Cousin's Catering and BBQ

At a glance (everything the results say about this team, in numbers)

Power ranking

#1008

of 6,413 rated · rankings

Rating

1604

peak 1605 · rated over 30 contests ⓘ

Best runs

straight top-10s

Contests

in the data

First seen

2016-07-08

latest 2026-08-22

Best ToY finish

#278

Master 2026

Grand champs

1 reserve

Category wins

10 podiums

Overall top-10s

of 30 contests

Avg finish

top 43%

overall standings

Best overall

687.9428 / 720

Master · Triple B Festival Day 2

Perfect 180s

Current form

665.08 ▲

last 5 Master vs avg 647.18 (+17.91)

Walk rate

83%

contests with a top-10 call

Top-10 streak

best run (overall)

Best single call

174.8916

Brisket · Oinktoberfest

Consistency

±18.67

std dev of Master overall scores (lower = steadier)

Strongest meat

Chicken

avg 163.53 · weakest Brisket (160.35)

Road miles

17,064

mi across 30 mapped stops · furthest 1807 mi

Schedule strength

41%

of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1553)

Master avg

647.18 / 720

30 Master contests · 0 GCs

⚔ Compare with another team

Storylines (11 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.

They almost always walk

83% of contests with a top-10 call

A call in 25 of 30 contests

A top-10 category call in 83% of their 30 contests — they get to the stage more often than not.

High-water mark

687.9428 career-best overall

95.5% of a perfect 720

Their best day on record: 687.9428 at Triple B Festival Day 2 — 95.5% of a perfect 720.

Master
2017-06-24

The one to beat

2× one call ahead of them

GOOD SMOKE BBQ has finished one call ahead of Cousin's Catering and BBQ 2 times — their closest competition in the data.

A tough matchup

18–1 behind in the head-to-head

SHORTSVILLE SMOKERS ahead in 95% of their meetings

SHORTSVILLE SMOKERS has come out ahead in 18 of their 19 shared contests.

A strong matchup

8–0 ahead in the head-to-head

Ahead in 100% of their meetings

They've finished ahead of SKARA OLD SCHOOL BBQ in 8 of their 8 shared contests.

The comeback

7.9 yrs off the trail, then back

Off the trail for 7.9 years, then back at Smoke on the Bay BBQ Cookoff (2026-08-22).

last seen 2018-10-13
back 2026-08-22

Chicken nemesis

18 of 19 shared chicken entries lost

SHORTSVILLE SMOKERS ahead 95% of the time

Even in their strongest meat, SHORTSVILLE SMOKERS has out-cooked them in 18 of 19 shared chicken entries.

Built for the big stage

Top 31% average finish in large fields

Field size changes the story: they average a top 31% finish in large fields against top 57% in small ones.

Large (40+): top 31% (10)
Small (<20 teams): top 57% (6)

Looking over their shoulder

2× one call behind them

BACKDRAFT BAR-B-Q CT has landed one call behind them 2 times.

An August team

Top 32% average finish in August

Something about August: average finish in the top 32% across 4 contests, versus top 43% the rest of the year.

4 August contests
top 43% the rest of the year

The long haul

17,064 road miles between contests

Contest to contest, they've covered roughly 17,064 miles across 30 mapped stops — the longest single trip being 1,807 miles to BBQ on the Bow.

30 mapped stops
furthest 1,807 mi

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.

SWEET BELLY'S BBQ

#1011 of the rated field

1603 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 61
GCs: 1
Top-10s: 28%
Peak: 1609

1–0 in 1 shared contest (100% to Cousin's Catering and BBQ)

One contest in common so far: too few to settle anything, but a team Cousin's Catering and BBQ has actually stood beside rather than a stranger on the same rating.

rated over 56 contests
last seen 2026-07-25

⚔ Head-to-head

WALDO BBQ

#1006 of the rated field

1604 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 33
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 15%
Peak: 1604

No shared contest yet.

This is the highest they've ever been rated, 33 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.

rated over 33 contests
last seen 2017-09-15

⚔ Head-to-head

J&C BBQ

#1009 of the rated field

1603 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 39
GCs: 1
Top-10s: 31%
Peak: 1603

No shared contest yet.

Careers of much the same size, 39 contests to 30, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.

rated over 38 contests
last seen 2026-08-22

⚔ Head-to-head

SUSQUEHANNA SMOKERS

#1007 of the rated field

1604 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 50
GCs: 1
Top-10s: 44%
Peak: 1604

No shared contest yet.

