Each card leads with the number that made it a story — read straight out of their results, no editorialising.
2013 was the year it came together: 3 contests, 0 Grand Championships and 0 category wins, at an average finish in the top 43%.
PARROTHEAD SMOKERS ahead in 100% of their meetings
PARROTHEAD SMOKERS has come out ahead in 3 of their 3 shared contests.
Brisket is where the weekend gets away from them — it averages 4.22 points below their pork, and turns into a call 0% of the time against 0%.
Off the trail for 7.2 years, then back at East Helena Smoke Show (2023-08-05).
Contest to contest, they've covered roughly 8,261 miles across 12 mapped stops — the longest single trip being 1,421 miles to World Food Championships - World Barbecue Championship(Competitor's Series).
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.
131 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.
One contest in common so far: too few to settle anything, but a team Firehouse BBQ has actually stood beside rather than a stranger on the same rating.
⚔ Head-to-headFewer contests behind them than Firehouse BBQ has cooked, 6 to 12, which makes theirs the less settled rating of the two.
⚔ Head-to-headLevel with Firehouse BBQ on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Head-to-headThey've been 1503 at their best, 39 points above where they sit today — they're arriving at this rating from above.
⚔ Head-to-headFewer contests behind them than Firehouse BBQ has cooked, 6 to 12, which makes theirs the less settled rating of the two.
⚔ Head-to-headThey turned up 6 years after Firehouse BBQ did, first appearing in 2019.
⚔ Head-to-head| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 169.6916 | 139.3712 | 158.18 | top 68% |
| Pork Ribs | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 170.8688 | 134.2516 | 157.64 | top 64% |
| Pork | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 170.3200 | 150.8344 | 158.97 | top 67% |
| Brisket | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 164.5716 | 127.9544 | 154.75 | top 62% |
“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.
| Where | Contests | GCs | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| FL | 2 | 0 | top 58% |
| NE | 2 | 0 | top 93% |
| MT | 1 | 0 | top 96% |
| IL | 1 | 0 | top 51% |
| Field | Contests | GCs | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| Medium (20–39) | 4 | 0 | top 91% |
| Large (40+) | 2 | 0 | top 43% |
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +5.2 | Lakeland Pig Festival | 2013-01-25 |
| +1 | Murphysboro Barbecue Cook-off | 2013-09-19 |
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -11.4 | Septemberfest BBQ & Rib-Eye Steak Cookoff Challenge | 2014-08-30 |
| -11.3 | 22nd Annual State Barbeque Championship of Nebraska | 2014-08-15 |
| -11.3 | East Helena Smoke Show | 2023-08-05 |
| -8 | Florida Heritage BBQ Classic | 2015-03-26 |
| Season | Contests | GCs | Top-10s | Category wins | Walk rate | Avg finish | Best overall (% of perfect) | Avg overall (% of perfect) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | — | — | — |
| 2023 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 96% | 78.9% | 78.9% |
| 2016 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | — | — | — |
| 2015 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 50% | top 83% | 90.3% | 90.3% |
| 2014 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 93% | 86.8% | 84.7% |
| 2013 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 43% | 90.8% | 90.2% |
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-10-24 | The Great Alabama BBQ Cook-Off (ONE MEAT CHICKEN) Cleveland, AL | — | 18 (169.6916) | — | — | — |
| 2025-10-24 | The Great Alabama BBQ Cook-Off (ONE MEAT PORK) Cleveland, AL | — | — | — | 23 (153.6228) | — |
| 2025-10-24 | The Great Alabama BBQ Cook-Off (ONE MEAT RIBS) Cleveland, AL | — | — | 16 (170.8228) | — | — |
| 2023-08-05 | East Helena Smoke Show 🏅 East Helena, MT | 23 / 24 (567.8396) | 23 (139.3712) | 23 (144.0228) | 18 (156.4912) | 23 (127.9544) |
| 2016-06-03 | Up In smoke on the Square Lincoln, IL | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2015-06-05 | Up In Smoke On The Square Lincoln, IL | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2015-03-26 | Florida Heritage BBQ Classic Kissimmee, FL | 19 / 23 (650.1488) | 18 (162.8344) | 5 (170.8688) | 23 (153.0628) | 12 (163.3828) |
| 2014-08-30 | Septemberfest BBQ & Rib-Eye Steak Cookoff Challenge Omaha, NE | 28 / 29 (594.8004) | 28 (146.2628) | 29 (134.2516) | 28 (150.8344) | 13 (163.4516) |
| 2014-08-15 | 22nd Annual State Barbeque Championship of Nebraska LaPlatte, NE | 34 / 38 (625.0404) | 29 (157.6916) | 18 (162.2972) | 31 (158.2628) | 33 (146.7888) |
| 2013-11-07 | World Food Championships - World Barbecue Championship(Competitor's Series) Las Vegas, NV | — | — | 47 (162.2512) | 25 (165.7028) | 29 (164.5716) |
| 2013-09-19 | Murphysboro Barbecue Cook-off Murphysboro, IL | 39 / 76 (653.7260) | 37 (164.5716) | 47 (160.5944) | 18 (170.3200) | 53 (158.2400) |
| 2013-01-25 | Lakeland Pig Festival Lakeland, FL | 24 / 70 (645.1430) | 12 (166.8572) | 38 (156.0000) | 19 (163.4286) | 30 (158.8572) |