MEADOW VALLEY BBQ CO.

MEADOW VALLEY BBQ CO. is a competition barbecue team with 30 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2013 and 2018. They have won 1 Grand Championship, at the State Center Rose Festival BBQ Championship (2013), and finished Reserve Grand Champion twice. They are ranked #1322 of 6,485 teams in the KCBS power rankings.

⚔ Compare with another team

At a glance (the record in numbers)

Power ranking

#1,322

of 6,485 rated · rankings

Rating

1578

peak 1632 · rated over 29 contests1 invitational or side-series contest not counted

Contests

in the data

First seen

Apr 19, 2013

latest Jul 20, 2018 · 5.3 years on the trail

Best ToY finish

#90

Master 2013 · every season

Grand champs

2 reserve · wins it all 3% of the time

Category wins

17 podiums

Overall top-10s

43% of 30 contests

Best top-10 run

straight overall top-10s

Avg finish

top 38%

overall standings

Best overall

691.4284 / 720

Master · State Center Rose Festival BBQ Championship

Perfect 180s

2 🔥

Current form

653.36 ▼

last 5 Master vs avg 668.07 (-14.72)

Walk rate

77%

contests with a top-10 call

Best single call

180 🔥

Chicken · Sam's Club National BBQ Tour

Consistency

±14.24

spread of their Master overall scores (lower = steadier)

Strongest meat

Chicken

avg 168.67 · weakest Brisket (165.39)

Road miles

3,407

across 30 mapped stops · furthest 371 mi

Schedule strength

45%

of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1559)

Master avg

668.07 / 720

30 Master contests · 1 GC

Storylines (18 found in their record)

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

The heartbreaker

3.9998 points from the title

Came within 3.9998 points of the Grand Championship at Smoke Over Veishea (Apr 19, 2013).

Perfect scores on the board

2 perfect 180s

2 perfect 180s in the data — every judge at the table handing back a nine, across 2 different meats.

Chicken ×1
Pork ×1

Against the odds

35-in-100 shot on pre-contest ratings

The ratings favoured the top seed the other 65 times in 100

Their Grand Championship at State Center Rose Festival BBQ Championship (Jun 14, 2013) came as the ratings underdog — roughly a 35-in-100 shot against the field's top-rated team, TRUEBUD BBQ.

Happy hunting ground

1× Grand Championship here

State Center Rose Festival BBQ Championship is their spot: 1 Grand Championship in 2 visits.

2 visits
best finish 1st
average top 20%

They almost always walk

77% of contests with a top-10 call

A call in 23 of 30 contests

A top-10 category call in 77% of their 30 contests — they get to the stage more often than not.

High-water mark

691.4284 career-best overall

96.0% of a perfect 720

Their best day on record: 691.4284 at State Center Rose Festival BBQ Championship — 96.0% of a perfect 720.

Master
Jun 14, 2013

The one to beat

2× one call ahead of them

WOODWARD BARBEQUE has finished one call ahead of MEADOW VALLEY BBQ CO. 2 times — their closest competition in the data.

Show 11 more storylines

Their season

2013 1 Grand Championship

2013 was the year it came together: 10 contests, 1 Grand Championship and 3 category wins, at an average finish in the top 17%.

10 contests
9 overall top-10s
3 category wins
average top 17%

A tough matchup

17–3 behind in the head-to-head

BIG T'Z Q CRU ahead in 85% of their meetings

BIG T'Z Q CRU has come out ahead in 17 of their 20 shared contests.

The drought

25 contests since the last title

Their last Grand Championship came at State Center Rose Festival BBQ Championship on Jun 14, 2013 — 25 contests and 13.3 years ago.

last GC Jun 14, 2013
13.3 years ago

A strong matchup

13–5 ahead in the head-to-head

Ahead in 72% of their meetings

They've finished ahead of BLACK DOG BBQ IA in 13 of their 18 shared contests.

Chicken nemesis

14 of 20 shared chicken entries lost

LUCKY'S Q ahead 70% of the time

Even in their strongest meat, LUCKY'S Q has out-cooked them in 14 of 20 shared chicken entries.

