Meat Machine BBQ

Meat Machine BBQ is a competition barbecue team with 24 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2021 and 2023. Their best overall finish is 3rd of 34 at the Greeley Blues Jam (Day 2) (2022). They are ranked #1510 of 6,491 teams in the KCBS power rankings.

⚔ Compare with another team

At a glance (the record in numbers)

Power ranking

#1,510

of 6,491 rated · rankings

Rating

1563

peak 1565 · rated over 22 contests

Contests

in the data

First seen

May 7, 2021

latest Aug 25, 2023 · 2.3 years on the trail

Best ToY finish

#130

Master 2022 · every season

Grand champs

0 reserve

Category wins

11 podiums

Overall top-10s

33% of 24 contests

Best top-10 run

straight overall top-10s

Avg finish

top 49%

overall standings

Best overall

698.8000 / 720

Master · Frisco BBQ Challenge

Perfect 180s

1 🔥

Current form

677.83 ▲

last 5 Master vs avg 670.31 (+7.52)

Walk rate

83%

contests with a top-10 call

Best single call

180 🔥

Chicken · The Art of BBQ

Consistency

±16.65

spread of their Master overall scores (lower = steadier)

Strongest meat

Chicken

avg 170.63 · weakest Brisket (164.48)

Road miles

4,716

across 24 mapped stops · furthest 424 mi

Schedule strength

66%

of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1584)

Purse competed for

$202K

listed at 20 contests — purses, not winnings

State championships

0 🏅

won from 21 state-championship entries

Master avg

670.31 / 720

22 Master contests · 0 GCs

Storylines (12 found in their record)

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

Perfect scores on the board

1 perfect 180

1 perfect 180 in the data — every judge at the table handing back a nine, all in chicken.

Chicken ×1

They almost always walk

83% of contests with a top-10 call

A call in 20 of 24 contests

A top-10 category call in 83% of their 24 contests — they get to the stage more often than not.

High-water mark

698.8000 career-best overall

97.1% of a perfect 720

Their best day on record: 698.8000 at Frisco BBQ Challenge — 97.1% of a perfect 720.

Master
Jun 16, 2022

The one to beat

3× one call ahead of them

Heifers, Butts, & Clucks BBQ has finished one call ahead of Meat Machine BBQ 3 times — their closest competition in the data.

A tough matchup

14–3 behind in the head-to-head

Bushmaster BBQ ahead in 82% of their meetings

Bushmaster BBQ has come out ahead in 14 of their 17 shared contests.

The weak link

−6.1 points behind their best meat

Brisket is where the weekend gets away from them — it averages 6.14 points below their chicken, and turns into a call 23% of the time against 50%.

Brisket avg 164.48
Chicken avg 170.63
5 calls in 22 entries

A strong matchup

11–4 ahead in the head-to-head

Ahead in 73% of their meetings

They've finished ahead of BRACKEN RACKS BBQ in 11 of their 15 shared contests.

Show 5 more storylines

Chicken nemesis

9 of 11 shared chicken entries lost

Texas Smoke Whisperer ahead 82% of the time

Even in their strongest meat, Texas Smoke Whisperer has out-cooked them in 9 of 11 shared chicken entries.

Looking over their shoulder

3× one call behind them

3 LIL' MACS BBQ has landed one call behind them 3 times.

A June team

Top 33% average finish in June

Something about June: average finish in the top 33% across 7 contests, versus top 49% the rest of the year.

7 June contests
top 49% the rest of the year

The long haul

4,716 road miles between contests

Contest to contest, they've covered roughly 4,716 miles across 24 mapped stops — the longest single trip being 424 miles to Rod Trowbridge Memorial Cook Flyin BBQ Competition.

24 mapped stops
furthest 424 mi

The metronome

±2.31% swing around their own average

Their overall lands within ±2.31% of a perfect score of their own average — whatever the field, you know roughly what they'll turn in.

averages 93.1% of a perfect score
24 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	#337 (619 pts)	#317 (724 pts)	#297 (836 pts)	#449 (464 pts)	#374 (559 pts)
2022 ↗	Master	#130 (1,378 pts)	#50 (1,828 pts)	#59 (1,755 pts)	#194 (1,073 pts)	#232 (973 pts)
2021 ↗	Master	#322 (602 pts)	#364 (557 pts)	#232 (892 pts)	#300 (677 pts)	#290 (702 pts)

Overall rank by season

Teams like this (closest power rating)

The teams rated closest to Meat Machine BBQ, each with one reason worth a look.