Their rating is built on 1 Grand Championship in 50 contests, alongside a 44% overall top-10 rate.

rated over 47 contests
last seen 2026-08-28

⚔ Head-to-head

Rio Good BBQ

#1013 of the rated field

1603 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 18
GCs: 1
Top-10s: 44%
Peak: 1603

No shared contest yet.

They turned up 8 years after Cousin's Catering and BBQ did, first appearing in 2024.

rated over 18 contests
last seen 2026-08-08
on a 5-contest top-10 run

⚔ Head-to-head

CREEKSIDE SMOKERS NC

#1010 of the rated field

1603 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 65
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 22%
Peak: 1627

No shared contest yet.

Level with Cousin's Catering and BBQ on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.

rated over 65 contests
last seen 2026-08-07

⚔ Head-to-head

Familiar foes (most-met opponents in overall standings — one meeting per contest)

Opponent	Meetings	Ahead	Behind	Win rate
SHORTSVILLE SMOKERS	19	1	18	5%	⚔ compare
GOOD SMOKE BBQ	16	0	16	0%	⚔ compare
TEAM EATAPEDIA	13	4	9	31%	⚔ compare
TRANQUIL CARNIVORES	11	5	6	45%	⚔ compare
BEHIND BBQ	11	5	6	45%	⚔ compare
SMOKIN HOGGZ BBQ - MA	11	2	9	18%	⚔ compare
BIG RAZ BBQ	11	2	9	18%	⚔ compare
MEAN MOE'S BBQ	10	5	5	50%	⚔ compare
THE GOOD CUE CREW	10	3	7	30%	⚔ compare
BOYMEETSGRILL	9	7	2	78%	⚔ compare
HANGING BELLIES BBQ	9	7	2	78%	⚔ compare
Q'N CANUCKS	9	2	6	22%	⚔ compare
SMOKIN BOYS AND HOT GRILLS	9	1	8	11%	⚔ compare
Rogue Hog BBQ	9	1	8	11%	⚔ compare
MILLER'S BACKYARD BBQ	9	1	8	11%	⚔ compare

By meat

Category	Entries	Calls	Wins	Podiums	Best	Worst	Average	Avg finish
Chicken	30	13	1	1	173.7144	136.5028	163.53	top 44%
Pork Ribs	30	12	0	3	173.7144	147.9660	162.00	top 43%
Pork	30	8	0	3	172.5600	146.8000	161.11	top 49%
Brisket	30	14	2	3	174.8916	135.3256	160.35	top 45%

“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	Avg finish
NY	9	top 43%
ON	6	top 47%
MA	3	top 58%
VT	2	top 48%
NS	1	top 30%
MD	1	top 51%
RI	1	top 63%
QC	1	top 12%
CA	1	top 51%

By contest size

Field	Contests	Avg finish
Small (<20 teams)	6	top 57%
Medium (20–39)	14	top 46%
Large (40+)	10	top 31%

Contest-by-contest record (recurring contests they've cooked twice or more)

Contest	Visits	Best	Avg finish	Last visit
Oinktoberfest	2	6	top 24%	2018-09-22
BBQ on the Bow	2	9	top 25%	2018-09-01
BBQ in The Valley	2	9	top 47%	2018-05-04

The story so far (16 numbers that describe this team)

On the trail 10.1 yrs 2016-07-08 → 2026-08-22

Busiest season 2018 13 contests

Contests a season 7.5 across 4 seasons in the data

Cooks most in NY 9 of 30 contests · 9 states/provinces in all

Contests visited 27 3 of them cooked more than once

Most-entered meat Chicken 30 entries · 1 win · 13 calls

Strongest meat Chicken averages 163.53 · weakest Brisket (160.35)

Walk rate 83% a top-10 call in 25 of 30 contests

Overall top-10 rate 43% 13 of 30 contests

Best top-10 run 5 straight contests

Master average 647.18 out of 720 · 30 contests · 0 GCs

Opponents faced 454 587–372 across every shared overall standing

Road miles 17,064 30 mapped stops · furthest 1,807 mi

Schedule strength 1553 average field rating faced — tougher than 41% of rated contests

Longest layoff 7.9 yrs 2018-10-13 → 2026-08-22

Power rating 1604 peak 1605 · #1008 of 6,413 rated

Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)

