In this edition
Every sanctioned contest scored in July 2015 — 1 Jul to 31 Jul.
Covering KCBS-sanctioned contests
July 2015 in BBQ
The recap: every contest scored, every story, every board
Inside
The Stories
Score of the month
top 1% of every Master overall ever scored
BRICKHEAD BBQ put up 707.4056 at Laurie Hillbilly BBQ — the highest overall of the month.
Hottest hand
CLARK CREW BBQ took 2 Grand Championships in July 2015.
First one ever
THE SMOKEHOUSE MAFIA won their first Grand Championship at Pigs & Pedals, in their 46th contest in the data.
- 31 Jul
By invitation only
BR.BQ won Prime UVE Invitational Barbecue Championship, best of 15 invited teams; BBQ4ALL INTERNATIONAL took reserve. An invite-only field, so it leaves the power rating alone and goes straight into the record book.
- top score 677.6684
- not in the power rating
Title defended
LITTLE PIG TOWN BBQ won Pork & Brew BBQ State Championship again — back-to-back Grand Championships at the same contest.
- 2014–2015
- field of 44
Upset of the month
The ratings gave them a 10% chance
Freeman Brothers BBQ won Gold Ribbin' BBQ Fest of Greater Green Bay over top-rated IOWA'S SMOKEY D'S BBQ as the ratings underdog.
Perfect 180s
Six judges, every card a 9: 32 perfect 180s were handed out in July 2015.
- Chicken ×11
- Brisket ×8
- Pork ×7
- Pork Ribs ×6
Closest call
MONSTER-QUE edged RURAL ROUTE BBQ by 0.0228 at Wine, Brew & Bar-B-Que Too!.
- Master Series
Back on top
FATTY MAC BARBECUE won Drayton Kinsmen Smoke and Sounds Festval — their first Grand Championship since June 2013, after 9 contests without one.
- last won June 2013
- 9 contests in between
Biggest riser
Bonemaker Outdoors gained 42 rating points across 3 contests — the biggest climb of the month.
- 3 contests
- now #512 overall
State champion
LITTLE PIG TOWN BBQ won Pork & Brew BBQ State Championship, a state championship, against a field of 44.
- New Mexico
Best debut
Sticky D's finished 6th at Prime UVE Invitational Barbecue Championship — the first contest they appear in anywhere in the data.
- 327 new teams in Jul 2015
- field of 15
Biggest blowout
LONESTAR SMOKE RANGERS won Montana BBQ Cook-Off by 18.8912 points over JO-BAWB'S BBQ — the widest winning margin of the month.
- field of 29
Biggest field
SC Festival of Discovery (TEAMS AND JUDGES FULL) drew 90 teams, and BUB-BA-Q won it.
- Greenwood, SC
Milestone
QUAU cooked their 100th contest on record at I Love Barbecue & Music Festival, with 14 Grand Championships along the way.
- 14 GCs along the way
Road warriors
CLARK CREW BBQ cooked 5 contests in July 2015 — nobody hauled the rig further.
- best finish 1st
- 2 GCs
Won without a meat
Bubba Q won SC Festival of Discovery (TEAMS AND JUDGES FULL) without winning a single meat — their best category finish was 3rd.
- field of 90
New on the calendar
Racing for the BBQ ran for the first time on record, drawing 63 teams, and Smoke Masters Mafia won it. Somebody put in the work to make a new contest happen.
- 12 first editions in Jul 2015
- Lees Summit, MO
Always the reserve
JO-BAWB'S BBQ finished second overall 2 times in July 2015 without a Grand Championship — one place short every time.
- 3 contests
Busiest weekend
14 sanctioned contests were cooked on 24 Jul alone.
