"It's the same cut we use for our barbacoa, but we just cook it like a brisket."
That's how Andrew "Butter" Soto described beef cheek in a Facebook video, as Chron reported on Sept. 29. It was a week after Butter's BBQ on East Sinton Street stopped offering brisket every day. Most coverage treated the change as a loss. If you've been going to Butter's on Sundays, the replacement will look familiar. Beef cheek has been part of the kitchen's routine since before the move to Sinton. In September, it went from a weekend special to the daily cut.
Beef cheek was already on the menu
Texas Monthly first put Butter's on its Top 50 barbecue list in 2021, back when it was in Mathis. That entry singled out USDA Prime brisket, pork ribs, jalapeño-cheese sausage, and smoked beef cheeks served on weekends. When the restaurant made the 2025 Top 50 list, this time under Sinton, the write-up still praised Sunday beef-cheek barbacoa, alongside the brisket, ribs, house sausage, turkey, elote, and banana pudding.
The cut has been part of Butter's for a long time. Soto opened in Mathis in late 2017. He named the place after his childhood family nickname, and Texas Monthly reported that he learned brisket from his father. The first location was an open-air spot with outdoor seating. In 2022, Soto told KRIS 6 he had run out of room there, and he moved to 713 East Sinton for indoor seating, a serving area, and a bigger kitchen. Texas Monthly later described the move as about twenty miles from the modest Mathis location.
So beef cheek is the cut the pitmaster has been smoking on weekends for years. Now it's on the board every day. Soto told KRIS 6 that, smoked like a brisket, "it almost has the same flavor profile of fatty brisket like your marbled brisket," and that a blind taste test would show "hardly any difference."
What changed on the board
Ribs, sides, and two new meats changed along with the brisket. Chron's Sept. 29 follow-up laid out the changes. Beef cheek now comes as plates and sandwiches, and several other items changed with it.
| Category | Before | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Daily beef | Brisket | Beef cheek, plates and sandwiches |
| Ribs | Pork spare ribs | Baby back ribs |
| New meats | None | Carolina gold pork belly burnt ends in mustard sauce; backyard-style chicken with house sauce |
| Kept | Turkey breast, house links | Turkey breast, house links |
| Potato salad | Homestyle potato salad | Loaded baked potato salad with chives and smoked bacon |
| Beans | Borracho beans | Ranch-style beans |
| Mac and cheese | Mac and cheese | Chorizo queso grits |
| Corn | Elotes | Elotes, the only side that stayed |
Chron said the new menu was already being served. Prices for the new items haven't been published in any coverage we found. Soto did tell KRIS 6 that "the price points will be different," and said he wants "the average Joe" to be able to order at a price he's comfortable with. The pork belly, chicken, and baby backs all point the same way. Each one gives the menu a centerpiece that isn't the most expensive cut in Texas barbecue.
Why brisket became too expensive
Soto's original announcement, quoted by KRIS 6 on Sept. 21, said brisket was "eating up over 70% of our total grocery costs." When one item takes up more than two-thirds of the grocery bill, every supplier increase hits the whole business. The last one came in a phone call. Soto said his food rep told him brisket had jumped again, enough that he would have had to charge "somewhere near $50 a pound." He told the station he wasn't comfortable doing that.
He also said the decision had been building for months. Prices had been rising since he opened in 2017, but he called the past year "a very, very rough one."
The same KRIS 6 report showed how the gap between wholesale and plate price works. Alex Arredondo runs El Vago in Corpus Christi, which reopened in August as El Vago's Hell Pit's BBQ on Kostoryz Road. He said brisket had just gone up another $1.40 a pound, to almost $6 a pound for him to buy. That's before trimming, seasoning, smoking, and the weight lost during cooking. A raw packer brisket loses a lot of weight before any of it reaches a tray, so the cost of each sliced pound is much higher than the wholesale price.
The cause starts well before the restaurant. KRIS 6 reported that the U.S. cattle herd is the smallest it has been in about 75 years. Drought, high feed and interest costs, fewer Mexican feeder cattle because of screwworm concerns, and recent plant cutbacks have all tightened supply. T.W. Moench Jr. of Moody's Meat Market in Corpus Christi added that each carcass yields only two briskets. The station said most people watching the cattle cycle don't expect meaningful relief until the late 2020s at the earliest.
That timeline helps explain the full rebuild. If brisket prices stay high for years, a menu built around beef cheek, pork belly, and chicken is a long-term setup for the shop.
Brisket is preorder-only for now
Brisket hasn't disappeared. Here's what's been reported as of mid-October 2026:
- Preorder only. KRIS 6 reported that brisket is now available by preorder, with a two-pound minimum.
- An online system is planned. In his Facebook video, as Chron reported, Soto said customers should "be on the lookout in the next few weeks" for an online system that lets them order brisket, pay ahead, and pick it up. We couldn't confirm that it has launched.
- No return date. Chron reported that brisket will stay off the daily menu until pricing improves.
If you want brisket for a family gathering or a game-day spread, check the Butter's BBQ Facebook page for the latest on ordering.
Hours and the Chiltepin Fiesta weekend
The most recent published schedule we found is from Texas Monthly's 2025 list: Friday and Saturday 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Sunday 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., or until sold out. That listing came out before the menu change, so check the Facebook page for current hours before you go.
The new menu's first big weekend in town lines up with the Sinton Chamber of Commerce & Visitor Center's 2026 Chiltepin Fall Fiesta, set for Oct. 22–24. The Chamber's listing promises live music, food, local vendors, family activities, a chili cook-off, and a car and bike show. The city calendar doesn't give a venue yet, only "Sinton, TX 78387," so check the Chamber's updates before you head out. The fiesta starts on a Thursday. Its Friday and Saturday fall on days Butter's has historically been open.
Soto's request to the community was simple. "We're not looking for sympathy. We're not looking for a handout," he told KRIS 6. "Come out and… support us like you've been doing these past 10 years." KRIS 6 reported that Soto promised the quality would stay the same, with brisket simply off the board on most days.
Coastal Bend Real Estate keeps track of the local businesses that shape everyday life across San Patricio County, from Top 50 barbecue on East Sinton Street to the fall festival calendar. If your plans in Sinton go beyond lunch, our team is happy to talk them through, starting with a free home valuation whenever you're ready.
