May 3–4, 2024 · Westland, MI · 📍 6440 N. Hix Road · State championship
Reps: Kent Schuetz, Rachel Schuetz · Prize money: $6,000
THE BBQ BUS won Grand Champion at the Smoke in the Mitten BBQ Competition on May 3, 2024 in Westland, MI at 6440 N. Hix Road, scoring 694.8000 in a field of 26 teams. FIREHOUSE SMOKE took Reserve Grand Champion with 690.1828. Category winners: Chicken — FIREHOUSE SMOKE (178.8572); Pork Ribs — FIREHOUSE SMOKE (175.4172); Pork — FIREHOUSE SMOKE (176.5600); Brisket — Sailor Nicks BBQ (174.2628). This is the 2nd of 2 editions of this contest on record; the 2023 edition was won by Kevlar BBQ.
Overall totals, every team on the board — tall stacks are where the pack sat.
Every board on one scale — the bar runs last score to first, the dot is the median.
Everything below is read straight out of the results — the number on each card is the one that made it a story.
THE BBQ BUS won the Grand Championship without winning a single meat — 3 calls from 4 boards, best of them 2nd. Consistency beat fireworks.
FIREHOUSE SMOKE won Chicken, Pork Ribs, Pork — a hat-trick.
Chicken places 5–6: BAD HABIT BBQ and Bleacher Bums BBQ tied on 174.8456 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Pork Ribs places 8–9: BBQ Maestros and Q-JITSU tied on 169.6800 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Pork places 8–9: WE WILL ROCK QUE and Shiggin aint easy tied on 169.7028 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker.
FIREHOUSE SMOKE turned in 176.5600 in pork — past the 175.4400 that had stood across 1 earlier editions.
Past winners of this contest cooked this edition: Kevlar BBQ (won 2023).
19 of 25 teams from 2023-05-05 came back
19 of the 25 teams that cooked the previous edition came back for this one — a contest people put on the calendar.
| Date | Where | Venue | Teams | High score | Grand Champion | Reserve Champion |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 5, 2023 | Westland, MI | 6440 N. Hix Road | 25 | 706.8228 | Kevlar BBQ | THE BBQ BUS |
| May 3, 2024 ← this one | Westland, MI | 6440 N. Hix Road | 26 | 694.8000 | The BBQ Bus | FIREHOUSE SMOKE |
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 178.8572 | 174.8456 | 173.1084 |
| Pork Ribs | 175.4172 | 172.0116 | 169.1200 |
| Pork | 176.5600 | 172.5600 | 169.6800 |
| Brisket | 174.2628 | 171.4172 | 167.9772 |
26 entries · top 694.8000 · median 673.3372
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | THE BBQ BUS | |
| 2 | FIREHOUSE SMOKE | |
| 3 | MEAN MOE'S BBQ | |
| 4 | WE WILL ROCK QUE | |
| 5 | iBQ'n | |
| 6 | Sailor Nicks BBQ | |
| 7 | Shiggin aint easy | |
| 8 | BAD HABIT BBQ | |
| 9 | Q-JITSU | |
| 10 | BBQ Maestros | |
| 11 | THE REAL SMOKIN ACES | |
| 12 | PapaDads BBQ | |
| 13 | BooyaQ | |
| 14 | PARROTHEAD SMOKERS | |
| 15 | DAT'S BBQ | |
| 16 | Buckeye Flavor | |
| 17 | Bleacher Bums BBQ | |
| 18 | KEVLAR BBQ | |
| 19 | JAYBIRD'S BBQ | |
| 20 | BO B Q BBQ | |
| 21 | SUCKA BONE BBQ TEAM | |
| 22 | B&R SMOKE | |
| 23 | PB&J's BBQ | |
| 24 | Backdraft BBQ | |
| 25 | Thin Blue BBQ | |
| 26 | RAMSHACKLE BBQ |
26 entries · top 178.8572 · median 171.9772
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | FIREHOUSE SMOKE | |
