Giant slayer
39
teams beaten in one weekend
Took the Grand Championship over a 39-team field at Dodge City Days Smokin Saddles BBQ Competition.
- Jul 26, 2019
Big Dog BBQ
Big Dog BBQ is a competition barbecue team with 17 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2014 and 2026. They have won 1 Grand Championship, at the Dodge City Days Smokin Saddles BBQ Competition (2019). They are ranked #2852 of 6,476 teams in the KCBS power rankings.
At a glance (the record in numbers)
Rating
1510
peak 1529 · rated over 8 contests
Contests
17
in the data
First seen
Sep 13, 2014
latest Aug 21, 2026 · 11.9 years on the trail
Grand champs
1
0 reserve · wins it all 6% of the time
Category wins
1
4 podiums
Overall top-10s
4
24% of 17 contests
Best top-10 run
3
straight overall top-10s
Avg finish
top 55%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Current form
670.10 ▲
last 5 Master vs avg 664.42 (+5.67)
Walk rate
24%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±13.48
spread of their Master overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Pork Ribs
avg 168.24 · weakest Brisket (162.51)
Road miles
7,005
across 17 mapped stops · furthest 1,404 mi
Schedule strength
51%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1567)
Purse competed for
$120K
listed at 8 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
1 🏅
won from 6 state-championship entries
Master avg
664.42 / 720
7 Master contests · 0 GCs
Backyard (4-meat) avg
655.28 / 720
1 Backyard (4-meat) contest · 1 GC
These overall scores sit on different scales (Master out of 720, Backyard (4-meat) out of 720), so they're kept separate — averaging them together would be misleading.
This team cooks the Backyard series — its own boards, records and Team of the Year are here.
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 | #814 (120 pts) | #882 (120 pts) | #753 (202 pts) | #709 (180 pts) | #838 (120 pts) |
Teams like this (closest power rating)
The teams rated closest to Big Dog BBQ, each with one reason worth a look.
93 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.
#2,836 of the rated field
- Contests
- 90
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 11%
- Peak
- 1536
1–0 in 1 shared contest (100% to Big Dog BBQ)
One contest in common so far: too few to settle anything, but a team Big Dog BBQ has actually stood beside rather than a stranger on the same rating.
⚔ Head-to-head#2,849 of the rated field
- Contests
- 9
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 33%
- Peak
- 1510
This is the highest they've ever been rated, 8 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.
⚔ Compare careers#2,860 of the rated field
- Contests
- 8
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1510
Their last contest in the data was back in 2016, 10 years before Big Dog BBQ's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Compare careers#2,837 of the rated field
- Contests
- 8
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 25%
- Peak
- 1517
Fewer contests behind them than Big Dog BBQ has cooked, 8 to 17, which makes theirs the less settled rating of the two.
⚔ Compare careers#2,841 of the rated field
- Contests
- 7
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 29%
- Peak
- 1510
Level with Big Dog BBQ on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Compare careers#2,838 of the rated field
- Contests
- 7
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 29%
- Peak
- 1514
Their last contest in the data was back in 2015, 11 years before Big Dog 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 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 175.4516 | 163.3944 | 167.70 | top 51% |
| Pork Ribs | 9 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 177.7372 | 162.2400 | 168.24 | top 48% |
| Pork | 8 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 173.1428 | 153.6456 | 165.90 | top 45% |
| Brisket | 7 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 165.6800 | 157.6456 | 162.51 | top 67% |
“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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small (<20 teams) | 1 | 0 | top 67% |
| Medium (20–39) | 3 | 1 | top 34% |
| Large (40+) | 4 | 0 | top 67% |
More numbers
Busiest season
2026
5 contests
Contests a season
1.9
across 9 seasons in the data
Most contests held in
KS
8 of 17 contests · 7 states and provinces in all
Contests visited
8
a different one every time
Most-entered meat
Pork Ribs
9 entries · 1 win · 4 calls
