Salt and Pepper BBQ IL
Rating
1494
peak 1502 · rated over 3 contests
Contests
3
in the data
First seen
2019-06-14
latest 2025-10-03
Best ToY finish
#324
Backyard 2025
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
0
0 podiums
Overall top-10s
0
of 3 contests
Avg finish
top 65%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Walk rate
33%
contests with a top-10 call
Strongest meat
Pork Ribs
avg 169.13 · weakest Brisket (157.40)
Road miles
578
mi across 3 mapped stops · furthest 302 mi
Schedule strength
64%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1558)
Purse competed for
$19K
listed at 3 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0 🏅
GCs in 2 state-championship entries
Master avg
644.47 / 720
2 Master contests · 0 GCs
Backyard avg
337.15 / 360
1 Backyard contest · 0 GCs
Master and Backyard overall scores sit on different scales (Master is out of 720, Backyard out of 360), so they're kept separate — averaging them together would be misleading.
Storylines
🔁 The comeback
Off the trail for 4.3 years, then back at Murphysboro BBQ Cook-off/Praise the Lard (2023-09-21).
Teams like this (closest power rating, IL first)
By meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 167.4400 | 160.0228 | 162.66 | top 70% |
| Pork Ribs | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 170.2972 | 167.3828 | 169.13 | top 45% |
| Pork | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 165.0856 | 150.8228 | 157.95 | top 79% |
| Brisket | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 169.7256 | 145.0744 | 157.40 | top 57% |
“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 | GCs | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| MO | 1 | 0 | top 61% |
| IL | 1 | 0 | top 88% |
| KS | 1 | 0 | top 47% |
By contest size
| Field | Contests | GCs | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| Medium (20–39) | 2 | 0 | top 54% |
| Large (40+) | 1 | 0 | top 88% |
The story so far
- Busiest season: 2025 (1 contest)
- Cooks mostly in MO (1 of 3 contests)
- Most-entered category: Chicken (3 entries)
- Average Master overall score: 644.47 / 720
- Average Backyard overall score: 337.15 / 360
Milestones
- 🚩 2019-06-14 — First tracked contest · Knights Of Columbus BBQ Smoke Off 4 Life
- 📣 2019-06-14 — First call · Knights Of Columbus BBQ Smoke Off 4 Life
- ⭐ 2019-06-14 — Career-best overall score (665.1312) · Knights Of Columbus BBQ Smoke Off 4 Life
- 📈 2019-06-14 — Peak power rating (1502) · Knights Of Columbus BBQ Smoke Off 4 Life
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +2.2 | Knights Of Columbus BBQ Smoke Off 4 Life | 2019-06-14 |
| +0.2 | Big Creek BBQ Bash (BACKYARD ONLY) | 2025-10-03 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -8.8 | Murphysboro BBQ Cook-off/Praise the Lard | 2023-09-21 |
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 | GCs | Top-10s | Category wins | Walk rate | Avg finish | Best overall (% of perfect) | Avg overall (% of perfect) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 61% | 93.7% | 93.7% |
| 2023 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 88% | 86.6% | 86.6% |
| 2019 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100% | top 47% | 92.4% | 92.4% |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-10-03 | Big Creek BBQ Bash (BACKYARD ONLY) Pleasant Hill, MO | 14 / 23 (337.1544) | 12 (167.4400) | 11 (169.7144) | — | — |
| 2023-09-21 | Murphysboro BBQ Cook-off/Praise the Lard 🏅 Murphysboro, IL | 44 / 50 (623.8056) | 37 (160.5256) | 31 (167.3828) | 49 (150.8228) | 46 (145.0744) |
| 2019-06-14 | Knights Of Columbus BBQ Smoke Off 4 Life 🏅 Kansas City, KS | 18 / 38 (665.1312) | 32 (160.0228) | 10 (170.2972) | 23 (165.0856) | 8 (169.7256) |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 ↗ | Backyard | #324 (103 pts) | #314 (113 pts) | #321 (118 pts) | — | — |
| 2023 ↗ | Master | #1255 (60 pts) | #1319 (60 pts) | #1432 (60 pts) | #1287 (60 pts) | #1296 (60 pts) |