Perfect scores on the board
1
perfect 180
1 perfect 180 in the data — every judge at the table handing back a nine, all in brisket.
- Brisket ×1
Steel Smoke BBQ
Steel Smoke BBQ is a competition barbecue team with 39 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2022 and 2026. Their best overall finish is 12th of 26 at the MN Masters BBQ (2025). They are ranked #6194 of 6,477 teams in the KCBS power rankings.
At a glance (the record in numbers)
Rating
1421
peak 1501 · rated over 29 contests1 invitational or side-series contest not counted
Contests
39
in the data
First seen
May 13, 2022
latest Aug 28, 2026 · 4.3 years on the trail
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
0
4 podiums
Overall top-10s
0
0% of 39 contests
Avg finish
top 75%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
1 🔥
Current form
660.95 ▲
last 5 Master vs avg 660.39 (+0.57)
Walk rate
41%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±11.77
spread of their Master overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Chicken
avg 167.81 · weakest Brisket (160.33)
Road miles
5,203
across 39 mapped stops · furthest 1,000 mi
Schedule strength
72%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1592)
Purse competed for
$285K
listed at 34 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0 🏅
won from 29 state-championship entries
Master avg
660.39 / 720
30 Master contests · 0 GCs
Team of the Year (rank per category by season — the year links to the full board on kcbs.us)
| Year | Series | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 ↗ | Master | #656 (197 pts) | #604 (272 pts) | #521 (392 pts) | #562 (292 pts) | #618 (242 pts) |
| 2025 ↗ | Master | #433 (460 pts) | #374 (620 pts) | #440 (545 pts) | #394 (565 pts) | #537 (345 pts) |
| 2024 ↗ | Master | #411 (496 pts) | #313 (751 pts) | #281 (875 pts) | #281 (796 pts) | #445 (491 pts) |
| 2023 ↗ | Master | #398 (495 pts) | #436 (510 pts) | #135 (1,390 pts) | #354 (600 pts) | #397 (520 pts) |
| 2022 ↗ | Master | #807 (180 pts) | #585 (355 pts) | #912 (180 pts) | #725 (245 pts) | #837 (180 pts) |
Overall rank by season
Teams like this (closest power rating)
The teams rated closest to Steel Smoke BBQ, each with one reason worth a look.
34 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.
#6,191 of the rated field
- Contests
- 23
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1421
1–0 in 1 shared contest (100% to Steel Smoke BBQ)
One contest in common so far: too few to settle anything, but a team Steel Smoke BBQ has actually stood beside rather than a stranger on the same rating.
⚔ Head-to-head#6,195 of the rated field
- Contests
- 18
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1421
1–0 in 1 shared contest (100% to Steel Smoke BBQ)
This is the highest they've ever been rated, 17 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.
⚔ Head-to-head#6,199 of the rated field
- Contests
- 12
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 8%
- Peak
- 1421
2–0 in 2 shared contests (100% to Steel Smoke BBQ)
Fewer contests behind them than Steel Smoke BBQ has cooked, 12 to 39, which makes theirs the less settled rating of the two.
⚔ Head-to-head#6,198 of the rated field
- Contests
- 11
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1421
5–0 in 5 shared contests (100% to Steel Smoke BBQ)
Level with Steel Smoke BBQ on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Head-to-head#6,196 of the rated field
- Contests
- 31
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 16%
- Peak
- 1421
31 contests and no Grand Championship yet — a rating made of 16% top-10 finishes rather than wins.
⚔ Compare careers#6,193 of the rated field
- Contests
- 26
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 8%
- Peak
- 1421
They were already cooking in 2013, 9 years before Steel Smoke BBQ's first contest.