Announced themselves early

2nd at their very first contest

Finished 2 of 36 at their very first tracked contest, Smoke Over Veishea (Apr 19, 2013).

Apr 19, 2013
36-team field

Looking over their shoulder

3× one call behind them

MARK'S SMOKIN QUE has landed one call behind them 3 times.

A May team

Top 12% average finish in May

Something about May: average finish in the top 12% across 3 contests, versus top 38% the rest of the year.

3 May contests
top 38% the rest of the year

The long haul

3,407 road miles between contests

Contest to contest, they've covered roughly 3,407 miles across 30 mapped stops — the longest single trip being 371 miles to Murphysboro Barbecue Cook-off.

30 mapped stops
furthest 371 mi

The metronome

±1.98% swing around their own average

Their overall lands within ±1.98% of a perfect score of their own average — whatever the field, you know roughly what they'll turn in.

averages 92.8% of a perfect score
30 contests

A standing appointment

6 years running at one contest

They've cooked BBQ 'Loo & Blues TOO! every year from 2013 to 2018 — the contest they never miss.

6 visits in all
best finish 6th

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
2018 ↗	Master	#1954 (60 pts)	#2012 (60 pts)	#1771 (110 pts)	#2030 (60 pts)	#1990 (60 pts)
2017 ↗	Master	#1083 (293 pts)	#809 (488 pts)	#1160 (288 pts)	#982 (378 pts)	#1317 (228 pts)
2016 ↗	Master	#1170 (255 pts)	#1099 (310 pts)	#1399 (215 pts)	#1084 (325 pts)	#1187 (270 pts)
2015 ↗	Master	#825 (410 pts)	#1082 (295 pts)	#828 (435 pts)	#635 (605 pts)	#769 (475 pts)
2014 ↗	Master	#423 (905 pts)	#441 (850 pts)	#357 (1,020 pts)	#248 (1,265 pts)	#386 (975 pts)
2013 ↗	Master	#90 (2,025 pts)	#58 (2,045 pts)	#126 (1,625 pts)	#98 (1,715 pts)	#137 (1,625 pts)

Overall rank by season

Teams like this (closest power rating)

The teams rated closest to MEADOW VALLEY BBQ CO., each with one reason worth a look.

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

BOARS NIGHT OUT

#1,318 of the rated field

1578 power rating

Contests: 41
GCs: 1
Top-10s: 27%
Peak: 1621

2–0 in 2 shared contests (100% to MEADOW VALLEY BBQ CO.)

2 contests in common so far: too few to settle anything, but a team MEADOW VALLEY BBQ CO. has actually stood beside rather than a stranger on the same rating.

rated over 40 contests
last seen Sep 30, 2026

⚔ Head-to-head

BAMBQ

#1,334 of the rated field

1577 power rating

Contests: 41
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 15%
Peak: 1588

2–2 in 4 shared contests (50% to MEADOW VALLEY BBQ CO.)

Careers of much the same size, 41 contests to 30, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.

rated over 41 contests
last seen Jul 28, 2023

⚔ Head-to-head

WHITE MOOSE BBQ

#1,317 of the rated field

1578 power rating

Contests: 31
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 19%
Peak: 1582

31 contests and no Grand Championship yet — a rating made of 19% top-10 finishes rather than wins.

rated over 29 contests
last seen Mar 20, 2021

⚔ Compare careers

Smokin Reefer BBQ

#1,331 of the rated field

1577 power rating

Contests: 28
GCs: 1
Top-10s: 21%
Peak: 1591

Level with MEADOW VALLEY BBQ CO. on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.

rated over 28 contests
last seen Sep 30, 2026

⚔ Compare careers

SOUTHERN SMOKERS

#1,324 of the rated field

1578 power rating

Contests: 28
GCs: 2
Top-10s: 43%
Peak: 1636

They've been 1636 at their best, 58 points above where they sit today — they're arriving at this rating from above.

rated over 28 contests
last seen Jun 21, 2019

⚔ Compare careers

New Pigs on the Block

#1,333 of the rated field

1577 power rating

Contests: 26
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 38%
Peak: 1577