- 24 Jul
The Boards
Highest overall scores (Master · /720)
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | BRICKHEAD BBQ Laurie Hillbilly BBQ |
707.4056 |
| 2 | Organizer Portal BBQ-Fest Cooking Contest |
706.8460 |
| 3 | BIG POPPA SMOKERS SLV Beat the Heat - Barbeque, Brews and Chili |
705.1428 |
| 4 | ZZYZX BAR.B.Q 7th Annual Vista BBQ Classic |
701.7372 |
| 5 | Q-BONES BBQ Smoke on the Mountain - VA State BBQ Championship |
701.6456 |
| 6 | GETTIN' BASTED Johnson County Fair BBQ |
700.5828 |
| 7 | BREWMASTERS BAR-B-QUE Blues Hog Barbecue, Music & Craft Festival |
700.5256 |
| 8 | OKIEQ Hot Pursuit BBQ Cookoff |
700.0116 |
| 9 | Porterhouse BBQ Holbrook |
699.9428 |
| 10 | My Smokin' Grillfriend 7th Annual Vista BBQ Classic |
699.4628 |
| 11 | SMOKE N BABES BBQ Dodge City Days Barbeque Cook-Off |
699.3944 |
| 12 | Fergolicious BBQ Smokin Hot Cars & BBQ |
698.8572 |
| 13 | CLARK CREW BBQ 14th Annual Bordertown Bash |
698.8344 |
| 14 | THUMP & STRUM BBQ Johnson County Fair BBQ |
698.3088 |
| 15 | THE PIT CREW GA Dillard Bluegrass & Barbeque Festival (GBC Qualifier) |
698.2744 |
Best of each meat (both series · /180)
| Category | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Chicken ×11 💯 | TWO OLD MEN AND A GRILL SC Festival of Discovery (TEAMS AND JUDGES FULL) |
180 |
| Pork Ribs ×6 💯 | GETTIN' BASTED Blues Hog Barbecue, Music & Craft Festival |
180 |
| Pork ×7 💯 | SONS OF BUTCHERS Smoke on the Waterfall |
180 |
| Brisket ×8 💯 | Freeman Brothers BBQ Gold Ribbin' BBQ Fest of Greater Green Bay |
180 |
Straight nines (perfect 180s)
…and 8 more in July 2015.
On the move (power rating)
| Team | Rating | Jul 2015 |
|---|---|---|
| Bonemaker Outdoors No. 512 in the power rankings |
1,674 | +42 |
| VICTORY LANE BBQ No. 62 in the power rankings |
1,836 | +40 |
| BIG "E" BBQ No. 80 in the power rankings |
1,818 | +31 |
| OKIEQ No. 163 in the power rankings |
1,774 | +31 |
| Q-BONES BBQ No. 60 in the power rankings |
1,837 | +28 |
| THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE SMOKE No. 295 in the power rankings |
1,725 | +28 |
| PHAT JACKS BBQ NE No. 430 in the power rankings |
1,692 | +27 |
| 5 FINGER BBQ No. 816 in the power rankings |
1,626 | +27 |
| TACKLE THE TABLE BBQ No. 2,092 in the power rankings |
1,535 | +27 |
| DG FIREHOUSE BBQ No. 137 in the power rankings |
1,784 | +26 |
| LIVESPARKS No. 2,446 in the power rankings |
1,522 | -18 |
| Smokin in the Ozarks No. 2,290 in the power rankings |
1,528 | -19 |
| R & B BBQ and Catering | 1,471 | -19 |
| SPICY SPITFIRE No. 354 in the power rankings |
1,711 | -20 |
| THE BLUE BLOODS No. 409 in the power rankings |
1,696 | -20 |
Who showed up
| Team | Contests | GCs | Best |
|---|---|---|---|
| CLARK CREW BBQ | 5 | 2 | 1 |
| 4 LEGS UP BBQ | 5 | — | 2 |
| DIRT ROAD BBQ | 5 | — | 2 |
| SPITFIRE | 5 | — | 2 |
| BURNT AT BOTH ENDZ | 5 | — | 3 |
| Backdraft BBQ | 5 | — | 3 |
| CAVEMAN CUISINE | 5 | — | 3 |
| BUTCHER BBQ | 5 | — | 4 |
| TREEFROG BBQ | 5 | — | 4 |
