In this edition
Every sanctioned contest scored in October 2023 — 1 Oct to 31 Oct.
Covering KCBS-sanctioned contests
October 2023 in BBQ
The recap: every contest scored, every story, every board
Inside
The Stories
By invitation only
Uncle Pig's Barbeque Pit won Jack Daniel's World Championship Invitational Barbecue (Competitor's Series) (JUDGES BY INVITATION ONLY), best of 81 invited teams; B'Mackin BBQ took reserve. An invite-only field, so it leaves the power rating alone and goes straight into the record book.
- top score 699.4056
- 2 invitationals in Oct 2023
- not in the power rating
Score of the month
top 1% of every Master overall ever scored
LOCAL YOKELS BBQ put up 711.9656 at Smokin' for Garrett — the highest overall of the month.
Hottest hand
Mad Rocket Barbecue took 2 Grand Championships in October 2023.
First one ever
SUPER SWINE won their first Grand Championship at Harper County Bullseye BBQ - Day 2, in their 65th contest in the data.
- 7 Oct
Title defended
JANKY LEG BBQ won Boo-B-Que BBQ Championship (Day 1) (MASTERS and BACKYARD) again — back-to-back Grand Championships at the same contest.
- 2022–2023
- field of 47
Upset of the month
The ratings gave them a 15% chance
Squealin N Dealin BBQ won Boo-B-Que BBQ Championship (Day 2) (MASTERS and BACKYARD) over top-rated GETTIN' BASTED as the ratings underdog.
Perfect 180s
Six judges, every card a 9: 69 perfect 180s were handed out in October 2023.
- Chicken ×25
- Pork Ribs ×18
- Pork ×13
- Brisket ×13
Closest call
Ash Kickin' BBQ edged Can Country Outlaw BBQ by 0.0116 at Bring'n Home the Bacon II (MASTER & BACKYARD).
- Master Series
Back on top
Cool Smoke won Maryland State BBQ Bash — their first Grand Championship since October 2016, after 24 contests without one.
- last won October 2016
- 24 contests in between
Contest record
YES, DEAR BBQ put up 708.5488 at The Real Squeal BBQ & Music Festival — the best overall in 8 editions of the contest on record, past the old mark of 706.2516.
- old record 706.2516
- 7 earlier editions
Near sweep
BOGGS HOG BBQ won 3 of 4 meats at Red White & Que - CAMPGROUND BBQ SERIES (Day 2) (chicken, pork and brisket), and the Grand Championship with them.
- Chicken
- Pork
- Brisket
- and the GC
Biggest riser
Smoke This Drink That BBQ gained 37 rating points across 3 contests — the biggest climb of the month.
- 3 contests
- now #268 overall
State champions crowned
26 state championships were decided in October 2023. The biggest, Poosa Q (73 teams), went to PIGGIN' WHISKEY.
- Alabama
- Arkansas
- Missouri
- Kansas
- New Jersey
- Georgia
Best debut
SoCal Outlaw BBQ finished 1st at 19th Annual Burnt Offering BBQ Contest (COMPETITOR SERIES) — the first contest they appear in anywhere in the data.
- 167 new teams in Oct 2023
- field of 20
Best in the backyard
Furlongs Smoke & Seafood put up 355.4172 on the Backyard board at Poosa Q — two meats, a different scale, and the same nerves.
- 18 Backyard boards in Oct 2023
- won it
Biggest blowout
BOGGS HOG BBQ won Red White & Que - CAMPGROUND BBQ SERIES (Day 2) by 9.7488 points over SMOKECRAFT - MD — the widest winning margin of the month.
- field of 29
Biggest field
Jack Daniel's World Championship Invitational Barbecue (Competitor's Series) (JUDGES BY INVITATION ONLY) drew 81 teams, and Uncle Pig's Barbeque Pit won it.
- Lynchburg, TN
Milestone
GETTIN' BASTED cooked their 400th contest on record at Boo-B-Que BBQ Championship (Day 1) (MASTERS and BACKYARD), with 68 Grand Championships along the way.
- 68 GCs along the way
Road warriors
SMOKECRAFT - MD cooked 9 contests in October 2023 — nobody hauled the rig further.
- best finish 2nd
Won without a meat
Piggin' Whiskey won Poosa Q without winning a single meat — their best category finish was 4th.
- field of 73
New on the calendar
The Whistlestop Festival & Rocket City BBQ (BACKYARD ONLY) ran for the first time on record, drawing 50 teams, and Hickory Hangover won it. Somebody put in the work to make a new contest happen.
