied when asked about his beef costs. “More than 100% of what we were paying just four years ago. And you know, no one is crying for us.”

Perkins has reluctantly increased the price of his standard burger to $11.50, which has always seemed like a bargain, but even more so in the harsh light of $6 per pound of beef. We’d never considered this before, but Perkins believes that Maple & Motor’s menu pricing positions it in a unique spot as a bellwether of the economy’s health.

Burger Metrics

“There’s a McDonald’s right over there,” Perkins says with a wave of his hand as we sit at a table at Maple & Motor’s newest location on Preston Road in North Dallas. “When the economy’s good, and people with lower income make more money, this is their treat. Instead of going over there for a $5 burger, they come over here for an $11 burger that’s twice the size.

“But when the economy is bad, we get people who are dropping down from some of those higher-end restaurants,” he adds.

Hurtado Barbecue opened its newest location in the Dallas Farmers Market last year, and owner Brandon Hurtado tells us he was forced to raise his prices as well. He does not take this decision lightly, knowing what it means for fans of his barbecue.

“Pricing increases are always a concern with our guests, as the economy is in an uncomfortable position in terms of spending. While our catering sales are up, sales in the four walls are down compared to last year,” Hurtado says.

His beef costs are up around 20-25% compared with last year, which has forced him to seek relief in other avenues rather than simply raising prices on the menu.

No Trimming Left Unused

“This has led us to really minimize waste with beef and focus on our sausage program,” Hurtado says. “All of our trim goes to sausage and burgers as of now, which is no easy task for a multi-unit business.”

Unfortunately, any respite from these high beef prices is little more than wishful thinking. 

“When we normally would see relief [after summer], we saw none in 2025,” Hurtado tells us. “We’ve been told that the market won’t see relief anytime soon and that premiums and features [such as our 6666 Ranch Beef] won’t see any relief through the end of the year.”

Many economists studying the sector validate Hurtado’s insights. Eight times a year, the Federal Reserve publishes its Beige Book, a summary of anecdotal information on economic conditions across the Fed’s districts. The Beige Book takes reports from bank and branch directors, as well as interviews with key business contacts, economists, market experts and other sources, to provide an outlook on economic trends.

In September’s Beige Book, Laila Assanie, a senior business economist with the Dallas Federal Reserve, wrote directly about the rising trend in beef, noting that “cattle prices remain historically high amid solid demand and a decline in beef production.”

In an interview with NPR, Assanie noted that the supply of beef has been dropping for years.

“Cattle inventory in the U.S. has been declining since the mid-1970s, but that trend has become a bit more pronounced over the past few years due to persistent droughts, higher feed costs and other economic pressures leading ranchers to liquidate their beef herds,” Assanie told NPR.

Cattle Problems

Perkins has heard the same stories and seen the same data about shrinking cattle populations. He points to U.S. Department of Agriculture data reporting the number of cattle is the lowest it’s been since the 1960s at 27.8 million, despite a growing human population that eats more beef per capita than any other nation.

From Perkins’ view, a ranching business that was already difficult only seems to be getting tougher, and he feels that some cattle ranchers are opting to exit the business altogether.

“They’re butchering more heifers than ever,” Perkins notes. “Because the price is so high, I feel like a lot of ranchers want to take their $4 a pound, get their money and get out.”

With smaller herds in the U.S., imported cattle would normally be an alternative to meet demand. However, in Mexico, the cattle industry has been rocked by an outbreak of screwworm, a parasite that feeds on the live tissue of cattle and can be transmitted to humans. The U.S. has blocked the import of Mexican beef, and according to The Associated Press, that ban will cost Mexican cattle raisers up to $400 million this year alone. Assanie, the Fed’s economist, mentioned screwworms as one of the factors that are keeping beef prices high.

Brazil, as the second-largest cattle-producing country in the world after the U.S., typically exports significant amounts of beef to the U.S., amounting to nearly 30,000 metric tons per month. However, the Trump administration recently levied tariffs of up to 50% on most Brazilian imports, which has led to a two-thirds drop in the amount of beef imported in August, when the tariffs took effect.

Despite the lower numbers of cattle, our taste for beef remains high. When we visited the 44 Farms ranch last year, we noted that USDA stats reported just under 27 billion pounds of beef were produced nationwide in 2023, and the figure looked to increase slightly in 2024. Economic theory tells us that there will be a point where the cost of beef will drive consumers to less pricey alternatives. When that happens remains an unanswered question.

At Hurtado’s, Brandon Hurtado isn’t ready to wager a guess just yet. His customers still order brisket and burgers frequently and tend to reject alternatives.

“We’ve looked to pork and poultry for our menu features that would have better profit margins,” Hurtado tells us of ways he’s trying to mitigate high beef costs across his four locations.

“But this is Texas, and Texans want their beef.”