HICKORY AND SPICE BBQ CA
Rating
1622
peak 1635
Contests
16
in the data
First seen
2018-12-28
latest 2021-09-16
Best ToY finish
#46
Master 2017
Grand champs
2
2 reserve
Category wins
8
19 podiums
Overall top-10s
13
of 16 contests
Avg finish
top 21%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
2 🔥
Current form
685.62 ▼
last 5 vs career avg 687.93 (-2.30)
Walk rate
81%
contests with a top-10 call
Top-10 streak
13
best run (overall)
Consistency
±11.49
std dev of overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Pork
avg 172.94 · weakest Brisket (170.26)
Road miles
7184
mi across 16 mapped stops · furthest 1303 mi
Storylines
🎯 The one to beat
SMOKIN HOT BUTTS BBQ has finished one call ahead of HICKORY AND SPICE BBQ 2 times — their closest competition in the data.
👀 Looking over their shoulder
BIG POPPA SMOKERS has landed one call behind them 2 times.
⚔️ A tough matchup
SLAUGHTERHOUSE FIVE has come out ahead in 4 of their 4 shared contests.
⚔️ A strong matchup
They've finished ahead of SMOKERS PURGATORY in 5 of their 5 shared contests.
🏕️ Happy hunting ground
Montana BBQ Cook-off is their spot: an average finish in the top 11% across 2 visits.
💔 The heartbreaker
Came within 0.0684 points of the Grand Championship at The Tyson Guinea Pig, Matt Dalton Memorial (2020-02-21).
🗡️ Giant slayer
Took the Grand Championship over a 45-team field at 7th Annual Show Low BBQ Throw down.
📅 A June team
Something about June: average finish in the top 12% across 4 contests, versus top 21% the rest of the year.
🃏 Against the odds
Their Grand Championship at The Golden State Battle III - Day 1 (2021-04-16) came as the ratings underdog — roughly a 33-in-100 shot against the field's top-rated team, BIG POPPA SMOKERS.
Teams like this (closest power rating, CA first)
By meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 16 | 10 | 2 | 3 | 180.0000 🔥 | 163.9544 | 171.98 | top 32% |
| Pork Ribs | 16 | 10 | 3 | 6 | 179.4400 | 160.0000 | 172.74 | top 25% |
| Pork | 16 | 9 | 2 | 6 | 180.0000 🔥 | 165.0856 | 172.94 | top 29% |
| Brisket | 16 | 8 | 1 | 4 | 177.7028 | 156.5028 | 170.26 | top 29% |
“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 state / province
| Where | Contests | GCs | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| MT | 5 | 0 | top 14% |
| CA | 5 | 1 | top 12% |
| KS | 2 | 0 | top 52% |
| AZ | 2 | 1 | top 32% |
| UT | 1 | 0 | top 19% |
| CO | 1 | 0 | top 18% |
By contest size
| Field | Contests | GCs | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| Medium (20–39) | 8 | 0 | top 16% |
| Large (40+) | 8 | 2 | top 26% |
The story so far
- Busiest season: 2021 (7 contests)
- Cooks mostly in MT (5 of 16 contests)
- Most-entered category: Chicken (16 entries)
- First Grand Championship in the data: 7th Annual Show Low BBQ Throw down (2019-05-03)
- Wins it all in 13% of contests
- All-time average overall score: 687.93
- 2 perfect 180s on the books 🔥
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
Category scores over time
Overall finish over time (top-% of field, lower is better)
Where they finish (overall)
Best vs average (by meat)
Team of the Year rank by season
Season by season
| Season | Contests | GCs | Category wins | Best overall | Avg overall |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 703.3828 | 688.91 |
| 2020 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 694.2288 | 689.65 |
| 2019 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 698.8460 | 689.46 |
