High-water mark
682.7776
career-best overall
94.8% of a perfect 720
Their best day on record: 682.7776 at Pitmasters in Paradise — 94.8% of a perfect 720.
- Master
- Apr 25, 2026
R&J BBQ
R&J BBQ is a competition barbecue team with 5 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2015 and 2026. Their best overall finish is 22nd of 35 at the Pitmasters in Paradise (2026). They finished #1020 in the 2026 Master Series Team of the Year standings. Also listed in KCBS results as “RJ BBQ” and “R & J BBQ”.
At a glance (the record in numbers)
Rating
1464
Unranked — needs 5 rated contests, has 4
Contests
5
in the data
First seen
May 29, 2015
latest Apr 25, 2026 · 10.9 years on the trail
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
0
0 podiums
Overall top-10s
0
0% of 5 contests
Avg finish
top 89%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Walk rate
20%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±214.61
spread of their Master overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Pork
avg 162.82 · weakest Pork Ribs (157.13)
Road miles
2,452
across 5 mapped stops · furthest 1,245 mi
Schedule strength
51%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1566)
Purse competed for
$24K
listed at 2 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0 🏅
won from 2 state-championship entries
Master avg
521.78 / 720
4 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 | #1020 (75 pts) | #795 (175 pts) | #1203 (60 pts) | #1009 (95 pts) | #965 (110 pts) |
Teams like this (closest power rating)
The teams rated closest to R&J BBQ, each with one reason worth a look.
R&J BBQ has 4 rated contests, short of the five a power ranking needs, so its rating is still close to the 1500 every team starts on and 140 rated teams sit within a point of it.
#4,940 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1464
Careers of much the same size, 5 contests to 5, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Compare careers#4,918 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1464
Level with R&J BBQ on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Compare careers#4,913 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1465
Their last contest in the data was back in 2023, 3 years before R&J BBQ's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Compare careers#4,925 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1464
Their last contest in the data was back in 2021, 5 years before R&J BBQ's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Compare careers#4,908 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1465
Their last contest in the data was back in 2019, 7 years before R&J BBQ's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Compare careers#4,905 of the rated field
- Contests
- 5
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1465
Their last contest in the data was back in 2019, 7 years before R&J BBQ's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Compare careersBy meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 177.7144 | 153.1428 | 162.27 | top 68% |
| Pork Ribs | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 162.2632 | 152.0116 | 157.13 | top 91% |
| Pork | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 170.8344 | 153.6800 | 162.82 | top 81% |
| Brisket | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 171.9656 | 146.2628 | 161.10 | 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) | 3 | 0 | top 86% |
| Large (40+) | 1 | 0 | top 98% |
More numbers
Busiest season
2026
2 contests
Contests a season
1.3
across 4 seasons in the data
Most contests held in
FL
2 of 5 contests · 3 states in all
Contests visited
4
a different one every time
Most-entered meat
Pork Ribs
4 entries · 0 wins · 0 calls
Opponents faced
184
finished ahead 16 times, behind 177
Longest layoff
9.5 yrs
Jul 29, 2016 → Jan 9, 2026
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
20265 milestones
- First call Pitmasters in Paradise
- First overall past 90% of a perfect score682.7776 Pitmasters in Paradise
- Career-best overall score682.7776 Pitmasters in Paradise
- Career-best single call (Chicken)177.7144 Pitmasters in Paradise
- Most recent contest Pitmasters in Paradise
20151 milestone
- Peak power rating (1487) Smokin' in Steel
20131 milestone
- First tracked contest Dodge City Days Barbeque Cook-off
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +0.5 | Pitmasters in Paradise | Apr 25, 2026 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -13.1 | Smokin' in Steel | May 29, 2015 |
| -11.8 | The Dodge City Days Smokin Saddles BBQ Contest | Jul 29, 2016 |
| -11.3 | 10th Annual Jimmy Jam BBQ Slam | Jan 9, 2026 |
Scores over time (% of a perfect score — 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 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 50% | top 81% | 94.8% | 92.3% |
| 2016 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 95% | 84% | 84% |
| 2015 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 98% | 21.3% | 21.3% |
| 2013 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | — | — | — |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 25, 2026 | Pitmasters in Paradise 🏅 Auburndale, FL | 22 / 35 (682.7776) | 6 (177.7144) | 33 (162.2632) | 18 (170.8344) | 15 (171.9656) |
| Jan 9, 2026 | 10th Annual Jimmy Jam BBQ Slam 🏅 St. Augustine, FL | 38 / 38 (646.1144) | 38 (155.9544) | 36 (161.1316) | 36 (163.9428) | 35 (165.0856) |
| Jul 29, 2016 | The Dodge City Days Smokin Saddles BBQ Contest Dodge City, KS | 35 / 37 (605.0972) | 32 (153.1428) | 33 (152.0116) | 36 (153.6800) | 34 (146.2628) |
| May 29, 2015 | Smokin' in Steel Owatonna, MN | 59 / 60 (153.1200) | — | 51 (153.1200) | — | — |
| Jul 26, 2013 | Dodge City Days Barbeque Cook-off Dodge City, KS | — | — | — | — | — |