In this edition
Every sanctioned contest scored in July 2022 — 1 Jul to 31 Jul.
Covering KCBS-sanctioned contests
July 2022 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
SLAPS BBQ put up 714.2744 at Dodge City Days Smokin' Saddles BBQ Competition (Day 1) — the highest overall of the month.
Hottest hand
Uncle Pig's Barbeque Pit took 3 Grand Championships in July 2022.
First one ever
Dr. Squealgood BBQ won their first Grand Championship at Happy Basset 2nd Annual BBQ Competition, in their 17th contest in the data.
- 1 Jul
Title defended
AWW HELL won Bordertown BBQ Brawl again — back-to-back Grand Championships at the same contest.
- 2021–2022
- field of 30
Upset of the month
The ratings gave them a 17% chance
Small Axe BBQ won Sweet Home Icebox Cookoff 2022 over top-rated SON OF SMOKE as the ratings underdog.
Perfect 180s
Six judges, every card a 9: 56 perfect 180s were handed out in July 2022.
- Chicken ×24
- Pork ×12
- Pork Ribs ×11
- Brisket ×9
Closest call
Furlongs Smoke & Seafood edged Sensuous BBQ by 0.0000 at Bourbon, Brews & BBQ (BACKYARD).
- Backyard Series
Back on top
Eggspert BBQ won The Art of BBQ — their first Grand Championship since September 2016, after 17 contests without one.
- last won September 2016
- 17 contests in between
Contest record
CHUNKY BBQ put up 703.3828 at New Jersey State Barbecue Championship — the best overall in 8 editions of the contest on record, past the old mark of 690.2516.
- old record 690.2516
- 7 earlier editions
Near sweep
BIG POPPA SMOKERS won 3 of 4 meats at Clayton BBQ Cook-off (chicken, pork and brisket), and the Grand Championship with them.
- Chicken
- Pork
- Brisket
- and the GC
Biggest riser
FINGER LEIKAM GOOD gained 38 rating points across 3 contests — the biggest climb of the month.
- 3 contests
- now #234 overall
State champions crowned
29 state championships were decided in July 2022. The biggest, South Carolina Festival of Discovery (92 teams), went to SMOKIN' SWEETMEATS.
- South Carolina
- New Jersey
- Pennsylvania
- Minnesota
- North Carolina
- Oregon
Best debut
Beards BBQ finished 1st at CBCA Clayton BBQ Cook-off (BACKYARD) — the first contest they appear in anywhere in the data.
- 168 new teams in Jul 2022
- field of 20
Best in the backyard
Furlongs Smoke & Seafood put up 355.4172 on the Backyard board at Bourbon, Brews & BBQ (BACKYARD) — two meats, a different scale, and the same nerves.
- 11 Backyard boards in Jul 2022
- won it
Biggest blowout
BIG POPPA SMOKERS won Clayton BBQ Cook-off by 19.5088 points over Porterhouse BBQ — the widest winning margin of the month.
- field of 27
Biggest field
South Carolina Festival of Discovery drew 92 teams, and SMOKIN' SWEETMEATS won it.
- Greenwood, SC
Milestone
ROOTERS-N-TOOTERS TN cooked their 250th contest on record at South Carolina Festival of Discovery, with 24 Grand Championships along the way.
- 24 GCs along the way
Road warriors
MAN MEAT BBQ cooked 9 contests in July 2022 — nobody hauled the rig further.
- best finish 2nd
Won without a meat
Piggin' Whiskey won Smoke in the Grove (Day 1) without winning a single meat — their best category finish was 2nd.
- field of 54
New on the calendar
South Carolina Festival of Discovery ran for the first time on record, drawing 92 teams, and SMOKIN' SWEETMEATS won it. Somebody put in the work to make a new contest happen.
- 12 first editions in Jul 2022
- Greenwood, SC
Always the reserve
OLD VIRGINIA SMOKE finished second overall 2 times in July 2022 without a Grand Championship — one place short every time.
- 4 contests
Busiest weekend
9 sanctioned contests were cooked on 15 Jul alone.
- 15 Jul
Rep of the month
Donna Young repped 6 contests in July 2022 — somebody has to run the table.
The Boards
Highest overall scores (Master · /720)
Best of each meat (both series · /180)
| Category | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Chicken ×24 💯 | BONE RUBBIN BBQ 2nd Annual VFW Post 3396 Armed Forces BBQ Challenge (MASTERS) |
180 |
| Pork Ribs ×11 💯 | RAZORRACKS Lowell's Smokin' In the Ozarks-Arkansas State Challenge |
180 |
| Pork ×12 💯 | JANKY LEG BBQ Lowell's Smokin' In the Ozarks-Arkansas State Challenge |
180 |
| Brisket ×9 💯 | Kings BBQ Team South Carolina Festival of Discovery |
180 |
Straight nines (perfect 180s)
…and 32 more in July 2022.