They turned up 10 years after MEADOW VALLEY BBQ CO. did, first appearing in 2023.

rated over 25 contests
last seen Sep 25, 2026

⚔ Compare careers

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

Opponent	Meetings	Ahead	Behind	Win rate
WOODWARD BARBEQUE	20	9	11	45%	⚔ compare
LUCKY'S Q	20	4	16	20%	⚔ compare
BIG T'Z Q CRU	20	3	17	15%	⚔ compare
BLACK DOG BBQ IA	18	13	5	72%	⚔ compare
IOWA'S SMOKEY D'S BBQ	17	5	12	29%	⚔ compare
Pig Skin BBQ	17	5	12	29%	⚔ compare
SMOKEHOUSE 72	15	11	4	73%	⚔ compare
DIG-IN COOKERS	15	7	8	47%	⚔ compare
IOWA WILD HOGS BBQ	15	5	10	33%	⚔ compare
BIG CHAIN BBQ GANG	13	3	10	23%	⚔ compare
GOTHIC TOWN GRILLERS	12	6	6	50%	⚔ compare
TREEFROG BBQ	12	6	6	50%	⚔ compare
TRUE SMOKE BBQ	12	5	7	42%	⚔ compare
DRY 2 DA BONE	12	2	10	17%	⚔ compare
MARK'S SMOKIN QUE	11	10	1	91%	⚔ compare

By meat

Category	Entries	Calls	Wins	Podiums	Best	Worst	Average	Avg finish
Chicken	30	14	1	6	180 🔥	150.1828	168.67	top 40%
Pork Ribs	30	13	0	2	177.7144	148.5256	165.93	top 41%
Pork	30	14	4	5	180 🔥	152.5712	168.08	top 37%
Brisket	30	12	0	4	177.1428	151.9428	165.39	top 43%

“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
Small (<20 teams)	2	0	top 47%
Medium (20–39)	17	1	top 36%
Large (40+)	11	0	top 40%

By state / province (where the contests were held)

Where	Contests	GCs	Avg finish
IA	24	1	top 40%
MO	2	0	top 20%
MN	2	0	top 15%
WI	1	0	top 90%
IL	1	0	top 13%

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

Contest	Visits	Best	GCs	Avg finish	Last visit
BBQ 'Loo & Blues TOO!	6	6	0	top 43%	Jul 20, 2018
Up in Smoke BBQ Bash	4	17	0	top 62%	Jul 21, 2017
State Center Rose Festival BBQ Championship	2	1	1	top 20%	Jun 20, 2014
Sam's Club National BBQ Tour	2	6	0	top 37%	Jul 29, 2016
Central Iowa Expo BBQ, Cruise & Brew	2	17	0	top 45%	Apr 26, 2014

More numbers

Busiest season 2013 10 contests · 1 GC

Contests a season 5 across 6 seasons in the data

Most contests held in IA 24 of 30 contests · 5 states in all

Contests visited 19 5 of them more than once

First title Jun 14, 2013 State Center Rose Festival BBQ Championship

Opponents faced 933 finished ahead 1,174 times, behind 550

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

20181 milestone

Jul 20 Most recent contest BBQ 'Loo & Blues TOO!

20161 milestone

Jul 29 25th tracked contest Sam's Club National BBQ Tour

20151 milestone

Jul 31 Peak power rating (1632) Sam's Club National BBQ Tour

20141 milestone

Oct 2 First perfect 180 (Pork) 35th Annual American Royal World Series of Barbecue Invitational

201310 milestones

Apr 19 First tracked contest Smoke Over Veishea
Apr 19 First call Smoke Over Veishea
Apr 19 First overall top-10 Smoke Over Veishea
Apr 19 First overall podium Smoke Over Veishea
Apr 19 First Reserve Championship Smoke Over Veishea
Apr 19 First overall past 90% of a perfect score678.8572 Smoke Over Veishea
Jun 14 First category win (Pork) State Center Rose Festival BBQ Championship
Jun 14 First Grand Championship State Center Rose Festival BBQ Championship
Jun 14 Career-best overall score691.4284 State Center Rose Festival BBQ Championship
Sep 19 10th tracked contest Murphysboro Barbecue Cook-off