2016
Jul 8 First tracked contest Drayton Kinsmen Smoke and Sound Festival
Aug 6 First call Fatboys Classic-Canadian BBQ Championship
2017
Jun 3 First category win (Chicken) *Craze Fest
Jun 9 First overall top-10 *Drayton Kinsmen Smoke and Sounds Festival
Jun 16 First overall podium *Wolf BBQ FEst Richmond 2017
Jun 16 First Reserve Championship *Wolf BBQ FEst Richmond 2017
Jun 16 First overall past 90% of a perfect score651.8628 *Wolf BBQ FEst Richmond 2017
Jun 24 10th tracked contest Triple B Festival Day 2
Jun 24 Career-best overall score687.9428 Triple B Festival Day 2
2018
Sep 1 25th tracked contest BBQ on the Bow
Sep 22 Career-best single call (Brisket)174.8916 Oinktoberfest
Oct 12 Peak power rating (1605) Bay State BBQ Championship- CAMPGROUND BBQ SERIES (DAY 1)
2026
Aug 22 Most recent contest Smoke on the Bay BBQ Cookoff

Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)

📈 Biggest rating jumps

Swing	Contest	Date
+16.4	*Wolf BBQ FEst Richmond 2017	2017-06-16
+13.2	Triple B Festival Day 2	2017-06-24
+11.9	Porkapalooza BBQ Festival	2018-06-16
+11.4	I Love Barbecue & Music Festival	2018-07-06
+10	Oinktoberfest	2018-09-22

📉 Toughest weekends

Swing	Contest	Date
-14.8	Drayton Kinsmen Smoke and Sound Festival	2016-07-08
-6.4	*Craze Fest	2017-06-03
-6.4	Back to BAYsics Primitive Contest-CAMPGROUND BBQ SERIES ( DAY 2)	2018-10-13
-6	Finger Lakes Fire & Smoke	2016-09-03
-4	Rotary Ribs and Rhythm & Blues	2018-07-21

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)

Season by season

Season	Contests	Top-10s	Category wins	Walk rate	Avg finish	Best overall (% of perfect)	Avg overall (% of perfect)
2026	1	1	0	100%	top 30%	94%	94%
2018	13	8	2	85%	top 36%	93.2%	90.8%
2017	12	4	1	92%	top 42%	95.5%	90.2%
2016	4	0	0	50%	top 71%	86.9%	85.2%

Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)