First title
Jul 26, 2019
Dodge City Days Smokin Saddles BBQ Competition
Opponents faced
601
finished ahead 224 times, behind 443
Longest layoff
6.3 yrs
Jul 26, 2019 → Nov 5, 2025
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
20264 milestones
- Career-best overall score691.4516 Cedar Fest BBQ Cook Off
- Career-best single call (Pork Ribs)177.7372 Cedar Fest BBQ Cook Off
- Peak power rating (1529) Cedar Fest BBQ Cook Off
- Most recent contest Stoney Creek BBQ Cookoff
20196 milestones
- First category win (Pork Ribs) Dodge City Days Smokin Saddles BBQ Competition
- First overall podium Dodge City Days Smokin Saddles BBQ Competition
- First Grand Championship Dodge City Days Smokin Saddles BBQ Competition
- First state championship Dodge City Days Smokin Saddles BBQ Competition
- 10th tracked contest Dodge City Days Smokin Saddles BBQ Competition
- Biggest field won (39 teams) Dodge City Days Smokin Saddles BBQ Competition
20151 milestone
- First overall past 90% of a perfect score654.2856 Barn Burner BBQ
20142 milestones
- First call BBQ on the Bypass
- First overall top-10 BBQ on the Bypass
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 |
|---|---|---|
| +17.9 | Dodge City Days Smokin Saddles BBQ Competition | Jul 26, 2019 |
| +11.9 | Barn Burner BBQ | Mar 21, 2015 |
| +9.1 | Cedar Fest BBQ Cook Off | Apr 10, 2026 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -8 | All American BBQ Throwdown | Jul 31, 2026 |
| -7.2 | GLBBQA Spring Fling | Apr 17, 2026 |
| -6.3 | American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Open Contest | Nov 5, 2025 |
| -3.9 | Stoney Creek BBQ Cookoff | Aug 21, 2026 |
| -3.8 | BBQ on the Bypass | Sep 13, 2014 |
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 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 20% | top 68% | 96% | 93.5% |
| 2025 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 77% | 91.3% | 91.3% |
| 2019 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 100% | top 3% | 91% | 91% |
| 2018 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | — | — | — |
| 2017 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | — | — | — |
| 2016 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | — | — | — |
| 2015 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 50% | top 19% | 90.9% | 90.9% |
| 2014 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 50% | top 67% | 89.7% | 89.7% |
| 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 21, 2026 | Stoney Creek BBQ Cookoff 🏅 Edinburg, VA | 21 / 26 (669.0628) | 25 (163.3944) | 16 (167.3828) | 13 (173.1428) | 23 (165.1428) |
| Jul 31, 2026 | All American BBQ Throwdown 🏅 Westland, MI | 39 / 45 (662.1716) | 32 (169.6800) | 38 (163.4172) | 23 (169.6800) | 41 (159.3944) |
| Jul 31, 2026 | All American BBQ Throwdown (ONE MEAT RIBS) Westland, MI | — | — | 20 (168.5600) | — | — |
| Apr 17, 2026 | GLBBQA Spring Fling 🏅 Coldwater, MI | 38 / 48 (670.2056) | 32 (169.1200) | 37 (165.1200) | 15 (172.5600) | 37 (163.4056) |
| Apr 10, 2026 | Cedar Fest BBQ Cook Off 🏅 Cedar Park, TX | 10 / 41 (691.4516) | 4 (175.4516) | 2 (177.7372) | 10 (172.5828) | 25 (165.6800) |
| Nov 5, 2025 | American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Sides Kansas City, KS | — | — | — | — | — |
| Nov 5, 2025 | American Royal World Series of Barbecue - Open Contest 🏅 Kansas City, KS | 308 / 401 (657.5996) | 295 (165.1312) | 252 (166.8456) | 236 (167.9772) | 350 (157.6456) |
| Jul 26, 2019 | Dodge City Days Smokin Saddles BBQ Competition 🏅 Dodge City, KS | 1 / 39 (655.2796) | 2 (169.7028) | 1 (177.7028) | 7 (153.6456) | — |
| Jul 27, 2018 | Dodge City Days Smokin' Saddles BBQ Contest Dodge City, KS | — | — | — | — | — |
| Jul 28, 2017 | Dodge City Days National Beef Smokin' Saddles BBQ Contest Dodge City, KS | — | — | — | — | — |
| Feb 24, 2017 | Bud & BBQ (JUDGING IS FULL) Meridian, MS | — | — | — | — | — |
| Jul 29, 2016 | The Dodge City Days Smokin Saddles BBQ Contest Dodge City, KS | — | — | — | — | — |
| Jul 10, 2015 | Sauce & Cycles Falls City, NE | — | — | — | — | — |
| Mar 21, 2015 | Barn Burner BBQ Yarrow, BC | 4 / 21 (654.2856) | 8 (163.4056) | 5 (165.1772) | 7 (160.5484) | 3 (165.1544) |
| Sep 13, 2014 | BBQ on the Bypass Langley, BC | 10 / 15 (646.1944) | 7 (165.7372) | 8 (162.2400) | 14 (157.0628) | 7 (161.1544) |
| Jul 25, 2014 | Dodge City Days Barbeque Cook-Off Dodge City, KS | — | — | — | — | — |
| Jul 26, 2013 | Dodge City Days Barbeque Cook-off Dodge City, KS | — | — | — | — | — |