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

📈 Biggest rating jumps

Swing	Contest	Date
+15.3	Smoke Over Veishea	Apr 19, 2013
+14.9	State Center Rose Festival BBQ Championship	Jun 14, 2013
+14.6	Smokin' In The Junction	May 25, 2013
+14.3	Minnesota in May	May 17, 2013
+11.6	Iowa State BBQ Championship	Jun 21, 2013

📉 Toughest weekends

Swing	Contest	Date
-13.5	Up in Smoke BBQ Bash	Jul 21, 2017
-12.3	Up in Smoke BBQ Bash	Jul 22, 2016
-11.5	Sam's Club National BBQ Tour (Regional)	Aug 7, 2015
-8.4	Sam's Club National BBQ Tour	Jul 28, 2017
-7.8	Rose Festival KCBS BBQ Competition	Jun 16, 2017

Scores over time (% of a perfect score, averaged over 5 contests — 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)
2018	1	0	0	0	0%	top 69%	89.7%	89.7%
2017	4	0	1	0	75%	top 64%	93.6%	91%
2016	3	0	0	0	67%	top 65%	92.1%	91.3%
2015	4	0	1	1	50%	top 48%	93.6%	92.2%
2014	8	0	2	1	75%	top 33%	95.6%	93.3%
2013	10	1	9	3	100%	top 17%	96%	94%

