The comeback
8.8 yrs
off the trail, then back
Off the trail for 8.8 years, then back at Minnesota in May (2023-05-12).
- last seen 2014-07-18
- back 2023-05-12
Meat Surprise
At a glance (everything the results say about this team, in numbers)
Rating
1495
peak 1508 · rated over 3 contests ⓘ
Contests
3
in the data
First seen
2013-09-06
latest 2023-05-12
Best ToY finish
#1255
Master 2023
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
0
0 podiums
Overall top-10s
0
of 3 contests
Avg finish
top 60%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Current form
643.91
last 3 Master vs avg 643.91 (-0.00)
Walk rate
33%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±12.21
std dev of Master overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Pork Ribs
avg 164.95 · weakest Brisket (154.06)
Road miles
260
mi across 3 mapped stops · furthest 213 mi
Schedule strength
26%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1535)
Purse competed for
$12K
listed at 1 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0 🏅
GCs in 1 state-championship entries
Master avg
643.91 / 720
3 Master contests · 0 GCs
Storylines (1 found in this team's record)
Each card leads with the number that made it a story — read straight out of their results, no editorialising.
Teams like this (closest power rating)
The nearest teams in the power rankings, with a different reason on each card — six teams on one rating are rarely on it for the same reason. Rating decides who makes the list; where teams tie on it, the ones this team has actually cooked against come first, then teams at a similar point in their own career. KCBS doesn’t publish where a team is from, so nothing here is inferred from geography.
Meat Surprise has 3 rated contests — short of the five it takes to earn a power ranking — so this rating has barely moved off the 1500 every team starts on and 127 rated teams sit within a point of it. Read the list as the nearest company at a number nobody here has moved far from, not as a verdict on who this team belongs with.
#3424 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 40%
- Peak
- 1510
No shared contest yet.
A longer road to the same neighbourhood — 5 contests to 3.
⚔ Head-to-head#3406 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 40%
- Peak
- 1495
No shared contest yet.
They turned up 6 years after Meat Surprise did, first appearing in 2019.
⚔ Head-to-head#3404 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 40%
- Peak
- 1516
No shared contest yet.
Level with Meat Surprise on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Head-to-head#3402 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1495
No shared contest yet.
Their last contest in the data was back in 2019, 4 years before Meat Surprise's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Head-to-head#3415 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 20%
- Peak
- 1495
No shared contest yet.
Their last contest in the data was back in 2019, 4 years before Meat Surprise's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Head-to-head#3414 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1504
No shared contest yet.
Their last contest in the data was back in 2019, 4 years before Meat Surprise's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Head-to-headBy meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 167.4516 | 156.5140 | 162.66 | top 58% |
| Pork Ribs | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 169.7600 | 160.5372 | 164.95 | top 48% |
| Pork | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 165.6684 | 158.8112 | 162.25 | top 62% |
| Brisket | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 155.9656 | 153.0744 | 154.06 | top 73% |
“Calls” = top-10 category finishes (getting called to the stage). Scores here are the final weighted totals KCBS publishes; per-criterion appearance/taste/tenderness marks aren’t in the public results feed.
By state / province
| Where | Contests | GCs | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| MN | 2 | 0 | top 69% |
| WI | 1 | 0 | top 42% |
By contest size
| Field | Contests | GCs | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| Medium (20–39) | 2 | 0 | top 43% |
| Large (40+) | 1 | 0 | top 95% |
The story so far (17 numbers that describe this team)
On the trail
9.7 yrs
2013-09-06 → 2023-05-12
Busiest season
2023
1 contest
Contests a season
1
across 3 seasons in the data
Cooks most in
MN
2 of 3 contests · 2 states/provinces in all
Contests visited
3
0 of them cooked more than once
Most-entered meat
Chicken
3 entries · 0 wins · 0 calls
Strongest meat
Pork Ribs
averages 164.95 · weakest Brisket (154.06)
Walk rate
33%
a top-10 call in 1 of 3 contests
Overall top-10 rate
0%
0 of 3 contests
Master average
643.91
out of 720 · 3 contests · 0 GCs
Opponents faced
150
38–117 across every shared overall standing
Road miles
260
3 mapped stops · furthest 213 mi
Schedule strength
1535
average field rating faced — tougher than 26% of rated contests
Purse competed for
$11,500
listed at 1 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0
from 1 state-championship entries
Longest layoff
8.8 yrs
2014-07-18 → 2023-05-12
Power rating
1495
peak 1508 · #null of 6,413 rated
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
- 2013
- First tracked contest Puckaway Pigfest
- 2014
- First call Sam's Club National BBQ Tour
- First overall past 90% of a perfect score658.8456 Sam's Club National BBQ Tour
- Career-best overall score658.8456 Sam's Club National BBQ Tour
- Career-best single call (Pork Ribs)169.7600 Sam's Club National BBQ Tour
- Peak power rating (1508) Sam's Club National BBQ Tour
- 2023
- Most recent contest Minnesota in May
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +4 | Puckaway Pigfest | 2013-09-06 |
| +3.6 | Sam's Club National BBQ Tour | 2014-07-18 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -12.7 | Minnesota in May | 2023-05-12 |
Category scores over time
Overall finish over time (top-% of field, lower is better)
Where they finish (overall)
Best vs average (by meat)
How entries end (by meat)
Team of the Year rank by season
Season by season
| Season | Contests | GCs | Top-10s | Category wins | Walk rate | Avg finish | Best overall (% of perfect) | Avg overall (% of perfect) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 95% | 87.4% | 87.4% |
| 2014 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100% | top 43% | 91.5% | 91.5% |
| 2013 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 42% | 89.4% | 89.4% |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023-05-12 | Minnesota in May 🏅 St. Peter, MN | 56 / 59 (628.9368) | 56 (156.5140) | 50 (160.5372) | 56 (158.8112) | 55 (153.0744) |
| 2014-07-18 | Sam's Club National BBQ Tour Woodbury, MN | 13 / 30 (658.8456) | 12 (167.4516) | 7 (169.7600) | 16 (165.6684) | 20 (155.9656) |
| 2013-09-06 | Puckaway Pigfest Montello, WI | 13 / 31 (643.9544) | 12 (164.0000) | 11 (164.5488) | 12 (162.2628) | 18 (153.1428) |
Career map (orange GC · green top-10 · grey the rest — tap a pin)
Team of the Year standings (rank per category by season — year links to the full board on kcbs.us)
| Year | Series | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 ↗ | Master | #1255 (60 pts) | #1319 (60 pts) | #1432 (60 pts) | #1287 (60 pts) | #1296 (60 pts) |
| 2014 ↗ | Master | #1867 (115 pts) | #1933 (120 pts) | #1606 (160 pts) | #2040 (100 pts) | #2122 (80 pts) |