⚔ Compare careersFamiliar foes (most-met opponents in overall standings — one meeting per contest)
| Opponent | Meetings | Ahead | Behind | Win rate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NECTAR OF THE HOGS | 27 | 3 | 24 | 11% | ⚔ compare |
| HOT DADDY'S BBQ | 27 | 0 | 27 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| SIX BUTT BBQ | 26 | 3 | 23 | 12% | ⚔ compare |
| Ash Kickin' BBQ | 26 | 2 | 24 | 8% | ⚔ compare |
| LUCKY 19 SAUCE COMPANY | 26 | 2 | 24 | 8% | ⚔ compare |
| Phoenix BBQ | 25 | 5 | 20 | 20% | ⚔ compare |
| SHIGGIN & GRINNIN | 24 | 0 | 24 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| UGLY BABY BBQ | 22 | 5 | 17 | 23% | ⚔ compare |
| WAG'S BACKWOODS BBQ | 21 | 2 | 19 | 10% | ⚔ compare |
| Son of a Boar BBQ | 21 | 0 | 21 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| WHEN PIGS DIE | 20 | 3 | 17 | 15% | ⚔ compare |
| Sensuous BBQ | 19 | 1 | 18 | 5% | ⚔ compare |
| Big Racks BBQ | 18 | 2 | 16 | 11% | ⚔ compare |
| RUB MY RACK | 18 | 2 | 16 | 11% | ⚔ compare |
| SPITFIRE | 18 | 2 | 16 | 11% | ⚔ compare |
By meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 30 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 176.5600 | 154.8112 | 167.81 | top 60% |
| Pork Ribs | 38 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 176.5600 | 155.4056 | 166.04 | top 58% |
| Pork | 30 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 173.7260 | 156.5372 | 166.96 | top 59% |
| Brisket | 30 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 180 🔥 | 146.8800 | 160.33 | top 76% |
“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 field size and state
By contest size
| Field | Contests | GCs | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| Medium (20–39) | 18 | 0 | top 81% |
| Large (40+) | 12 | 0 | top 65% |
Repeat visits (contests they've cooked twice or more)
| Contest | Visits | Best | GCs | Avg finish | Last visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minnesota in May | 4 | 35 | 0 | top 78% | May 8, 2026 |
| Bring'n Home the Bacon Day 2 (MASTER & BACKYARD) | 4 | 31 | 0 | top 86% | Jun 14, 2025 |
| Bring'n Home the Bacon Day 1 (MASTER & BACKYARD) | 4 | 12 | 0 | top 58% | Jun 13, 2025 |
| MN Masters BBQ | 3 | 12 | 0 | top 68% | Aug 28, 2026 |
| Smokin' in Steele | 3 | 22 | 0 | top 84% | May 30, 2025 |
| KTD Smokin Gobbler Cook-off | 2 | 26 | 0 | top 76% | Jul 12, 2024 |
More numbers
Busiest season
2023
12 contests
Contests a season
7.8
across 5 seasons in the data
Most contests held in
MN
19 of 39 contests · 6 states in all
Contests visited
16
6 of them more than once
Most-entered meat
Pork Ribs
38 entries · 0 wins · 6 calls
Opponents faced
881
finished ahead 756 times, behind 1,623
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
20261 milestone
- Most recent contest MN Masters BBQ
20241 milestone
- 25th tracked contest KTD Smokin Gobbler Cook-off
20231 milestone
- 10th tracked contest Bring'n Home the Bacon Day 2 (MASTER & BACKYARD)
20226 milestones
- First tracked contest Minnesota in May (Masters)
- First call Minnesota in May (Masters)
- First overall past 90% of a perfect score667.9428 Minnesota in May (Masters)
- Peak power rating (1501) Minnesota in May (Masters)
- First perfect 180 (Brisket) American Royal World Series of Barbecue - OPEN CONTEST
- Career-best overall score680.4800 American Royal World Series of Barbecue - OPEN CONTEST
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +12 | Bring'n Home the Bacon Day 1 (MASTER & BACKYARD) | Jun 7, 2024 |