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

HIGH DESERT HOLY SMOKE BBQ

#1,518 of the rated field

1563 power rating

Contests: 49
GCs: 1
Top-10s: 20%
Peak: 1579

1–2 in 3 shared contests (33% to Meat Machine BBQ)

These two have cooked 3 of the same contests — HIGH DESERT HOLY SMOKE BBQ ahead 2–1 — so there's a record behind this pairing and not just a matching number.

rated over 48 contests
last seen Oct 17, 2026

⚔ Head-to-head

HEAVENLY HAWGS GA

#1,515 of the rated field

1563 power rating

Contests: 23
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 26%
Peak: 1570

Their last contest in the data was back in 2017, 6 years before Meat Machine BBQ's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.

rated over 23 contests

⚔ Compare careers

DR. ALAN'S BBQ

#1,507 of the rated field

1563 power rating

Contests: 20
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 15%
Peak: 1582

Careers of much the same size, 20 contests to 24, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.

rated over 20 contests
last seen Oct 24, 2020

⚔ Compare careers

Col. Buck’s BBQ

#1,508 of the rated field

1563 power rating

Contests: 20
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 25%
Peak: 1563

This is the highest they've ever been rated, 19 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.

rated over 19 contests
last seen Aug 10, 2024

⚔ Compare careers

88 BBQ

#1,511 of the rated field

1563 power rating

Contests: 18
GCs: 1
Top-10s: 67%
Peak: 1563

Their rating is built on 1 Grand Championship in 18 contests, alongside a 67% overall top-10 rate.

rated over 18 contests
last seen Sep 18, 2026
on a 3-contest top-10 run

⚔ Compare careers

LIL WILL'S LONE STAR QUE

#1,517 of the rated field

1563 power rating

Contests: 27
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 15%
Peak: 1568

They were already cooking in 2014, 7 years before Meat Machine BBQ's first contest.

rated over 27 contests
last seen Apr 5, 2019

⚔ Compare careers

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

Opponent	Meetings	Ahead	Behind	Win rate
PROUD SOULS BARBECUE	17	4	13	24%	⚔ compare
Bushmaster BBQ	17	3	14	18%	⚔ compare
BRACKEN RACKS BBQ	15	11	4	73%	⚔ compare
Happy Burnt Endings	15	11	4	73%	⚔ compare
Brinkerhoff BBQ	14	6	8	43%	⚔ compare
GRILLIN' BEAVERS	13	7	6	54%	⚔ compare
Heifers, Butts, & Clucks BBQ	13	1	12	8%	⚔ compare
Hooligans Barbecue	12	10	2	83%	⚔ compare
CRUSH BBQ	11	9	2	82%	⚔ compare
Frank's BBQ Trading Post	11	7	4	64%	⚔ compare
SMOKIN' BOXERS BBQ	11	6	5	55%	⚔ compare
UNCLE J'S	11	6	5	55%	⚔ compare
AMERICAN HEROES BBQ	11	5	6	45%	⚔ compare
ROCKET BOYS PYRO BBQ	11	5	6	45%	⚔ compare
Texas Smoke Whisperer	11	2	9	18%	⚔ compare

By meat

Category	Entries	Calls	Wins	Podiums	Best	Worst	Average	Avg finish
Chicken	22	11	2	4	180 🔥	158.8000	170.63	top 39%
Pork Ribs	24	13	2	5	178.8572	156.5028	169.67	top 37%
Pork	22	4	0	1	175.4056	152.4800	165.81	top 57%
Brisket	22	5	0	1	175.4056	148.5256	164.48	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	GCs	Avg finish
Medium (20–39)	19	0	top 51%
Large (40+)	3	0	top 35%

By state / province (where the contests were held)