- 12 first editions in Oct 2023
- Huntsville, AL
Busiest weekend
11 sanctioned contests were cooked on 13 Oct alone.
- 13 Oct
Rep of the month
Alan Rothrock repped 6 contests in October 2023 — somebody has to run the table.
The Boards
Highest overall scores (Master · /720)
| # | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | LOCAL YOKELS BBQ Smokin' for Garrett |
711.9656 |
| 2 | BOGGS HOG BBQ Red White & Que - CAMPGROUND BBQ SERIES (Day 2) |
710.8344 |
| 3 | Organizer Portal Railyard BBQ Brawl 2023 |
710.8344 |
| 4 | Kermit's Ex Go Hog Wild BBQ |
709.7144 |
| 5 | Under the Radar Waxhaw Grill'n & Chill'n BBQ Cook Off |
709.6800 |
| 6 | MEAT ME IN ST. LOUIS Dragon Smoke BBQ Competition |
709.6800 |
| 7 | COOKLOUNGE BBQ Country Road & BBQ Contest |
709.1200 |
| 8 | Mulkey's BBQ Dragon Smoke BBQ Competition |
709.1200 |
| 9 | YES, DEAR BBQ The Real Squeal BBQ & Music Festival |
708.5488 |
| 10 | Cowboy Q Go Hog Wild BBQ |
708.5372 |
| 11 | WOOD HOOK BBQ Go Hog Wild BBQ |
708.5372 |
| 12 | SLAPS BBQ Smoke on the Water |
707.4176 |
| 13 | SMOKIN' SWEETMEATS The Real Squeal BBQ & Music Festival |
707.3828 |
| 14 | BLIND HOG BBQ Go Hog Wild BBQ |
707.3828 |
| 15 | Smoked & Furious Harper County Bullseye BBQ - Day 1 |
706.2860 |
Best of each meat (both series · /180)
| Category | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Chicken ×25 💯 | TWISTED PAIR BBQ Poosa Q |
180 |
| Pork Ribs ×18 💯 | Ahh Townley BBQ Go Hog Wild BBQ |
180 |
| Pork ×13 💯 | BLIND HOG BBQ Go Hog Wild BBQ |
180 |
| Brisket ×13 💯 | YES, DEAR BBQ The Real Squeal BBQ & Music Festival |
180 |
Straight nines (perfect 180s)
…and 45 more in October 2023.
On the move (power rating)
| Team | Rating | Oct 2023 |
|---|---|---|
| Smoke This Drink That BBQ No. 268 in the power rankings |
1,733 | +37 |
| Gold-N-Blue Barbecue No. 449 in the power rankings |
1,688 | +35 |
| Mad Rocket Barbecue No. 560 in the power rankings |
1,667 | +35 |
| Shmack Q No. 515 in the power rankings |
1,674 | +33 |
| Wrecking Crew BBQ No. 270 in the power rankings |
1,732 | +32 |
| Bad Influence BBQ - MO No. 923 in the power rankings |
1,613 | +32 |
| Dog Bite Barbecue No. 546 in the power rankings |
1,669 | +31 |
| Curly Bird BBQ No. 443 in the power rankings |
1,689 | +31 |
| Glamping Grillers No. 258 in the power rankings |
1,737 | +30 |
| BLIND HOG BBQ No. 714 in the power rankings |
1,640 | +29 |
| Rogue Hog BBQ No. 581 in the power rankings |
1,663 | -30 |
| ALL FORKED UP FOR Q No. 506 in the power rankings |
1,675 | -31 |
| MEAT RUSHMORE BBQ No. 516 in the power rankings |
1,674 | -34 |
| GETTIN' BASTED No. 11 in the power rankings |
1,921 | -35 |
| ROOTERS-N-TOOTERS TN No. 8 in the power rankings |
1,931 | -38 |
Who showed up
| Team | Contests | GCs | Best |
|---|---|---|---|
| SMOKECRAFT - MD | 9 | — | 2 |
| CHUNKY BBQ | 8 | 1 | 1 |
| Gold-N-Blue Barbecue | 8 | 1 | 1 |
| Optimus Swine | 8 | — | 3 |
| MEAT RUSHMORE BBQ | 8 | — | 5 |