| +11.6 | American Royal World Series of Barbecue - OPEN CONTEST | Sep 29, 2022 |
| +10.5 | Bring'n Home the Bacon Day 1 (MASTER & BACKYARD) | Jun 13, 2025 |
| +8.4 | MN Masters BBQ | Aug 22, 2025 |
| +1.6 | KTD Smokin Gobbler Cook-off | Jul 14, 2023 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -11.6 | Smokin in Steele | Jun 2, 2023 |
| -11.6 | Bring'n Home the Bacon Day 1 (MASTER & BACKYARD) | Jun 10, 2022 |
| -10.8 | Bring'n Home the Bacon Day 2 (MASTER & BACKYARD) | Jun 11, 2022 |
| -10.4 | Minnesota in May | May 12, 2023 |
| -9.5 | Art of the Que | Jul 7, 2023 |
Scores over time (% of a perfect score, averaged over 5 contests — tap a meat to add it)
Overall finish over time (top-% of field, lower is better)
Where they finish (overall)
Best vs average (by meat)
How entries end (by meat)
Season by season
| Season | Contests | GCs | Top-10s | Category wins | Walk rate | Avg finish | Best overall (% of perfect) | Avg overall (% of perfect) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 40% | top 79% | 93.1% | 92.3% |
| 2025 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 43% | top 73% | 94% | 92% |
| 2024 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 50% | top 73% | 94.3% | 92.4% |
| 2023 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 33% | top 78% | 92.9% | 90.9% |
| 2022 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 40% | top 72% | 94.5% | 91.6% |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 28, 2026 | MN Masters BBQ 🏅 Pierz, MN | 19 / 22 (665.0748) | 19 (165.6800) | 21 (156.5488) | 5 (173.7260) | 10 (169.1200) |
| May 8, 2026 | Minnesota in May 🏅 St. Peter, MN | 63 / 77 (670.1600) | 10 (176.5600) | 69 (162.8000) | 57 (167.4056) | 65 (163.3944) |
| May 8, 2026 | Minnesota in May (ONE MEAT RIBS) St. Peter, MN | — | — | 16 (169.7144) | — | — |
| May 1, 2026 | ND BBQ Championship 🏅 Fargo, ND | 48 / 71 (657.7144) | 49 (165.6916) | 41 (166.2972) | 62 (157.7028) | 29 (168.0228) |
| May 1, 2026 | ND BBQ Championship (ONE MEAT RIBS) Fargo, ND | — | — | 17 (165.6684) | — | — |
| Aug 22, 2025 | MN Masters BBQ 🏅 Pierz, MN | 12 / 26 (670.1828) | 6 (173.1200) | 8 (170.8572) | 8 (171.9772) | 23 (154.2284) |
| Jul 11, 2025 | KTD Smokn' Gobbler 🏅 Worthington, MN | 26 / 26 (641.6232) | 18 (166.2516) | 25 (158.2288) | 8 (170.2628) | 26 (146.8800) |
| Jun 14, 2025 | Bring'n Home the Bacon Day 2 (MASTER & BACKYARD) 🏅 West Salem, WI | 31 / 36 (664.9712) | 33 (165.0972) | 16 (169.1200) | 31 (164.5256) | 26 (166.2284) |
| Jun 13, 2025 | Bring'n Home the Bacon (ONE MEAT RIBS) West Salem, WI | — | — | — | — | — |
| Jun 13, 2025 | Bring'n Home the Bacon Day 1 (MASTER & BACKYARD) 🏅 West Salem, WI | 16 / 36 (677.0860) | 8 (173.7144) | 15 (168.5488) | 19 (170.2972) | 29 (164.5256) |
| May 30, 2025 | Smokin' in Steele 🏅 Owatonna, MN | 22 / 28 (659.2916) | 17 (170.2628) | 21 (166.2400) | 23 (165.6800) | 25 (157.1088) |
| May 9, 2025 | Minnesota in May 🏅 St. Peter, MN | 49 / 58 (659.8744) | 29 (170.2744) | 29 (169.1200) | 54 (162.2400) | 50 (158.2400) |
| Aug 23, 2024 | MN Masters BBQ 🏅 Pierz, MN | 19 / 27 (667.9548) | 7 (173.1200) | 14 (168.0116) | 14 (168.5716) | 24 (158.2516) |
| Jul 26, 2024 | 8th Annual E'burg BBQ Contest 🏅 Emmetsburg, IA | 27 / 28 (652.4688) | 25 (163.4056) | 26 (161.1316) | 12 (171.4172) | 25 (156.5144) |
| Jul 12, 2024 | KTD Smokin Gobbler Cook-off 🏅 Worthington, MN | 29 / 34 (658.1944) | 14 (173.7028) | 28 (160.5372) | 12 (170.2744) | 33 (153.6800) |
| Jul 12, 2024 | KTD Smokin Gobbler Cook-off (ONE MEAT RIBS) Worthington, MN | — | — | 4 (176.5600) | — | — |
