THE NUT HOUSE

THE NUT HOUSE is a competition barbecue team with 20 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2019 and 2023. Their best overall finish is 2nd of 53 at the Smoke in the Grove (2019), and they have finished Reserve Grand Champion twice. They are ranked #3510 of 6,477 teams in the KCBS power rankings.

⚔ Compare with another team

At a glance (the record in numbers)

Power ranking

#3,510

of 6,477 rated · rankings

Rating

1493

peak 1566 · rated over 17 contests1 invitational or side-series contest not counted

Contests

in the data

First seen

May 17, 2019

latest Oct 13, 2023 · 4.4 years on the trail

Best ToY finish

#474

Master 2021 · every season

Grand champs

2 reserve

Category wins

5 podiums

Overall top-10s

30% of 20 contests

Best top-10 run

straight overall top-10s

Avg finish

top 48%

overall standings

Best overall

675.2916 / 720

Master · Interstate BBQ Festival - Day 2

Perfect 180s

Current form

661.48 ▲

last 5 Master vs avg 659.52 (+1.95)

Walk rate

55%

contests with a top-10 call

Best single call

178.8572

Brisket · Interstate BBQ Festival - Day 2

Consistency

±11.16

spread of their Master overall scores (lower = steadier)

Strongest meat

Pork

avg 168.07 · weakest Pork Ribs (162.96)

Road miles

4,127

across 19 mapped stops · furthest 1,024 mi

Schedule strength

50%

of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1564)

Purse competed for

$145K

listed at 17 contests — purses, not winnings

State championships

0 🏅

won from 17 state-championship entries

Master avg

659.52 / 720

11 Master contests · 0 GCs

Backyard avg

325.38 / 360

6 Backyard contests · 0 GCs

Backyard (3-meat) avg

502.27 / 540

1 Backyard (3-meat) contest · 0 GCs

These overall scores sit on different scales (Master out of 720, Backyard out of 360, Backyard (3-meat) out of 540), so they're kept separate — averaging them together would be misleading.

This team cooks the Backyard series — its own boards, records and Team of the Year are here.

Storylines (13 found in their record)

Each card leads with the number behind the story, straight from their results.

The heartbreaker

2.7884 points from the title

Came within 2.7884 points of the Grand Championship at Twin Valley Fire and Smoke (May 17, 2019).

High-water mark

675.2916 career-best overall

93.8% of a perfect 720

Their best day on record: 675.2916 at Interstate BBQ Festival - Day 2 — 93.8% of a perfect 720.

Master
Apr 17, 2021

The one to beat

2× one call ahead of them

Team Meat Coma has finished one call ahead of THE NUT HOUSE 2 times — their closest competition in the data.

Their season

2019 their best year

2019 was the year it came together: 6 contests, 0 Grand Championships and 1 category win, at an average finish in the top 16%.

6 contests
5 overall top-10s
1 category win
average top 16%

A tough matchup

12–0 behind in the head-to-head

SWEET & SAVORY BBQ ahead in 100% of their meetings

SWEET & SAVORY BBQ has come out ahead in 12 of their 12 shared contests.

The weak link

−5.1 points behind their best meat

Pork Ribs is where the weekend gets away from them — it averages 5.11 points below their pork, and turns into a call 44% of the time against 17%.

Pork Ribs avg 162.96
Pork avg 168.07
8 calls in 18 entries

A strong matchup

8–2 ahead in the head-to-head

Ahead in 80% of their meetings

They've finished ahead of HARCO LOCO BBQ in 8 of their 10 shared contests.

Show 6 more storylines

The comeback

1.6 yrs off the trail, then back

Off the trail for 1.6 years, then back at BBQ Gives Back (Day 1) (Masters and Backyard) (Mar 24, 2023).

last seen Jul 30, 2021
back Mar 24, 2023

Pork nemesis

8 of 10 shared pork entries lost

Top Gun Barbecue ahead 80% of the time

Even in their strongest meat, Top Gun Barbecue has out-cooked them in 8 of 10 shared pork entries.

Looking over their shoulder

2× one call behind them

MANHATTAN JACK'S BBQ has landed one call behind them 2 times.

A June team

Top 35% average finish in June

Something about June: average finish in the top 35% across 4 contests, versus top 48% the rest of the year.

4 June contests
top 48% the rest of the year

The long haul

4,127 road miles between contests

Contest to contest, they've covered roughly 4,127 miles across 19 mapped stops — the longest single trip being 1,024 miles to Second Annual KCBS World Invitational Barbeque Competition.

