Jun 23–24, 2018 · Absarokee, MT · 📍 Hwy 78
HICKORY AND SPICE BBQ won Grand Champion at the Montana BBQ Cook-Off on June 23, 2018 in Absarokee, MT at Hwy 78, scoring 695.9660 in a field of 26 teams. PARROTHEAD SMOKERS took Reserve Grand Champion with 693.7028. Category winners: Chicken — LONESTAR SMOKE RANGERS (178.8572); Pork Ribs — PARROTHEAD SMOKERS (178.8800); Pork — PARROTHEAD SMOKERS (177.7144); Brisket — MONTANA OUTLAW BBQ (180.0000). This is the 6th of 9 editions of this contest on record; the 2017 edition was won by PARROTHEAD SMOKERS; the next was held in 2019.
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.
What it has taken to win here, 2013 to 2022 — this edition picked out.
Everything below is read straight out of the results — the number on each card is the one that made it a story.
HICKORY AND SPICE BBQ won the Grand Championship without winning a single meat — 4 calls from 4 boards, best of them 2nd. Consistency beat fireworks.
3 of 9 tracked editions
PARROTHEAD SMOKERS has won this contest 3 times across its 9 tracked editions.
Pork Ribs places 6–7: YOU QUE'D ME ALL NIGHT LONG and MOUNTAIN SMOKE BBQ tied on 172.0000 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Pork places 3–4: G AND L BBQ and GRATE EXPECTATIONS tied on 173.1200 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Chicken places 4–5: PARROTHEAD SMOKERS edged MONTANA OUTLAW BBQ by 0.0112.
PARROTHEAD SMOKERS won Pork Ribs, Pork — a double.
LONESTAR SMOKE RANGERS turned in 178.8572 in chicken — past the 178.2972 that had stood across 5 earlier editions.
Past winners of this contest cooked this edition: LONESTAR SMOKE RANGERS (won 2013, 2015), PARROTHEAD SMOKERS (won 2014, 2017), MONTANA OUTLAW BBQ (won 2016).
1 perfect 180 was scored at this contest — every judge at the table handing back a nine.
| Date | Where | Venue | Teams | High score | Grand Champion | Reserve Champion |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 6, 2013 | Absarokee, MT | Absarokee, MT | 22 | 650.2858 | LONESTAR SMOKE RANGERS | PARROTHEAD SMOKERS |
| Jul 5, 2014 | Absarokee, MT | Absarokee, MT 59001 | 25 | 694.3316 | PARROTHEAD SMOKERS | SUNRISE BBQ |
| Jul 3, 2015 | Absarokee, MT | Absarokee, MT 59001 | 29 | 696.5828 | LONESTAR SMOKE RANGERS | JO-BAWB'S BBQ |
| Jun 25, 2016 | Absarokee, MT | Downtown Absarokee | 29 | 701.7144 | MONTANA OUTLAW BBQ | JO-BAWB'S BBQ |
| Jun 24, 2017 | Absarokee, MT | Hwy 78 | 35 | 701.1200 | PARROTHEAD SMOKERS | YOU QUE'D ME ALL NIGHT LONG |
| Jun 23, 2018 ← this one | Absarokee, MT | Hwy 78 | 26 | 695.9660 | HICKORY AND SPICE BBQ | PARROTHEAD SMOKERS |
| Jun 22, 2019 | Absarokee, MT | Hwy 78 | 29 | 699.9196 | Parrothead Smokers | SMOKIN HOT BUTTS BBQ |
| Jun 11, 2021 | Absarokee, MT | Woodard Ave | 27 | 708.5600 | Texas Smoke Whisperer | Bushmaster BBQ |
| Jun 10, 2022 | Absarokee, MT | Woodard Ave | 27 | 693.6112 | Stoake-D-Fire.com | OWENS BBQ |
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 178.8572 | 174.2744 | 169.1316 |
| Pork Ribs | 178.8800 | 173.7144 | 170.8572 |
| Pork | 177.7144 | 172.5600 | 168.5600 |
| Brisket | 180 | 169.1200 | 163.9656 |
26 entries · top 695.9660 · median 661.3484
26 entries · top 178.8572 · median 168
26 entries · top 178.8800 · median 166.3258
26 entries · top 177.7144 · median 167.1142
26 entries · top 180 · median 161.9714 · 🔥 perfect 180
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.
16 entries · top 180 · median 171.4344 · 🔥 perfect 180