| Colorado Bulldawg BBQ | 7 | 1 | 1 |
| PARTS 'R' SMOKIN | 7 | — | 2 |
| ROOTERS-N-TOOTERS TN | 7 | — | 2 |
| Off The Rack BBQ | 7 | — | 3 |
| BrewsCue | 7 | — | 4 |
| Fergolicious BBQ | 7 | — | 4 |
| MAN MEAT BBQ | 7 | — | 4 |
| GETTIN' BASTED | 7 | — | 5 |
| DAWGS BBQ | 7 | — | 10 |
| Shmack Q | 6 | 2 | 1 |
Who ran the table
| Rep | Contests | States |
|---|---|---|
| Alan Rothrock | 6 | 2 |
| Dave Rogers | 6 | 2 |
| Doug Reid | 6 | 2 |
| Peg Rogers | 6 | 2 |
| Bill Wright | 4 | 1 |
| Bunny Tuttle | 4 | 2 |
| Carol Bigler | 4 | 2 |
| Forrest Bruce | 4 | 1 |
| Kim Wright | 4 | 1 |
| Randy G Bigler | 4 | 2 |
| Rich Tuttle | 4 | 2 |
| Julie Cook | 3 | 2 |
| Rusty Cook | 3 | 2 |
| Andreas Schnoell | 2 | — |
| Becky Druetzler | 2 | 2 |
| Charlie Brinza | 2 | 2 |
| Dave Druetzler | 2 | 2 |
| Eva Schnoell | 2 | — |
| Haymo Gutweniger | 2 | — |
| Janet Appleton | 2 | 2 |
Where they cooked
| State/Prov. | Contests | Teams |
|---|---|---|
| Missouri | 6 | 96 |
| Alabama | 5 | 234 |
| Kansas | 5 | 68 |
| New Jersey | 4 | 66 |
| Virginia | 4 | 35 |
| Wisconsin | 3 | 55 |
| Georgia | 2 | 88 |
| Arkansas | 2 | 66 |
| North Carolina | 2 | 52 |
| California | 2 | 36 |
| Tennessee | 1 | 81 |
| Maryland | 1 | 60 |
| Illinois | 1 | 37 |
| Mississippi | 1 | 29 |
| Pennsylvania | 1 | 28 |
| Wyoming | 1 | 28 |
| Ohio | 1 | 20 |
Best in the backyard (Backyard · /360)
By invitation (invite-only fields)
| Contest | Teams | Grand Champion |
|---|---|---|
| Jack Daniel’s World Championship Invitational Oct 13, 2023 · Lynchburg, TN |
81 | Uncle Pig's Barbeque Pit |
| Royal Oak Invitational Oct 20, 2023 · Roswell, GA |
35 | RAZORRACKS |
New to the circuit
First editions (new on the calendar)
| Contest | Teams | Won by |
|---|---|---|
| The Whistlestop Festival & Rocket City BBQ (BACKYARD ONLY) Huntsville, AL |
50 | Hickory Hangover |
| Smoke on the Water - Saracen Casino PB Pine Bluff, AR |
49 | Shake 'N Bake BBQ |
| Royal Oak Invitational (COMPETITOR SERIES) (PRIVATE EVENT BY INVITATION) Roswell, GA |
35 | RAZORRACKS |
| Red White & Que - CAMPGROUND BBQ SERIES (Day 1) Jackson, NJ |
34 | Boggs Hog BBQ |
| BLACK BOX BBQ @ Wadsworth Municipal Airport Wadsworth, OH |
20 | SmokinGhost BBQ |
| Red White & Que - CAMPGROUND BBQ SERIES (ONE MEAT CHICKEN) Jackson, NJ |
20 | SmoKEN Meatz |
| 19th Annual Burnt Offering BBQ Contest (COMPETITOR SERIES) Riverside, CA |
20 | SoCal Outlaw BBQ |
| Nightmare before Zom-B-Q (Day 1) Galax, VA |
19 | Uncle Pig's Barbeque Pit |
| Country Road & BBQ Contest (ONE MEAT RIBS) Cartigliano, Italy |
18 | Cooklounge |
| Dragon Smoke BBQ Competition Osage Beach, MO |
18 | Meat Me In St. Louis |
| Swanner House Autumn Reata Round Up BBQ Contest San Juan Capistrano, CA |
17 | B'Mackin BBQ |
| Rock Island BBQ Competition (BACKYARD ONLY) Stover, MO |
16 | HessHogs4 |
Running a contest? The organizer tools →
Every contest scored (46 in October 2023)
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.