On the move (power rating)
| Team | Rating | Jul 2022 |
|---|---|---|
| FINGER LEIKAM GOOD No. 234 in the power rankings |
1,746 | +38 |
| Fluffy Butt BBQ No. 454 in the power rankings |
1,687 | +37 |
| Smoke 'n Magic No. 716 in the power rankings |
1,639 | +34 |
| Ham Squad No. 125 in the power rankings |
1,789 | +34 |
| Swine-O-licious BBQ No. 149 in the power rankings |
1,778 | +33 |
| JANKY LEG BBQ No. 3 in the power rankings |
1,959 | +33 |
| Uncle Pig's Barbeque Pit No. 84 in the power rankings |
1,815 | +31 |
| Blue Ribbon BBQ NC No. 1,544 in the power rankings |
1,561 | +28 |
| STICKS & STONES BBQ No. 649 in the power rankings |
1,650 | +28 |
| Big Reds Backyard BBQ No. 1,110 in the power rankings |
1,594 | +25 |
| Ambition Que No. 1,759 in the power rankings |
1,550 | -21 |
| Casual Smokers No. 1,058 in the power rankings |
1,599 | -21 |
| Fat&Dumb BBQ No. 906 in the power rankings |
1,616 | -25 |
| UNFAMOUS DAVE'S No. 1,424 in the power rankings |
1,570 | -26 |
| Heavy Smoke BBQ No. 112 in the power rankings |
1,800 | -38 |
Who showed up
| Team | Contests | GCs | Best |
|---|---|---|---|
| MAN MEAT BBQ | 9 | — | 2 |
| 4 LEGS UP BBQ | 8 | 1 | 1 |
| SLAPS BBQ | 7 | 3 | 1 |
| Ham Squad | 6 | 2 | 1 |
| Fergolicious BBQ | 6 | 1 | 1 |
| Piggin' Whiskey | 6 | 1 | 1 |
| TRIPLE H BBQ | 6 | 1 | 1 |
| LOVE 2 Q | 6 | — | 2 |
| ROOTERS-N-TOOTERS TN | 6 | — | 2 |
| Smoke 'n Magic | 6 | — | 2 |
| MEAT RUSHMORE BBQ | 6 | — | 3 |
| PARTS 'R' SMOKIN | 6 | — | 4 |
| Can Country Outlaw BBQ | 6 | — | 6 |
| Heavy Smoke BBQ | 6 | — | 6 |
| Uncle Pig's Barbeque Pit | 5 | 3 | 1 |
Who ran the table
| Rep | Contests | States |
|---|---|---|
| Donna Young | 6 | 2 |
| Ed Young | 6 | 2 |
| Larry Voth | 5 | 1 |
| Lynda Voth | 5 | 1 |
| Eugene Wickham | 4 | 2 |
| Alex Jr Brown | 3 | 2 |
| Clara Williams | 3 | 2 |
| Dave Rogers | 3 | 2 |
| Ian Schmidt | 3 | 2 |
| Jeanne Titus | 3 | 1 |
| Jonathan B Williams | 3 | 2 |
| Julie Poe | 3 | 2 |
| Karen Jane Williams | 3 | 2 |
| Louise Weidner | 3 | 2 |
| Peg Rogers | 3 | 2 |
| Ralph Williams | 3 | 2 |
| Alan Rothrock | 2 | 2 |
| Andreas Schnoell | 2 | — |
| Angela Fishlock | 2 | 1 |
| Angela McKee | 2 | 1 |
Where they cooked
| State/Prov. | Contests | Teams |
|---|---|---|
| Kansas | 5 | 87 |
| Missouri | 5 | 80 |
| Illinois | 4 | 64 |
| Iowa | 3 | 74 |
| Minnesota | 3 | 56 |
| Pennsylvania | 2 | 90 |
| Virginia | 2 | 70 |
| California | 2 | 43 |
| Michigan | 2 | 39 |
| Colorado | 2 | 38 |
| South Carolina | 1 | 100 |
| New Jersey | 1 | 61 |
| North Carolina | 1 | 35 |
| Oregon | 1 | 34 |
| Arkansas | 1 | 30 |
| Oklahoma | 1 | 26 |
| Vermont | 1 | 25 |
| Nevada | 1 | 22 |
| LT | 1 | 15 |
| Alaska | 1 | 6 |
Best in the backyard (Backyard · /360)
New to the circuit
First editions (new on the calendar)
| Contest | Teams | Won by |
|---|---|---|
| South Carolina Festival of Discovery Greenwood, SC |
92 | SMOKIN' SWEETMEATS |
| Sweet Home Icebox Cookoff 2022 Sweet Home, OR |
34 | Small Axe BBQ |
| 6th Annual E'burg BBQ Contest Emmetsburg, IA |
32 | Hot Daddys BBQ |
| Lowell's Smokin' In the Ozarks-Arkansas State Challenge Lowell, AR |
30 | Janky Leg BBQ |
| The Art of BBQ Sterling, CO |
28 | Eggspert BBQ |
| Smokin on the Osage (Day 1) Osceola, MO |
28 | Razorracks |
| Shenandoah "ShenDig" Barbeque Championship Shenandoah, IA |
27 | Smokin Leftys BBQ |
| Dodge City Days Smokin' Saddles BBQ Competition (Day 1) Dodge City, KS |
26 | Slaps BBQ |
| Central Illinois BBQ Throwdown Eureka, IL |
25 | Que U |
| Happy Basset 2nd Annual BBQ Competition Topeka, KS |
24 | Dr. Squealgood BBQ |
| 2022 Cameron Elks BBQ Cook Off - One Meat Ribs Cameron, MO |
23 | Meat Rushmore BBQ |
| CBCA Clayton BBQ Cook-off (BACKYARD) Clayton, CA |
20 | Beards BBQ |
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Every contest scored (46 in July 2022)
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.