| 2 | MEAN MOE'S BBQ | |
| 3 | WE WILL ROCK QUE | |
| 4 | Shiggin aint easy | |
| 5 | BAD HABIT BBQ | |
| 6 | Bleacher Bums BBQ | |
| 7 | BBQ Maestros | |
| 8 | B&R SMOKE | |
| 9 | Buckeye Flavor | |
| 10 | THE REAL SMOKIN ACES | |
| 11 | BooyaQ | |
| 12 | PapaDads BBQ | |
| 13 | DAT'S BBQ | |
| 14 | iBQ'n | |
| 15 | THE BBQ BUS | |
| 16 | SUCKA BONE BBQ TEAM | |
| 17 | PB&J's BBQ | |
| 18 | PARROTHEAD SMOKERS | |
| 19 | BO B Q BBQ | |
| 20 | Q-JITSU | |
| 21 | KEVLAR BBQ | |
| 22 | JAYBIRD'S BBQ | |
| 23 | RAMSHACKLE BBQ | |
| 24 | Backdraft BBQ | |
| 25 | Sailor Nicks BBQ | |
| 26 | Thin Blue BBQ |
26 entries · top 175.4172 · median 168.5372
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | FIREHOUSE SMOKE | |
| 2 | THE BBQ BUS | |
| 3 | Sailor Nicks BBQ | |
| 4 | Bleacher Bums BBQ | |
| 5 | PapaDads BBQ | |
| 6 | MEAN MOE'S BBQ | |
| 7 | Shiggin aint easy | |
| 8 | BBQ Maestros | |
| 9 | Q-JITSU | |
| 10 | BAD HABIT BBQ | |
| 11 | Backdraft BBQ | |
| 12 | THE REAL SMOKIN ACES | |
| 13 | WE WILL ROCK QUE | |
| 14 | PB&J's BBQ | |
| 15 | JAYBIRD'S BBQ | |
| 16 | Buckeye Flavor | |
| 17 | DAT'S BBQ | |
| 18 | PARROTHEAD SMOKERS | |
| 19 | KEVLAR BBQ | |
| 20 | iBQ'n | |
| 21 | B&R SMOKE | |
| 22 | BO B Q BBQ | |
| 23 | RAMSHACKLE BBQ | |
| 24 | BooyaQ | |
| 25 | Thin Blue BBQ | |
| 26 | SUCKA BONE BBQ TEAM |
26 entries · top 176.5600 · median 168.2514
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | FIREHOUSE SMOKE | |
| 2 | THE BBQ BUS | |
| 3 | MEAN MOE'S BBQ | |
| 4 | iBQ'n | |
| 5 | Sailor Nicks BBQ | |
| 6 | Q-JITSU | |
| 7 | BooyaQ | |
| 8 | WE WILL ROCK QUE | |
| 9 | Shiggin aint easy | |
| 10 | SUCKA BONE BBQ TEAM | |
| 11 | BO B Q BBQ | |
| 12 | PARROTHEAD SMOKERS | |
| 13 | BAD HABIT BBQ | |
| 14 | JAYBIRD'S BBQ | |
| 15 | THE REAL SMOKIN ACES | |
| 16 | KEVLAR BBQ | |
| 17 | BBQ Maestros | |
| 18 | B&R SMOKE | |
| 19 | PB&J's BBQ | |
| 20 | DAT'S BBQ | |
| 21 | Thin Blue BBQ | |
| 22 | Buckeye Flavor | |
| 23 | PapaDads BBQ | |
| 24 | Backdraft BBQ | |
| 25 | RAMSHACKLE BBQ | |
| 26 | Bleacher Bums BBQ |
26 entries · top 174.2628 · median 166.8228
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sailor Nicks BBQ | |
| 2 | THE BBQ BUS | |
| 3 | iBQ'n | |
| 4 | DAT'S BBQ | |
| 5 | KEVLAR BBQ | |
| 6 | WE WILL ROCK QUE | |
| 7 | Bleacher Bums BBQ | |
| 8 | BooyaQ | |
| 9 | PARROTHEAD SMOKERS | |
| 10 | Buckeye Flavor | |
| 11 | PapaDads BBQ | |
| 12 | THE REAL SMOKIN ACES | |
| 13 | BBQ Maestros | |
| 14 | BAD HABIT BBQ | |
| 15 | Shiggin aint easy | |
| 16 | BO B Q BBQ | |
| 17 | Q-JITSU | |
| 18 | JAYBIRD'S BBQ | |
| 19 | MEAN MOE'S BBQ | |
| 20 | SUCKA BONE BBQ TEAM | |
| 21 | FIREHOUSE SMOKE | |
| 22 | B&R SMOKE | |
| 23 | Thin Blue BBQ | |
| 24 | RAMSHACKLE BBQ | |
| 25 | PB&J's BBQ | |
| 26 | Backdraft BBQ |
Run by the organizers alongside the sanctioned contest. These are judged on their own terms and do not count toward the overall score, so they're kept out of the meat stats above.
7 entries · top 180 · median 173.1544 · 🔥 perfect 180
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Shiggin aint easy | |
| 2 | PB&J's BBQ | |
| 3 | iBQ'n | |
| 4 | DAT'S BBQ | |
| 5 | Buckeye Flavor | |
| 6 | Q-JITSU | |
| 7 | Piggy Be Bonkers |