HOUSTON \u2013 The smoke has cleared, the pits have cooled, and champions have been crowned at one of Houston\u2019s most anticipated annual traditions.<\/p>\n
More than 250 barbecue teams from across Texas and around the world fired up their pits last week for the 2026 World\u2019s Championship Bar-B-Que Contest<\/p>\n
After three days of cooking, competition, and crowds, All Jacked Up emerged as Grand Champion Overall, earning top honors in this 52nd annual showdown. Hardin County Go Texan claimed the coveted title of Reserve Champion Overall.<\/p>\n
Teams competed across a full slate of categories that showcased both classic Texas barbecue and creative flair, including Brisket, Ribs, Chicken, Go Texan, Dutch Oven Dessert, the Open Contest and the WCBBQ Games, where teams were tested on speed, agility, coordination and teamwork.<\/p>\n
All Jacked Up, Grand Champion Overall of the 2026 World’s Championship Bar-B-Que Contest. (Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo)Hardin County Go Texan, Reserve Champion Overall of the 2026 World’s Championship Bar-B-Que Contest and Grand Champion of the Go Texan category. (Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo)Spotlight on the winners<\/p>\n
Barbecue purists watched closely as judges named this year\u2019s brisket, ribs and chicken champions:<\/p>\n
Brisket<\/p>\n
Champion \u2013 Victoria County Go Texan<\/p>\n
Second Place \u2013 Holy Cow Cookers<\/p>\n
Third Place \u2013 Bunch of Swines<\/p>\n
Ribs<\/p>\n
Champion \u2013 America Royal Winner \u2013 Wag\u2019s Backwoods BBQ<\/p>\n
Second Place \u2013 Colorado County Go Texan<\/p>\n
Third Place \u2013 The Stockyard Saloon<\/p>\n
Chicken<\/p>\n
Champion \u2013 Jack Daniels Winner \u2013 Kings BBQ<\/p>\n
Second Place \u2013 Be Somebody Cooking Team<\/p>\n
Third Place \u2013 Roughriders BBQ<\/p>\n
The Go Texan competition, which highlights teams representing counties and regions from across the state, saw Hardin County Go Texan add to its overall success as Grand Champion, with Matagorda County Go Texan named Reserve Champion.<\/p>\n
On the sweeter side of the smoker, the Dutch Oven Dessert category rewarded creativity and campfire craft:<\/p>\n
Champion \u2013 Cattle Cookers<\/p>\n
Second Place \u2013 Dusty Que<\/p>\n
Third Place \u2013 Maddog BBQ<\/p>\n
In the Open Contest, where teams can showcase a wide range of recipes beyond traditional categories, the winners were:<\/p>\n
Champion \u2013 Calhoun County Go Texan<\/p>\n
Second Place \u2013 L.P.O.A. Road Kill Caf\u00e9<\/p>\n
Third Place \u2013 Dusty Bones Cookers<\/p>\n
Young pitmasters take the stage<\/p>\n
The 2026 contest once again hosted the popular Jr. Cook-off, giving aspiring pitmasters ages 8 to 14 their own moment in the spotlight. Each young competitor was provided a steak to prepare and was judged on appearance, tenderness and taste.<\/p>\n
This year\u2019s Jr. Cook-off winners were:<\/p>\n
Champion \u2013 David Causey, Pressure Cookers<\/p>\n
Second Place \u2013 Raelyn Eleesa Barker, Pitmaker BBQ Addiction<\/p>\n
Third Place \u2013 Peyton Lewis, Texas Social Club<\/p>\n
Recognizing community impact and showmanship<\/p>\n
In 2026, organizers introduced a new honor, the Impact Award, recognizing teams that make a positive difference in their communities. The inaugural Impact Award Champion was 300 Justice Road, highlighting the contest\u2019s growing emphasis on service as well as skill.<\/p>\n
The event also celebrated the creative flair that makes the World\u2019s Championship Bar-B-Que Contest a fan favorite. Specialty awards went to:<\/p>\n
Best Fa\u00e7ade \u2013 Holy Cow Cookers<\/p>\n
Best Overall Theme \u2013 Limestone County Cookers<\/p>\n
Best Skit \u2013 BOHICA BBQ Cooking Team<\/p>\n
And in the high-energy WCBBQ Games, where teams put their speed, coordination and teamwork to the test, the top finishers were:<\/p>\n
Winner \u2013 Half Fast Cookers<\/p>\n
Second Place \u2013 Brisket Cases<\/p>\n
As the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo continues its decades-long tradition, the 52nd Annual World\u2019s Championship Bar-B-Que Contest again proved why it\u2019s a cornerstone of Rodeo season \u2014 blending fierce culinary competition, community spirit and true Texas culture over three unforgettable days in Houston.<\/p>\n
Houston Rodeo<\/p>\n
More Stories Like This In Our Email Newsletter<\/p>\n
Copyright 2026 by KPRC Click2Houston – All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"HOUSTON \u2013 The smoke has cleared, the pits have cooled, and champions have been crowned at one of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":185582,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[1960,6003,72730,56,58,28002,57,19168,74079],"class_list":{"0":"post-185581","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-houston","8":"tag-bbq","9":"tag-contests","10":"tag-hlsr","11":"tag-houston","12":"tag-houston-headlines","13":"tag-houston-livestock-show-and-rodeo","14":"tag-houston-news","15":"tag-rodeohouston","16":"tag-worlds-championship-bar-b-que-contest"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/185581","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=185581"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/185581\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/185582"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=185581"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=185581"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=185581"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}