High-water mark
337.1316
career-best overall
93.6% of a perfect 360
Their best day on record: 337.1316 at The Whistlestop Festival & Rocket City BBQ (BACKYARD ONLY) — 93.6% of a perfect 360.
- Backyard
- Oct 20, 2023
HOGS & KISSES
HOGS & KISSES is a competition barbecue team with 11 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2019 and 2023. Their best overall finish is 3rd of 54 at The Whistlestop Festival & Rocket City BBQ (2019). They are ranked #2458 of 6,476 teams in the KCBS power rankings.
At a glance (the record in numbers)
Rating
1522
peak 1522 · rated over 8 contests
Contests
11
in the data
First seen
Apr 12, 2019
latest Oct 20, 2023 · 4.5 years on the trail
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
0
1 podium
Overall top-10s
2
18% of 11 contests
Avg finish
top 48%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Current form
327.72 ▼
last 5 Backyard vs avg 329.74 (-2.03)
Walk rate
36%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±8.74
spread of their Backyard overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Chicken
avg 165.06 · weakest Pork (150.78)
Road miles
365
across 11 mapped stops · furthest 60 mi
Schedule strength
23%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1531)
Purse competed for
$33K
listed at 6 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0 🏅
won from 4 state-championship entries
Backyard avg
329.74 / 360
8 Backyard contests · 0 GCs
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 ↗ | Backyard | — | #296 (100 pts) | #292 (110 pts) | — | — |
Teams like this (closest power rating)
The teams rated closest to HOGS & KISSES, each with one reason worth a look.
79 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.
#2,464 of the rated field
- Contests
- 11
- GCs
- 1
- Top-10s
- 27%
- Peak
- 1527
Careers of much the same size, 11 contests to 11, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Compare careers#2,476 of the rated field
- Contests
- 9
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 44%
- Peak
- 1521
This is the highest they've ever been rated, 9 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.
⚔ Compare careers#2,468 of the rated field
- Contests
- 9
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1521
Their last contest in the data was back in 2019, 4 years before HOGS & KISSES's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Compare careers#2,461 of the rated field
- Contests
- 9
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 44%
- Peak
- 1542
They were already cooking in 2013, 6 years before HOGS & KISSES's first contest.
⚔ Compare careers#2,455 of the rated field
- Contests
- 7
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 43%
- Peak
- 1531
Level with HOGS & KISSES on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Compare careers#2,466 of the rated field
- Contests
- 7
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 14%
- Peak
- 1521
Fewer contests behind them than HOGS & KISSES has cooked, 7 to 11, which makes theirs the less settled rating of the two.
⚔ Compare careersFamiliar foes (most-met opponents in overall standings — one meeting per contest)
| Opponent | Meetings | Ahead | Behind | Win rate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hickory Hangover | 7 | 1 | 6 | 14% | ⚔ compare |
| HELL ON SQUEALS | 5 | 3 | 2 | 60% | ⚔ compare |
| PERFECTLY BLENDED | 5 | 3 | 2 | 60% | ⚔ compare |
| LEE LA Q | 5 | 2 | 3 | 40% | ⚔ compare |
| REDBONES BBQ | 5 | 2 | 3 | 40% | ⚔ compare |
| PUCKDADDY'S KILLER Q | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| Thin Blue Swine | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
| Sweet Cheeks BBQ | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
By meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 8 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 172.5600 | 152.5256 | 165.06 | top 46% |