| TRUE SMOKE BBQ | 5 | — | 4 |
| THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE SMOKE | 4 | 2 | 1 |
| BIG CHAIN BBQ GANG | 4 | 1 | 1 |
| BUFFALO'S BBQ | 4 | 1 | 1 |
| FIRE DANCER BBQ | 4 | 1 | 1 |
| GETTIN' BASTED | 4 | 1 | 1 |
Where they cooked
| State/Prov. | Contests | Teams |
|---|---|---|
| Missouri | 5 | 178 |
| Kansas | 5 | 156 |
| Iowa | 4 | 116 |
| California | 3 | 117 |
| Illinois | 3 | 78 |
| Minnesota | 3 | 63 |
| Tennessee | 2 | 94 |
| Wisconsin | 2 | 88 |
| Nebraska | 2 | 84 |
| Georgia | 2 | 77 |
| North Carolina | 2 | 75 |
| Colorado | 2 | 69 |
| Indiana | 2 | 69 |
| Oklahoma | 2 | 42 |
| Virginia | 2 | 41 |
| South Carolina | 1 | 91 |
| Maryland | 1 | 74 |
| New Jersey | 1 | 65 |
| Arkansas | 1 | 44 |
| New Mexico | 1 | 44 |
By invitation (invite-only fields)
| Contest | Teams | Grand Champion |
|---|---|---|
| Prime UVE Invitational Barbecue Championship Jul 4, 2015 · Gaiarine, Italy |
15 | BR.BQ |
New to the circuit
First editions (new on the calendar)
| Contest | Teams | Won by |
|---|---|---|
| Racing for the BBQ Lees Summit, MO |
63 | Smoke Masters Mafia |
| 7th Annual Vista BBQ Classic Vista, CA |
54 | ZZYZX BAR.B.Q |
| Blues Hog Barbecue, Music & Craft Festival Jackson, TN |
51 | BREWMASTERS BAR-B-QUE |
| 11th Annual WildBlue BBQ Burlington, KS |
48 | CLARK CREW BBQ |
| 5th Annual Morton BBQ Throwdown Morton, IL |
47 | TIM'S FULL BELLI DELI |
| Rossville Tall Corn Festival BBQ Contest Rossville, KS |
46 | INDIGO PIG |
| 14th Annual Bordertown Bash Fort Smith, AR |
44 | CLARK CREW BBQ |
| 9th Ohio Veterans BBQ Cookoff Kettering, OH |
39 | HOOSIER FAVORITE BBQ |
| Wakefield Rotary Campus Cook Off Kingston, RI |
37 | STUBBORN BULL BBQ |
| BBQ-Fest Cooking Contest Dyersburg, TN |
35 | SMOKE ME SILLY |
| Johnson County Fair BBQ Warrensburg, MO |
33 | GETTIN' BASTED |
| Hot Pursuit BBQ Cookoff Shawnee, OK |
32 | OKIEQ |
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Every contest scored (59 in July 2015)
The Archive
Every month with scored results, back to the start of the data. Subscribe to the monthly feed and each one lands as it closes.
2026 (338 contests) · the 2026 season in review
2025 (386 contests) · the 2025 season in review
2024 (343 contests) · the 2024 season in review
2023 (376 contests) · the 2023 season in review
2022 (376 contests) · the 2022 season in review
2021 (310 contests) · the 2021 season in review
2020 (134 contests) · the 2020 season in review
2019 (430 contests) · the 2019 season in review
2018 (480 contests) · the 2018 season in review
2017 (517 contests) · the 2017 season in review
2016 (505 contests) · the 2016 season in review
2015 (494 contests) · the 2015 season in review
2014 (469 contests) · the 2014 season in review
2013 (436 contests) · the 2013 season in review
2012 (1 contest) · the 2012 season in review
Every figure here is computed from the public results at kcbs.us, refreshed nightly. The Smoke Ring is not a publication of the Kansas City Barbeque Society.