Date	Event	Overall	Chicken	Ribs	Pork	Brisket
2026-08-22	Smoke on the Bay BBQ Cookoff Little Brook, NS	3 / 10 (677.1200)	4 (170.8572)	6 (165.7372)	3 (172.5600)	4 (167.9656)
2018-10-13	Back to BAYsics Primitive Contest-CAMPGROUND BBQ SERIES ( DAY 2) Monson, MA	14 / 18 (663.9084)	13 (165.6800)	16 (166.2972)	14 (163.9656)	10 (167.9656)
2018-10-12	Bay State BBQ Championship- CAMPGROUND BBQ SERIES (DAY 1) Monson, MA	13 / 26 (669.0856)	5 (173.7028)	19 (162.2628)	20 (162.2400)	8 (170.8800)
2018-09-22	Oinktoberfest Clarence, NY	6 / 51 (658.2748)	16 (161.7144)	24 (157.1204)	11 (164.5484)	1 (174.8916)
2018-09-08	Green Mountain BBQ Championship- CAMPGROUND BBQ SERIES Randolph, VT	10 / 33 (657.0172)	9 (168.5600)	10 (167.9772)	2 (170.2972)	28 (150.1828)
2018-09-01	BBQ on the Bow Calgary, T2W3J6	9 / 43 (649.1316)	27 (158.2744)	2 (166.8228)	11 (162.8800)	13 (161.1544)
2018-08-17	Hudson Valley Ribfest New Paltz, NY	18 / 58 (658.7548)	33 (162.8116)	22 (165.7144)	13 (167.3944)	16 (162.8344)
2018-07-21	Rotary Ribs and Rhythm & Blues Auburn, NY	19 / 31 (627.9432)	11 (164.5600)	16 (158.2400)	25 (151.9888)	18 (153.1544)
2018-07-13	*Niagara Summer Daze BBQ Classic Niagara Falls, ON	5 / 24 (670.7772)	6 (170.2744)	5 (167.9772)	6 (170.2628)	13 (162.2628)
2018-07-06	I Love Barbecue & Music Festival Lake Placid, NY	8 / 39 (640.4916)	15 (162.8344)	16 (156.5716)	3 (166.2512)	19 (154.8344)
2018-06-22	*Ayr Charity BBQ Ayr Ontario, N0B 1E0	8 / 18 (644.3884)	11 (158.8228)	2 (166.8228)	12 (153.0744)	1 (165.6684)
2018-06-16	Porkapalooza BBQ Festival Edmonton, T6E 5K1	5 / 51 (655.3256)	21 (159.9772)	9 (164.5372)	5 (165.1084)	8 (165.7028)
2018-05-04	BBQ in The Valley Jamestown, NY	9 / 25 (650.2056)	6 (166.2972)	11 (162.2628)	12 (161.6800)	16 (159.9656)
2018-04-20	*Interstate BBQ Festival Hagerstown, MD	34 / 67 (652.4000)	44 (161.1316)	6 (173.7144)	45 (162.7884)	53 (154.7656)
2017-10-21	Ocean Sate BBQ Championship West Kingston, RI	15 / 24 (639.9200)	11 (164.0000)	17 (154.8460)	19 (154.8112)	9 (166.2628)
2017-10-14	Bay State BBQ Championship Monson, MA	14 / 30 (664.4572)	7 (171.9772)	15 (165.6800)	24 (159.3828)	11 (167.4172)
2017-09-22	Oinktoberfest Clarence, NY	19 / 53 (642.6972)	33 (159.3600)	7 (166.8456)	31 (155.9428)	19 (160.5488)
2017-09-09	Green Mountain BBQ Championship Randolph, VT	21 / 32 (652.5148)	28 (157.1544)	14 (165.1316)	14 (167.3944)	18 (162.8344)
2017-09-02	BBQ on the Bow Calgary, T2W3J6	12 / 42 (633.0280)	9 (163.4400)	12 (160.5028)	16 (159.9540)	25 (149.1312)
2017-08-05	Capital BBQ Festival Ottawa, ON	6 / 42 (652.5372)	18 (161.1772)	5 (165.1316)	35 (147.3828)	7 (165.1084)
2017-06-24	Triple B Festival Day 2 Kenora, ON	4 / 21 (687.9428)	4 (173.7144)	4 (173.7028)	7 (171.4056)	6 (169.1200)
2017-06-23	Triple B Festival Day 1 Kenora, ON	11 / 22 (649.0636)	5 (169.7144)	13 (156.5832)	6 (167.9772)	15 (154.7888)
2017-06-16	*Wolf BBQ FEst Richmond 2017 Richmond, QC	2 / 17 (651.8628)	7 (157.6572)	2 (164.5716)	4 (167.3828)	4 (162.2512)
2017-06-09	*Drayton Kinsmen Smoke and Sounds Festival Drayton Ontario, N4B 2W4	9 / 22 (647.2800)	9 (165.0856)	13 (158.2744)	16 (155.3944)	4 (168.5256)
2017-06-03	*Craze Fest Georgina, ON	13 / 17 (627.3716)	1 (173.1772)	15 (147.9660)	14 (149.0856)	10 (157.1428)
2017-05-05	BBQ In the Valley Jamestown, NY	15 / 26 (645.0512)	6 (170.8800)	18 (161.6684)	23 (146.8000)	10 (165.7028)
2016-09-23	Ointoberfest BBQ Cookoff Clarence, NY	31 / 54 (625.5544)	21 (162.8344)	33 (153.0856)	17 (163.4172)	48 (146.2172)
2016-09-03	Finger Lakes Fire & Smoke Geneva, NY	27 / 35 (623.3484)	27 (157.7256)	6 (166.8572)	11 (163.4400)	34 (135.3256)
2016-08-06	Fatboys Classic-Canadian BBQ Championship Ottawa, CA	21 / 41 (602.1712)	39 (136.5028)	26 (149.1200)	17 (154.8456)	3 (161.7028)
2016-07-08	Drayton Kinsmen Smoke and Sound Festival Drayton, ON	17 / 17 (604.0116)	12 (156.0116)	17 (148.0000)	16 (153.7028)	14 (146.2972)

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
2026 ↗	Master	#278 (600 pts)	#332 (545 pts)	#267 (740 pts)	#274 (625 pts)	#346 (490 pts)