| Pork Ribs | 8 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 175.4400 | 151.3716 | 164.69 | top 53% |
| Pork | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 150.7772 | 150.7772 | 150.78 | top 87% |
“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) | 5 | 0 | top 63% |
| Large (40+) | 3 | 0 | top 23% |
More numbers
Busiest season
2019
7 contests
Contests a season
2.8
across 4 seasons in the data
Most contests held in
AL
11 of 11 contests
Contests visited
8
a different one every time
Opponents faced
329
finished ahead 284 times, behind 179
Longest layoff
4.1 yrs
Sep 13, 2019 → Oct 20, 2023
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
20233 milestones
- Career-best overall score337.1316 The Whistlestop Festival & Rocket City BBQ (BACKYARD ONLY)
- Peak power rating (1522) The Whistlestop Festival & Rocket City BBQ (BACKYARD ONLY)
- Most recent contest The Whistlestop Festival & Rocket City BBQ (BACKYARD ONLY)
20196 milestones
- First overall past 90% of a perfect score327.3716 Smoke on the Falls
- First call Smoke on the Water Festival (BACKYARD ONlY)
- Career-best single call (Pork Ribs)175.4400 Smoke on the Water Festival (BACKYARD ONlY)
- First overall top-10 The Whistlestop Festival & Rocket City BBQ
- First overall podium The Whistlestop Festival & Rocket City BBQ
- 10th tracked contest RiverFest
20171 milestone
- First tracked contest Cotton Pickin BBQ Cook-off
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +15.7 | The Whistlestop Festival & Rocket City BBQ | May 3, 2019 |
| +7.7 | The Whistlestop Festival & Rocket City BBQ (BACKYARD ONLY) | Oct 20, 2023 |
| +6.9 | Cotton Pickin BBQ Cook-Off | Jul 26, 2019 |
| +6.6 | Elkmont Lions Club Smokin Railroad St. BBQ Cook-off (BACKYARD ONLY) | Jun 21, 2019 |
| +5.3 | Smoke on the Water Festival (BACKYARD ONlY) | Apr 26, 2019 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -11.2 | Reelin N Smokin Backyard BBQ Competition (BACKYARD ONLY) | Jun 7, 2019 |
| -5.4 | RiverFest | Sep 13, 2019 |
| -4.1 | Smoke on the Falls | Apr 12, 2019 |
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) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 28% | 93.6% | 93.6% |
| 2019 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 57% | top 51% | 93.5% | 91.3% |
| 2018 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | — | — | — |
| 2017 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | — | — | — |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 20, 2023 | The Whistlestop Festival & Rocket City BBQ (BACKYARD ONLY) Huntsville, AL | 14 / 50 (337.1316) | 17 (167.4400) | 15 (169.6916) | — | — |
| Sep 13, 2019 | RiverFest 🏅 Decatur, AL | 25 / 37 (313.0516) | 19 (161.6800) | 28 (151.3716) | — | — |
| Jul 26, 2019 | Cotton Pickin BBQ Cook-Off 🏅 Hartselle, AL | 11 / 27 (333.6456) | 6 (172.5600) | 21 (161.0856) | — | — |
| Jun 21, 2019 | Elkmont Lions Club Smokin Railroad St. BBQ Cook-off (BACKYARD ONLY) Elkmont, AL | 8 / 23 (336.5260) | 8 (170.2744) | 13 (166.2516) | 20 (150.7772) | — |
| Jun 7, 2019 | Reelin N Smokin Backyard BBQ Competition (BACKYARD ONLY) Huntsville, AL | 21 / 25 (318.2284) | 24 (152.5256) | 12 (165.7028) | — | — |
| May 3, 2019 | The Whistlestop Festival & Rocket City BBQ 🏅 Huntsville, AL | 3 / 54 (336.0228) | 5 (166.8800) | 8 (169.1428) | — | — |
| Apr 26, 2019 | Smoke on the Water Festival (BACKYARD ONlY) Florence, AL | 16 / 45 (335.9656) | 31 (160.5256) | 2 (175.4400) | — | — |
| Apr 12, 2019 | Smoke on the Falls 🏅 Gadsden, AL | 27 / 30 (327.3716) | 15 (168.5600) | 35 (158.8116) | — | — |
| Sep 14, 2018 | Riverfest BBQ and Music Festival Decatur, AL | — | — | — | — | — |
| Jul 27, 2018 | Cotton Pickin BBQ Cook-off Hartselle, AL | — | — | — | — | — |
| Jul 28, 2017 | Cotton Pickin BBQ Cook-off Hartselle, AL | — | — | — | — | — |