19 mapped stops
furthest 1,024 mi

The metronome

±2.19% swing around their own average

Their overall lands within ±2.19% of a perfect score of their own average — whatever the field, you know roughly what they'll turn in.

averages 91.0% of a perfect score
20 contests

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 ↗	Master	#660 (238 pts)	#775 (208 pts)	#626 (338 pts)	#565 (338 pts)	#751 (218 pts)
2021 ↗	Master	#474 (379 pts)	#507 (374 pts)	#492 (409 pts)	#370 (544 pts)	#302 (679 pts)
2020 ↗	Master	#655 (120 pts)	#696 (120 pts)	#701 (120 pts)	#579 (175 pts)	#628 (145 pts)

Overall rank by season

Teams like this (closest power rating)

The teams rated closest to THE NUT HOUSE, each with one reason worth a look.

136 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.

Barking Pig BBQ

#3,499 of the rated field

1493 power rating

Contests: 34
GCs: 2
Top-10s: 9%
Peak: 1552

1–0 in 1 shared contest (100% to THE NUT HOUSE)

One contest in common so far: too few to settle anything, but a team THE NUT HOUSE has actually stood beside rather than a stranger on the same rating.

rated over 30 contests
last seen Jul 17, 2026

⚔ Head-to-head

Make BBQ Great Again

#3,516 of the rated field

1493 power rating

Contests: 8
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1514

2–0 in 2 shared contests (100% to THE NUT HOUSE)

Fewer contests behind them than THE NUT HOUSE has cooked, 8 to 20, which makes theirs the less settled rating of the two.

rated over 8 contests
last seen Oct 10, 2025

⚔ Head-to-head

HARCO LOCO BBQ

#3,538 of the rated field

1492 power rating

Contests: 38
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 11%
Peak: 1510

8–2 in 10 shared contests (80% to THE NUT HOUSE)

38 contests and no Grand Championship yet — a rating made of 11% top-10 finishes rather than wins.

rated over 38 contests
last seen Jul 24, 2026

⚔ Head-to-head

Fubar-B-Q

#3,508 of the rated field

1493 power rating

Contests: 17
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 6%
Peak: 1524

They've been 1524 at their best, 31 points above where they sit today — they're arriving at this rating from above.

rated over 17 contests
last seen May 31, 2024

⚔ Compare careers

LOS GRILLOS

#3,533 of the rated field

1492 power rating

Contests: 18
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 11%
Peak: 1503

Level with THE NUT HOUSE on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.

rated over 18 contests
last seen Feb 25, 2023

⚔ Compare careers

THIS BUTTS FOR YOU

#3,531 of the rated field

1492 power rating

Contests: 16
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 6%
Peak: 1517

They were already cooking in 2013, 6 years before THE NUT HOUSE's first contest.

rated over 16 contests
last seen Jun 3, 2022

⚔ Compare careers

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

Opponent	Meetings	Ahead	Behind	Win rate
Uncle Pig's Barbeque Pit	15	4	11	27%	⚔ compare
GOOD GOOGLY GOO BBQ	13	4	9	31%	⚔ compare
Top Gun Barbecue	13	2	10	15%	⚔ compare
WOLF'S REVENGE BBQ	12	2	10	17%	⚔ compare
Zoni-Q	12	1	11	8%	⚔ compare
BAD AZZ MULE BBQ	12	1	11	8%	⚔ compare
SWEET & SAVORY BBQ	12	0	12	0%	⚔ compare
SOUTH BOWIE SMOKE	11	8	3	73%	⚔ compare
Rogue Hog BBQ	11	4	7	36%	⚔ compare
BOGGS HOG BBQ	11	3	8	27%	⚔ compare
SMOKECRAFT - MD	11	3	8	27%	⚔ compare
D’Qued Barbeque	11	0	11	0%	⚔ compare
RED SMOKE BAR-B-QUE	11	0	11	0%	⚔ compare
HARCO LOCO BBQ	10	8	2	80%	⚔ compare
PHILLY BLIND PIG BBQ	10	6	4	60%	⚔ compare

By meat

Category	Entries	Calls	Wins	Podiums	Best	Worst	Average	Avg finish
Chicken	18	5	0	2	172.5600	157.0512	163.37	top 56%
Pork Ribs	18	8	1	2	176	151.9200	162.96	top 46%
Pork	12	2	0	0	174.2628	156.5028	168.07	top 45%
Brisket	11	2	0	1	178.8572	155.9200	165.32	top 55%