| 2018 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 668.4568 | 668.46 |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021-09-16 | American Royal World Series of Barbecue-INVITATIONAL CONTEST Kansas City, KS | 92 / 185 (681.0168) | 142 (167.3828) | 54 (174.2628) | 100 (169.6912) | 92 (169.6800) |
| 2021-09-16 | American Royal World Series of Barbecue-OPEN CONTEST Kansas City, KS | 255 / 467 (659.2456) | 229 (166.2516) | 157 (169.1084) | 176 (167.3828) | 349 (156.5028) |
| 2021-08-27 | Montana Pitmaster Classic Bozeman, MT | 7 / 31 (687.9884) | 5 (176.5600) | 12 (169.1428) | 3 (176.5600) | 12 (165.7256) |
| 2021-06-25 | Miles City Cowtown Cook Off Miles City, MT | 4 / 25 (696.4912) | 8 (176.0000) | 4 (175.4172) | 15 (169.6684) | 3 (175.4056) |
| 2021-06-11 | Montana BBQ Cook-off Absarokee, MT | 3 / 27 (703.3828) | 12 (169.6800) | 4 (177.7028) | 4 (178.2972) | 3 (177.7028) |
| 2021-05-21 | BBQ, Boots & Brew Perris, CA | 2 / 25 (697.0512) | 1 (177.7028) | 8 (168.5256) | 3 (176.5600) | 6 (174.2628) |
| 2021-04-16 | The Golden State Battle III - Day 1 Hollister, CA | 1 / 41 (697.1656) | 5 (172.0000) | 1 (179.4400) | 4 (176.0228) | 17 (169.7028) |
| 2020-08-14 | Western Legends Heritage and Music Festival Kanab, UT | 8 / 42 (685.0744) | 28 (167.4056) | 24 (165.6916) | 6 (175.4172) | 1 (176.5600) |
| 2020-02-21 | The Tyson Guinea Pig, Matt Dalton Memorial Coachella, CA | 2 / 50 (694.2288) | 7 (173.1200) | 3 (175.4172) | 16 (169.1200) | 2 (176.5716) |
| 2019-09-06 | Colorado Pork & Hops Challenge Grand Jct, CO | 5 / 28 (680.4684) | 5 (170.8344) | 1 (178.2972) | 14 (166.2284) | 11 (165.1084) |
| 2019-08-02 | 10th Annual Vista BBQ Classic Vista, CA | 10 / 34 (681.6116) | 27 (163.9544) | 3 (175.4172) | 3 (176.5600) | 20 (165.6800) |
| 2019-06-22 | Montana BBQ Cook-Off Absarokee, MT | 3 / 29 (695.3600) | 8 (170.8228) | 1 (177.7144) | 1 (178.8572) | 10 (167.9656) |
| 2019-06-14 | Miles City Cowtown Cook Off Miles City, MT | 3 / 28 (695.3600) | 6 (170.8228) | 2 (177.7144) | 3 (176.0000) | 4 (170.8228) |
| 2019-05-03 | 7th Annual Show Low BBQ Throw down Show Low, AZ | 1 / 45 (698.8460) | 2 (177.1544) | 8 (170.8688) | 1 (180.0000) | 7 (170.8228) |
| 2019-02-15 | The Smithfield Guinea Pig (TEAMS AND JUDGES FULL) Indian Wells, CA | 7 / 49 (685.0856) | 1 (180.0000) | 20 (169.1200) | 34 (165.0856) | 12 (170.8800) |
| 2018-12-28 | Arizona National BBQ Stampede Phoenix, AZ | 29 / 47 (668.4568) | 20 (171.9772) | 38 (160.0000) | 32 (165.6684) | 11 (170.8112) |
Team of the Year standings (rank per category by season — year links to the full board on kcbs.us)
| Year | Series | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 ↗ | Master | #137 (1243 pts) | #182 (1023 pts) | #183 (1073 pts) | #165 (1088 pts) | #205 (958 pts) |
| 2020 ↗ | Master | #271 (415 pts) | #499 (225 pts) | #401 (300 pts) | #406 (280 pts) | #214 (545 pts) |
| 2019 ↗ | Master | #215 (1279 pts) | #230 (1184 pts) | #182 (1344 pts) | #209 (1254 pts) | #341 (959 pts) |
| 2018 ↗ | Master | #109 (1847 pts) | #141 (1587 pts) | #126 (1607 pts) | #174 (1432 pts) | #120 (1692 pts) |
| 2017 ↗ | Master | #46 (2307 pts) | #8 (2569 pts) | #118 (1733 pts) | #30 (2298 pts) | #33 (2292 pts) |
| 2016 ↗ | Master | #46 (2364 pts) | #67 (2003 pts) | #89 (1855 pts) | #67 (1973 pts) | #69 (2060 pts) |
| 2015 ↗ | Master | #497 (764 pts) | #589 (659 pts) | #589 (659 pts) | #591 (659 pts) | #488 (769 pts) |