Brisket Shortage Has BBQ Lovers Gnashing Their Teeth

Drought conditions are forcing ranchers to thin their cattle herds, and that means there's a shortage of brisket, the front-end cut of beef that's emblematic of Texas barbecue.

Texas Monthly barbecue editor Daniel Vaughn tells Here & Now's Jeremy Hobson that higher commodity prices have even forced one best-in-state barbecue restaurant to close down recently.

Vaughn says brisket prices have gone up 60 percent from last year, and "without brisket, it just wouldn't be Texas barbecue at all."