“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	Avg finish
Small (<20 teams)	1	top 41%
Medium (20–39)	4	top 37%
Large (40+)	14	top 52%

By state / province (where the contests were held)

Where	Contests	Avg finish
PA	8	top 40%
MD	4	top 50%
VA	4	top 83%
KS	1	top 27%
TN	1	top 31%
DE	1	top 8%

Repeat visits (contests they've cooked twice or more)

Contest	Visits	Best	Avg finish	Last visit
BBQ Gives Back (Day 2) (Masters and Backyard)	4	34	top 83%	Mar 25, 2023
Smoke in the Grove	3	2	top 49%	Jul 30, 2021
York County BBQ Festival	3	9	top 44%	Jun 18, 2021
Maryland State BBQ Bash	2	9	top 39%	Oct 13, 2023

More numbers

Busiest season 2021 6 contests

Contests a season 3.3 across 6 seasons in the data

Most contests held in PA 8 of 20 contests · 6 states in all

Contests visited 11 4 of them more than once

Opponents faced 550 finished ahead 550 times, behind 707

Longest layoff 1.6 yrs Jul 30, 2021 → Mar 24, 2023

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

20231 milestone

Oct 13 Most recent contest Maryland State BBQ Bash

20212 milestones

Apr 17 Career-best overall score675.2916 Interstate BBQ Festival - Day 2
Apr 17 Career-best single call (Brisket)178.8572 Interstate BBQ Festival - Day 2

20201 milestone

Jul 24 10th tracked contest Smoke in the Grove

20195 milestones

May 17 First category win (Pork Ribs) Twin Valley Fire and Smoke
May 17 First overall podium Twin Valley Fire and Smoke
May 17 First Reserve Championship Twin Valley Fire and Smoke
May 17 First overall past 90% of a perfect score333.7144 Twin Valley Fire and Smoke
Oct 25 Peak power rating (1566) Jack Daniel's World Championship Shade Tree Contest (BACKYARD) (JUDGES FULL)

—3 milestones

First tracked contest Brandywine Backyard Barbeque Festival (BACKYARDONLY)
First call Brandywine Backyard Barbeque Festival (BACKYARDONLY)
First overall top-10 Brandywine Backyard Barbeque Festival (BACKYARDONLY)

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

📈 Biggest rating jumps

Swing	Contest	Date
+16.5	Twin Valley Fire and Smoke	May 17, 2019
+14.6	Smoke in the Grove	Jul 26, 2019
+14.5	Separation Colonial BBQ Competition	Jun 7, 2019
+8.6	York County BBQ Festival	Jun 28, 2019
+6.9	Maryland State BBQ Bash	Aug 9, 2019

📉 Toughest weekends

Swing	Contest	Date
-12.2	BBQ Gives Back (Day 2)	Mar 27, 2021
-11.2	Smoke in the Grove	Jul 24, 2020
-10.4	BBQ Gives Back (Day 1)	Mar 26, 2021
-9.9	BBQ Gives Back (Day 2) (Masters and Backyard)	Mar 25, 2023
-8.8	Smoke in the Grove	Jul 30, 2021

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	Top-10s	Category wins	Walk rate	Avg finish	Best overall (% of perfect)	Avg overall (% of perfect)
—	1	1	0	100%	top 41%	87.4%	87.4%
2023	3	0	0	67%	top 68%	93.5%	92.6%
2021	6	0	0	50%	top 71%	93.8%	91.4%
2020	3	0	0	0%	top 50%	92.2%	90.5%
2019	6	5	1	83%	top 16%	93%	90.5%
2018	1	0	0	0%	—	—	—

