High-water mark
673.6000
career-best overall
93.6% of a perfect 720
Their best day on record: 673.6000 at Cedar Fest BBQ Cookoff — 93.6% of a perfect 720.
- Master
- Apr 5, 2024
Quality in Smoke
Quality in Smoke is a competition barbecue team with 9 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2022 and 2026. Their best overall finish is 13th of 23 at the Puckaway Pigfest (2026). They are ranked #5063 of 6,476 teams in the KCBS power rankings.
At a glance (the record in numbers)
Rating
1461
peak 1461 · rated over 8 contests
Contests
9
in the data
First seen
Jun 3, 2022
latest Sep 11, 2026 · 4.3 years on the trail
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
0
0 podiums
Overall top-10s
0
0% of 9 contests
Avg finish
top 78%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Current form
647.84 ▼
last 5 Master vs avg 652.29 (-4.45)
Walk rate
33%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±17.67
spread of their Master overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Brisket
avg 164.75 · weakest Pork Ribs (161.30)
Road miles
3,595
across 9 mapped stops · furthest 668 mi
Schedule strength
69%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1587)
Purse competed for
$64K
listed at 8 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0 🏅
won from 9 state-championship entries
Master avg
652.29 / 720
8 Master contests · 0 GCs
Teams like this (closest power rating)
The teams rated closest to Quality in Smoke, each with one reason worth a look.
134 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.
#5,061 of the rated field
- Contests
- 11
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1461
1–0 in 1 shared contest (100% to Quality in Smoke)
One contest in common so far: too few to settle anything, but a team Quality in Smoke has actually stood beside rather than a stranger on the same rating.
⚔ Head-to-head#5,076 of the rated field
- Contests
- 9
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1461
This is the highest they've ever been rated, 9 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.
⚔ Compare careers#5,069 of the rated field
- Contests
- 9
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1461
Careers of much the same size, 9 contests to 9, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Compare careers#5,082 of the rated field
- Contests
- 9
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1461
Their last contest in the data was back in 2016, 10 years before Quality in Smoke's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Compare careers#5,055 of the rated field
- Contests
- 9
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1461
They were already cooking in 2013, 9 years before Quality in Smoke's first contest.
⚔ Compare careers#5,048 of the rated field
- Contests
- 7
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1462
Level with Quality in Smoke on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Compare careersBy meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 171.4172 | 150.2400 | 163.56 | top 71% |
| Pork Ribs | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 169.1084 | 154.2628 | 161.30 | top 76% |
| Pork | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 164.5712 | 157.0740 | 161.81 | top 83% |
| Brisket | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 172.5600 | 144.4800 | 164.75 | 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 field size and state
By contest size
| Field | Contests | GCs | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| Medium (20–39) | 6 | 0 | top 83% |
| Large (40+) | 2 | 0 | top 65% |
Repeat visits (contests they've cooked twice or more)
| Contest | Visits | Best | GCs | Avg finish | Last visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Puckaway Pigfest | 2 | 13 | 0 | top 74% | Sep 11, 2026 |
| Cameron Elks BBQ Cook-Off (MASTERS and BACKYARD 1) | 2 | 21 | 0 | top 86% | Jul 10, 2026 |
More numbers
Busiest season
2024
6 contests
Contests a season
3
across 3 seasons in the data
Most contests held in
MO
3 of 9 contests · 5 states in all
Contests visited
6
2 of them more than once
Most-entered meat
Pork Ribs
9 entries · 0 wins · 1 call
Opponents faced
275
finished ahead 58 times, behind 299
Longest layoff
1.8 yrs
Jun 3, 2022 → Apr 5, 2024
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
20261 milestone
- Most recent contest Puckaway Pigfest
20242 milestones
- Career-best overall score673.6000 Cedar Fest BBQ Cookoff
- Peak power rating (1497) Cedar Fest BBQ Cookoff
20224 milestones
- First tracked contest Smokin in Steele (Master & Backyard Contest)
- First call Smokin in Steele (Master & Backyard Contest)
- First overall past 90% of a perfect score650.1828 Smokin in Steele (Master & Backyard Contest)
- Career-best single call (Brisket)172.5600 Smokin in Steele (Master & Backyard Contest)
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +7.8 | Cedar Fest BBQ Cookoff | Apr 5, 2024 |
| +3.2 | Puckaway Pigfest | Sep 11, 2026 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -12.2 | Minnesota in May | May 10, 2024 |
| -11 | Smokin in Steele (Master & Backyard Contest) | Jun 3, 2022 |
| -10.5 | Cameron Elks BBQ Cook-Off (MASTERS and BACKYARD 1) | Jul 10, 2026 |
| -7.5 | Puckaway Pigfest | Sep 6, 2024 |
| -6.8 | Smoke on the Water | Oct 11, 2024 |
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 77% | 93.4% | 91.4% |
| 2024 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17% | top 77% | 93.6% | 90.3% |
| 2022 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100% | top 85% | 90.3% | 90.3% |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 11, 2026 | Puckaway Pigfest 🏅 Montello, WI | 13 / 23 (672.4684) | 12 (168.5600) | 8 (169.1084) | 18 (163.3828) | 11 (171.4172) |
| Jul 10, 2026 | Cameron Elks BBQ Cook-Off (MASTERS and BACKYARD 1) 🏅 Cameron, MO | 36 / 37 (643.2452) | 37 (155.3828) | 36 (158.2284) | 36 (163.3712) | 23 (166.2628) |
| Oct 11, 2024 | Smoke on the Water 🏅 Topeka, KS | 28 / 31 (648.9484) | 24 (166.2628) | 26 (161.6800) | 29 (158.2056) | 24 (162.8000) |
| Sep 6, 2024 | Puckaway Pigfest 🏅 Montello, WI | 34 / 37 (614.0572) | 35 (150.2400) | 23 (162.2632) | 29 (157.0740) | 36 (144.4800) |
| Jul 12, 2024 | 2024 Cameron Elks BBQ Cook Off 🏅 Cameron, MO | 21 / 28 (660.5028) | 18 (169.7028) | 23 (163.9772) | 22 (164.5712) | 20 (162.2516) |
| Jul 12, 2024 | 2024 Cameron Elks BBQ Cook Off (ONE MEAT RIBS) 🏅 Cameron, MO | — | — | 17 (154.2628) | — | — |
| May 10, 2024 | Minnesota in May 🏅 St. Peter, MN | 56 / 58 (655.3480) | 38 (170.3084) | 58 (155.9656) | 55 (161.1084) | 35 (167.9656) |
| Apr 5, 2024 | Cedar Fest BBQ Cookoff 🏅 Cedar Park, TX | 13 / 40 (673.6000) | 8 (171.4172) | 17 (167.3828) | 23 (164.5256) | 7 (170.2744) |
| Jun 3, 2022 | Smokin in Steele (Master & Backyard Contest) 🏅 Owatonna, MN | 28 / 33 (650.1828) | 31 (156.5716) | 32 (158.8112) | 29 (162.2400) | 6 (172.5600) |