| Jun 8, 2024 | Bring'n Home the Bacon Day 2 (MASTER & BACKYARD) 🏅 West Salem, WI | 33 / 37 (662.2516) | 21 (170.8572) | 21 (168.5716) | 23 (170.2744) | 36 (152.5484) |
| Jun 7, 2024 | Bring'n Home the Bacon Day 1 (MASTER & BACKYARD) 🏅 West Salem, WI | 12 / 41 (678.7888) | 9 (174.2744) | 34 (159.3944) | 9 (172) | 9 (173.1200) |
| Jun 7, 2024 | Bring'n Home the Bacon (ONE MEAT RIBS) West Salem, WI | — | — | 16 (164.6060) | — | — |
| May 31, 2024 | Smokin in Steele 🏅 Owatonna, MN | 26 / 32 (659.8856) | 27 (162.2400) | 17 (166.8456) | 6 (173.1428) | 29 (157.6572) |
| May 10, 2024 | Minnesota in May 🏅 St. Peter, MN | 35 / 58 (676.5144) | 9 (176) | 31 (169.1316) | 27 (171.4400) | 57 (159.9428) |
| May 10, 2024 | Minnesota in May (ONE MEAT RIBS) St. Peter, MN | — | — | 22 (169.1428) | — | — |
| Oct 13, 2023 | Bring'n Home the Bacon II (MASTER & BACKYARD) 🏅 West Salem, WI | 17 / 21 (659.8972) | 20 (161.6572) | 11 (166.8572) | 16 (163.9772) | 11 (167.4056) |
| Oct 13, 2023 | Bring'n Home the Bacon II (ONE MEAT RIBS) West Salem, WI | — | — | 5 (171.9888) | — | — |
| Sep 8, 2023 | Navy SEAL Danny Dietz Memorial Classic Cookoff 🏅 Waller, TX | 58 / 99 (657.0860) | 53 (165.1428) | 75 (161.1088) | 59 (165.1200) | 40 (165.7144) |
| Jul 28, 2023 | 7th Annual E'burg BBQ Contest 🏅 Emmetsburg, IA | 24 / 32 (668.5372) | 25 (167.4744) | 19 (167.9772) | 23 (167.4172) | 26 (165.6684) |
| Jul 14, 2023 | KTD Smokin Gobbler Cook-off 🏅 Worthington, MN | 26 / 39 (664.4916) | 23 (169.7028) | 9 (171.4288) | 27 (165.6800) | 30 (157.6800) |
| Jul 14, 2023 | KTD Smokin Gobbler Cook-of (ONE MEAT RIBS) Worthington, MN | — | — | 12 (165.1200) | — | — |
| Jul 7, 2023 | Art of the Que 🏅 Spencer, IA | 28 / 28 (634.7316) | 20 (167.3828) | 27 (155.4056) | 28 (156.5372) | 28 (155.4060) |
| Jun 10, 2023 | Bring'n Home the Bacon Day 2 (MASTER & BACKYARD) 🏅 West Salem, WI | 31 / 40 (667.9084) | 35 (160.5028) | 13 (170.2972) | 16 (170.8572) | 26 (166.2512) |
| Jun 9, 2023 | Bring'n Home the Bacon Day 1 (MASTER & BACKYARD) 🏅 West Salem, WI | 28 / 43 (655.9312) | 34 (161.6684) | 3 (176.5600) | 15 (169.7028) | 40 (148) |
| Jun 2, 2023 | Smokin in Steele 🏅 Owatonna, MN | 27 / 29 (638.8000) | 28 (154.8112) | 2 (173.1428) | 28 (157.7260) | 26 (153.1200) |
| May 12, 2023 | Minnesota in May 🏅 St. Peter, MN | 51 / 59 (643.8976) | 44 (164.5716) | 40 (164.5372) | 54 (159.3944) | 53 (155.3944) |
| May 12, 2023 | Minnesota in May (One Meat Ribs) St. Peter, MN | — | — | 19 (167.9772) | — | — |
| Sep 29, 2022 | American Royal World Series of Barbecue - OPEN CONTEST 🏅 Kansas City, KS | 139 / 505 (680.4800) | 199 (169.6684) | 237 (167.4172) | 335 (163.3944) | 2 (180) |
| Sep 29, 2022 | American Royal World Series of Barbecue - INVITATIONAL CONTEST unrated Kansas City, KS | 227 / 249 (659.8284) | 233 (163.3828) | 237 (159.9428) | 119 (170.8344) | 190 (165.6684) |
| Jun 11, 2022 | Bring'n Home the Bacon Day 2 (MASTER & BACKYARD) 🏅 West Salem, WI | 34 / 37 (650.1372) | 27 (167.9772) | 29 (163.9428) | 28 (164.5600) | 33 (153.6572) |
| Jun 10, 2022 | Bring'n Home the Bacon Day 1 (MASTER & BACKYARD) 🏅 West Salem, WI | 36 / 39 (639.8516) | 33 (165.1200) | 36 (156.5144) | 34 (159.9772) | 31 (158.2400) |
| May 13, 2022 | Minnesota in May (Masters) 🏅 Cambridge, MN | 33 / 59 (667.9428) | 3 (174.8456) | 42 (162.3200) | 12 (172.5600) | 51 (158.2172) |
An unrated contest — an invitational, or a Competitor or Kosher Series board — is in the record but doesn’t move the power rating.