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

Date	Event	Overall	Chicken	Ribs	Pork	Brisket
Oct 13, 2023	Maryland State BBQ Bash 🏅 Bel Air, MD	11 / 23 (673.0172)	17 (167.3944)	9 (170.8228)	6 (171.9772)	15 (162.8228)
Mar 25, 2023	BBQ Gives Back (Day 2) (Masters and Backyard) 🏅 Urbanna, VA	43 / 46 (655.8856)	44 (161.0972)	33 (165.7028)	25 (169.7256)	42 (159.3600)
Mar 24, 2023	BBQ Gives Back (Day 1) (Masters and Backyard) 🏅 Urbanna, VA	34 / 53 (671.8512)	51 (157.0512)	9 (176)	14 (173.7028)	34 (165.0972)
Jul 30, 2021	Smoke in the Grove 🏅 Spring Grove, PA	37 / 54 (650.1716)	30 (167.3944)	38 (162.2972)	46 (156.5028)	22 (163.9772)
Jun 18, 2021	York County BBQ Festival 🏅 Delta, PA	26 / 41 (656.4572)	27 (165.1428)	29 (159.9888)	32 (160.5028)	7 (170.8228)
Apr 17, 2021	Interstate BBQ Festival - Day 2 🏅 Hagerstown, MD	21 / 34 (675.2916)	31 (158.2056)	17 (168.5372)	14 (169.6916)	2 (178.8572)
Apr 16, 2021	Interstate BBQ Festival - Day 1 🏅 Hagerstown, MD	28 / 47 (668.4916)	22 (169.1544)	31 (163.9888)	19 (167.9656)	27 (167.3828)
Mar 27, 2021	BBQ Gives Back (Day 2) 🏅 Urbanna, VA	37 / 40 (646.7544)	39 (157.1200)	38 (157.1088)	24 (167.4056)	28 (165.1200)
Mar 26, 2021	BBQ Gives Back (Day 1) 🏅 Urbanna, VA	37 / 46 (652.4688)	41 (157.7260)	23 (164.5600)	8 (174.2628)	43 (155.9200)
Nov 13, 2020	Second Annual KCBS World Invitational Barbeque Competition 🏅 unrated Mayetta, KS	25 / 94 (325.6344)	25 (163.9544)	24 (161.6800)	—	—
Jul 24, 2020	Smoke in the Grove 🏅 Spring Grove, PA	44 / 59 (640.4228)	46 (158.2056)	52 (151.9200)	20 (168.5600)	34 (161.7372)
Jun 26, 2020	York County BBQ Festival 🏅 Delta, PA	26 / 53 (663.9428)	30 (166.2856)	38 (162.2744)	19 (167.9772)	20 (167.4056)
Oct 25, 2019	Jack Daniel's World Championship Shade Tree Contest (BACKYARD) (JUDGES FULL) Lynchburg, TN	13 / 42 (502.2744)	24 (163.4172)	10 (170.2972)	18 (168.5600)	—
Aug 9, 2019	Maryland State BBQ Bash 🏅 Belair, MD	9 / 30 (309.0972)	—	—	—	—
Jul 26, 2019	Smoke in the Grove 🏅 Spring Grove, PA	2 / 53 (333.6688)	2 (172.5600)	3 (161.1088)	—	—
Jun 28, 2019	York County BBQ Festival 🏅 Delta, PA	9 / 48 (315.3368)	6 (162.8228)	10 (152.5140)	—	—
Jun 7, 2019	Separation Colonial BBQ Competition 🏅 New Castle, DE	3 / 36 (329.0972)	3 (169.1200)	6 (159.9772)	—	—
May 17, 2019	Twin Valley Fire and Smoke 🏅 Morgantown, PA	2 / 44 (333.7144)	4 (166.8800)	1 (166.8344)	—	—
Oct 19, 2018	Boo-B-Que Rehoboth Beach, DE	—	—	—	—	—
—	Brandywine Backyard Barbeque Festival (BACKYARDONLY) Landenberg, PA	7 / 17 (314.8004)	7 (157.1200)	8 (157.6804)	—	—

An unrated contest — an invitational, or a Competitor or Kosher Series board — is in the record but doesn’t move the power rating.

THE NUT HOUSE

At a glance (the record in numbers)

Power ranking

Rating

Contests

First seen

Best ToY finish

Grand champs

Category wins

Overall top-10s

Best top-10 run

Avg finish

Best overall

Perfect 180s

Current form

Walk rate

Best single call

Consistency

Strongest meat

Road miles

Schedule strength

Purse competed for

State championships

Master avg

Backyard avg

Backyard (3-meat) avg

Storylines (13 found in their record)

The heartbreaker

High-water mark

The one to beat

Their season

A tough matchup

The weak link

A strong matchup

The comeback

Pork nemesis

Looking over their shoulder

A June team

The long haul

The metronome

Team of the Year (rank per category by season — the year links to the full board on kcbs.us)

Overall rank by season

Teams like this (closest power rating)

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

By meat

By field size and state

By contest size

By state / province (where the contests were held)

Repeat visits (contests they've cooked twice or more)

More numbers

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

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

📈 Biggest rating jumps

📉 Toughest weekends

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

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

Career map (orange GC · green top-10 · grey the rest — tap a pin)