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

Date	Event	Overall	Chicken	Ribs	Pork	Brisket
Jul 20, 2018	BBQ 'Loo & Blues TOO! Waterloo, IA	29 / 42 (646.1484)	36 (158.8112)	15 (168)	25 (163.3944)	34 (155.9428)
Jul 28, 2017	Sam's Club National BBQ Tour Ankeny, IA	24 / 30 (655.8512)	2 (180)	27 (157.6800)	19 (165.0856)	29 (153.0856)
Jul 21, 2017	Up in Smoke BBQ Bash Mason City, IA	43 / 49 (636.9372)	48 (150.1828)	30 (163.3944)	13 (171.4172)	43 (151.9428)
Jul 14, 2017	BBQ 'Loo & Blues TOO! Waterloo, IA	6 / 33 (674.2292)	6 (173.1200)	6 (169.7032)	6 (170.2972)	14 (161.1088)
Jun 16, 2017	Rose Festival KCBS BBQ Competition State Center, IA	12 / 17 (653.6112)	9 (166.2628)	6 (166.8800)	14 (161.0856)	12 (159.3828)
Jul 29, 2016	Sam's Club National BBQ Tour Des Moines, IA	15 / 28 (662.7884)	9 (170.8456)	24 (157.6572)	13 (168)	10 (166.2856)
Jul 22, 2016	Up in Smoke BBQ Bash Mason City, IA	40 / 47 (648.4456)	36 (163.9656)	29 (165.1316)	46 (155.3828)	29 (163.9656)
Jul 15, 2016	BBQ'Loo & Blues Too Waterloo, IA	18 / 32 (661.0400)	14 (168.5600)	17 (162.8228)	8 (169.1544)	20 (160.5028)
Aug 7, 2015	Sam's Club National BBQ Tour (Regional) Madison, WI	27 / 30 (654.7884)	28 (163.9884)	21 (165.6800)	16 (166.8228)	27 (158.2972)
Jul 31, 2015	Sam's Club National BBQ Tour Des Moines, IA	6 / 30 (674.1712)	17 (164.5372)	10 (165.0856)	7 (170.2856)	3 (174.2628)
Jul 24, 2015	Up in Smoke BBQ Bash Mason City, IA	17 / 54 (670.8228)	33 (164.5600)	15 (169.1428)	1 (176.5828)	36 (160.5372)
Jul 17, 2015	BBQ'Loo & Blues Too! Waterloo, IA	20 / 39 (656.4916)	20 (166.2972)	13 (165.6800)	28 (156.5372)	11 (167.9772)
Oct 17, 2014	Back to Back to the Park BBQ Marshalltown, IA	6 / 34 (679.9428)	7 (172.5600)	18 (161.6800)	4 (173.7028)	5 (172)
Oct 2, 2014	35th Annual American Royal World Series of Barbecue Invitational unrated Kansas City, MO	18 / 165 (688.5260)	15 (175.4288)	98 (166.2628)	1 (180)	87 (166.8344)
Oct 2, 2014	35th Annual American Royal World Series of Barbecue Open Kansas City, MO	163 / 552 (666.7656)	294 (164.5372)	303 (162.8456)	96 (171.4172)	145 (167.9656)
Jul 25, 2014	Up in Smoke BBQ Bash Mason City, IA	22 / 52 (669.0628)	43 (158.2172)	4 (172.5828)	38 (162.8228)	4 (175.4400)
Jul 18, 2014	BBQ'Loo & Blues Too! Waterloo, IA	13 / 37 (666.1944)	22 (161.1084)	2 (177.7144)	7 (169.7144)	18 (157.6572)
Jun 20, 2014	State Center Rose Festival BBQ Championship State Center, IA	9 / 25 (666.2744)	9 (170.2628)	13 (158.8572)	6 (168.5944)	9 (168.5600)
Apr 26, 2014	Central Iowa Expo BBQ, Cruise & Brew Boone, IA	20 / 39 (670.8460)	12 (173.7144)	28 (162.8344)	16 (166.8228)	21 (167.4744)
Apr 25, 2014	Central Iowa Expo BBQ, Cruise & Brew Boone, IA	17 / 45 (667.9772)	26 (165.7028)	16 (165.6916)	8 (170.8800)	19 (165.7028)
Sep 19, 2013	Murphysboro Barbecue Cook-off Murphysboro, IL	10 / 76 (678.2628)	11 (172.5600)	26 (165.7028)	1 (177.7144)	44 (162.2856)
Aug 23, 2013	Nevada Kiwanis BBQ Contest Nevada, IA	4 / 17 (680.5600)	2 (176.5944)	10 (160.5484)	4 (173.1544)	3 (170.2628)
Aug 16, 2013	Lynch Livestock Pig Stampede Waucoma, IA	10 / 21 (642.1936)	9 (163.4056)	16 (148.5256)	6 (163.3940)	6 (166.8684)
Jul 19, 2013	BBQ'Loo & Blues Too! Waterloo, IA	9 / 35 (667.3716)	2 (173.7144)	4 (170.2744)	12 (166.8456)	18 (156.5372)
Jun 21, 2013	Iowa State BBQ Championship Marshalltown, IA	3 / 28 (690.8570)	1 (178.2858)	6 (171.4286)	11 (168)	5 (173.1426)
Jun 14, 2013	State Center Rose Festival BBQ Championship State Center, IA	1 / 28 (691.4284)	7 (169.7142)	2 (173.1428)	1 (174.2858)	2 (174.2856)
May 31, 2013	Smokin' in Steele Owatonna, MN	12 / 51 (667.4280)	18 (168.5712)	8 (169.1428)	46 (152.5712)	3 (177.1428)
May 25, 2013	Smokin' In The Junction West Des Moines, IA	2 / 36 (686.8574)	3 (175.4288)	6 (173.1430)	12 (169.7142)	10 (168.5714)
May 17, 2013	Minnesota in May Faribault, MN	3 / 49 (687.4284)	2 (176.5714)	6 (173.1428)	31 (164)	9 (173.7142)
Apr 19, 2013	Smoke Over Veishea Ames, IA	2 / 36 (678.8572)	4 (172.5716)	6 (167.4286)	2 (174.8572)	17 (163.9998)

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

MEADOW VALLEY BBQ CO.

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

Master avg

Storylines (18 found in their record)

The heartbreaker

Perfect scores on the board

Against the odds

Happy hunting ground

They almost always walk

High-water mark

The one to beat

Their season

A tough matchup

The drought

A strong matchup

Chicken nemesis

Announced themselves early

Looking over their shoulder

A May team

The long haul

The metronome

A standing appointment

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, averaged over 5 contests — 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)