Where	Contests	Avg finish
CO	14	top 38%
SD	3	top 71%
WY	3	top 57%
KS	1	top 79%
NE	1	top 78%

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

Contest	Visits	Best	Avg finish	Last visit
Greeley Blues Jam (Day 2)	3	3	top 39%	Jun 4, 2022
Hill City Wine, Brew & BBQ Fest	2	16	top 65%	Aug 25, 2023
Wild West BBQ Cook-Off	2	17	top 60%	May 6, 2022

More numbers

Busiest season 2022 11 contests

Contests a season 8 across 3 seasons in the data

Most contests held in CO 16 of 24 contests · 5 states in all

Contests visited 18 3 of them more than once

Most-entered meat Pork Ribs 24 entries · 2 wins · 13 calls

Opponents faced 243 finished ahead 378 times, behind 339

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

20232 milestones

Jun 30 Peak power rating (1565) Art of Barbeque
Aug 25 Most recent contest Hill City Wine, Brew & BBQ Fest

20225 milestones

Jun 4 First overall podium Greeley Blues Jam (Day 2)
Jun 4 10th tracked contest Greeley Blues Jam (Day 2)
Jun 16 First category win (Chicken) Frisco BBQ Challenge
Jun 16 Career-best overall score698.8000 Frisco BBQ Challenge
Jul 1 First perfect 180 (Chicken) The Art of BBQ

20214 milestones

May 7 First tracked contest Wild West BBQ Cook-Off
Jun 4 First call Greeley Blues Jam
Jun 18 First overall past 90% of a perfect score655.9888 Central Plains Ribfest Day 1
Aug 13 First overall top-10 Milliken BBQ Beef N Bean Day

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

📈 Biggest rating jumps

Swing	Contest	Date
+16.2	Greeley Blues Jam (Day 2)	Jun 4, 2022
+15.4	Art of Barbeque	Jun 30, 2023
+15.4	Milliken BBQ Beef N Bean Day	Aug 13, 2021
+14.8	Frisco BBQ Challenge	Jun 16, 2022
+13.8	Colorado BBQ Challenge	Jun 16, 2023

📉 Toughest weekends

Swing	Contest	Date
-12	Meat Scream BBQ Competition-Day 1	Oct 21, 2022
-10.9	Rod Trowbridge Memorial Cook Flyin BBQ Competition	Apr 21, 2023
-7.8	Greeley Blues Jam	Jun 4, 2021
-6	Hill City Wine, Brew & BBQ Fest	Aug 26, 2022
-5.3	Hill City Wine Brew and BBQ Fest	Aug 27, 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)
2023	6	2	0	100%	top 46%	95.7%	94.1%
2022	11	5	4	82%	top 40%	97.1%	93.9%
2021	7	1	0	71%	top 64%	94.1%	91.2%

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

Date	Event	Overall	Chicken	Ribs	Pork	Brisket
Aug 25, 2023	Hill City Wine, Brew & BBQ Fest 🏅 Hill City, SD	16 / 26 (669.0280)	7 (173.1084)	16 (166.8340)	23 (159.9656)	13 (169.1200)
Jul 29, 2023	Colorado Rib Challenge (ONE MEAT RIBS) Castle Rock, CO	—	—	4 (170.2628)	—	—
Jun 30, 2023	Art of Barbeque 🏅 Sterling, CO	4 / 35 (689.0512)	7 (173.7144)	12 (172.5484)	14 (170.8112)	11 (171.9772)
Jun 16, 2023	Colorado BBQ Challenge 🏅 Frisco, CO	6 / 42 (689.0628)	5 (175.4516)	7 (173.1200)	6 (175.4056)	16 (165.0856)
May 27, 2023	Veterans of Foreign Wars Colorado KCBS Pitmaster BBQ Contest 🏅 Castle Rock, CO	23 / 37 (671.8744)	32 (161.6572)	7 (175.4288)	34 (161.6456)	8 (173.1428)
Apr 21, 2023	Rod Trowbridge Memorial Cook Flyin BBQ Competition 🏅 Derby, KS	22 / 28 (670.1372)	7 (175.4172)	16 (170.8228)	25 (162.2400)	24 (161.6572)
Oct 22, 2022	Meat Scream BBQ Competition-Day 2 🏅 Westminster, CO	16 / 31 (670.7656)	11 (171.9656)	18 (168)	24 (166.2400)	19 (164.5600)
Oct 21, 2022	Meat Scream BBQ Competition-Day 1 🏅 Westminster, CO	29 / 32 (647.7828)	7 (171.4056)	15 (167.9656)	32 (152.4800)	30 (155.9316)
Oct 7, 2022	Smoke & Soul Fest 🏅 Casper, WY	13 / 29 (669.5884)	3 (174.2628)	16 (164.5600)	12 (168.5372)	21 (162.2284)
Aug 26, 2022	Hill City Wine, Brew & BBQ Fest 🏅 Hill City, SD	19 / 28 (677.0284)	12 (170.8228)	1 (178.8572)	24 (165.7028)	24 (161.6456)
Aug 5, 2022	Beat the Heat BBQ & Brews 🏅 Alamosa, CO	10 / 35 (683.3944)	17 (167.4172)	3 (177.7372)	15 (170.2628)	16 (167.9772)
Jul 30, 2022	Colorado Rib Challenge at the Douglas County Fair & Rodeo - One Meat Rib Castle Rock, CO	—	—	1 (175.4172)	—	—
Jul 1, 2022	The Art of BBQ 🏅 Sterling, CO	4 / 28 (689.6228)	1 (180)	9 (168.5372)	11 (169.6800)	10 (171.4056)
Jun 16, 2022	Frisco BBQ Challenge 🏅 Frisco, CO	4 / 37 (698.8000)	1 (178.8572)	3 (176.0116)	6 (174.2628)	8 (169.6684)
Jun 4, 2022	Greeley Blues Jam (Day 2) 🏅 Greeley, CO	3 / 34 (688.4800)	8 (173.1200)	8 (172.5716)	8 (171.9772)	10 (170.8112)
Jun 3, 2022	Greeley Blues Jam (Day 1) 🏅 Greeley, CO	9 / 33 (673.0628)	2 (177.1428)	8 (170.8572)	15 (166.2400)	26 (158.8228)
May 6, 2022	Wild West BBQ Cook-Off 🏅 Lamar, CO	17 / 33 (664.3996)	13 (169.6684)	24 (162.2400)	15 (166.2284)	13 (166.2628)
Oct 2, 2021	Smoke & Soul Fest - Day 2 Casper, WY	18 / 26 (661.5884)	7 (173.1200)	23 (156.5028)	15 (166.8456)	17 (165.1200)
Oct 1, 2021	Smoke & Soul Fest - Day 1 🏅 Casper, WY	15 / 27 (672.9940)	21 (164.5256)	14 (167.3828)	18 (165.6800)	2 (175.4056)
Aug 27, 2021	Hill City Wine Brew and BBQ Fest 🏅 Hill City, SD	26 / 31 (658.1600)	26 (166.2628)	2 (175.4288)	25 (162.8456)	30 (153.6228)
Aug 13, 2021	Milliken BBQ Beef N Bean Day 🏅 Milliken, CO	6 / 42 (677.6568)	23 (166.2512)	9 (171.4056)	3 (174.2972)	16 (165.7028)
Jun 18, 2021	Central Plains Ribfest Day 1 🏅 Holdrege, NE	31 / 40 (655.9888)	29 (165.7144)	33 (159.4172)	22 (165.1200)	21 (165.7372)
Jun 4, 2021	Greeley Blues Jam 🏅 Greeley, CO	27 / 33 (633.5772)	27 (158.8000)	8 (167.4172)	29 (153.1200)	25 (154.2400)
May 7, 2021	Wild West BBQ Cook-Off 🏅 Lamar, CO	24 / 35 (634.7084)	20 (165.1316)	15 (162.8456)	24 (158.2056)	29 (148.5256)

Meat Machine BBQ

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

Storylines (12 found in their record)

Perfect scores on the board

They almost always walk

High-water mark

The one to beat

A tough matchup

The weak link

A strong matchup

Chicken 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)