A 701.6456 score, a 100th KCBS contest, and a third consecutive Reserve Grand Championship made the Vermont weekend one to remember.
A Milestone Cook in Vermont
El Jefe Smoke marked its 100th Kansas City Barbeque Society competition with the kind of result that reflects how much work went into the first 99. At the 11th Green Mountain BBQ Championship, held September 20 at Abel Mountain Campground in Braintree, Vermont, teammates Jeff and Dan posted a 701.6456 overall score and earned Reserve Grand Champion.
The finish extended an unusual run of consistency: El Jefe Smoke has now placed second overall at Green Mountain for three consecutive years. This time, Meat Monarchy secured its first Grand Championship with perfect 180 scores in chicken and brisket.
El Jefe Smoke’s Sunday results showed the balance required to cross the 700-point threshold: fourth place in chicken, 11th in ribs, third in pork and fifth in brisket. The team also opened the weekend with third-place finishes in both chicken and ribs during Saturday’s one-meat contests.
The milestone surprised Jeff; Dan had been keeping track, but he had not. Jeff keeps returning for the mix of serious competition and friendship. Reaching 100 contests, he joked, also means there is probably about $150,000 missing from the team’s retirement accounts.
Dan focused on the people and places that shaped the journey. The team has traveled widely, built friendships across barbecue, and gathered memories no score sheet can capture. He is already looking forward to the next 100 contests.
What It Takes to Break 700
A score above 700 is one of competition barbecue’s clearest measures of a complete cook. A team must deliver high-level chicken, ribs, pork and brisket within four narrow turn-in windows while maintaining appearance, tenderness and flavor across every box.
Jeff explained the math plainly. To reach 700, a team needs to average about 175 points out of a possible 180 in every category. A lower score in one meat must be recovered with an even stronger score elsewhere. In practical terms, most judges must see each entry as close to perfect, leaving very little room for a tough bite, an uneven slice, or a flavor that misses the mark.
That consistency begins before contest weekend. El Jefe Smoke relies on practice, a strong program and a repeatable timeline, even when weather shifts and four meats move toward separate deadlines.
Dan described the challenge as finding the perfect bite in four categories on the same day. It takes patience, discipline, and repetition. At Green Mountain, El Jefe Smoke put all four pieces together.
Why Green Mountain Works for El Jefe Smoke
Timing may help explain why the Vermont contest has become such a reliable stop for the team. Green Mountain arrives late in the Northeast competition season, after months of cooks have had chances to study scores and make careful adjustments.
Jeff said El Jefe Smoke makes small refinements throughout the year without abandoning its established program. By Vermont, most adjustments are complete, and the cooks can concentrate on execution.
Dan put it more simply: by this point in the season, the team is almost on autopilot. The beautiful setting and a well-run event also make Abel Mountain Campground a place where the team feels comfortable. Familiarity does not make the competition easier, but it can make the process calmer and more repeatable.
Both cooks were pleased with the food. Jeff felt every turn-in hit its target. Dan considered chicken and ribs the strongest entries, even though ribs finished just outside the top 10—a reminder that a box cook’s love may still miss the stage by one position.
Cold Rain Good Friends and One Memorable Tumble
The Sunday cook brought cool temperatures and rain, but neither condition disrupted the team’s program. El Jefe Smoke had an enviable site beside the Third Branch of the White River, creating a setting that felt more like a fall camping weekend than a pressure-filled championship cook.
Saturday night included a fire in the Solo Stove and time with friends, one of the parts of competition barbecue that never appears in the standings. It also produced the weekend’s most memorable off-the-clock moment.
Jeff came close to experiencing the riverbank more personally when he fell down the embankment in the dark. He emerged without catastrophe, but his phone remained behind. Dan later called it, followed the ringing, and recovered it. In a weekend defined by careful timelines and precise execution, the phone rescue required a slightly different kind of teamwork.
Pride Beyond the Trophy
During awards, El Jefe Smoke was not called in ribs. Jeff had liked the team’s entry and suspected it had landed in 11th place. As the remaining results unfolded, Meat Monarchy received a perfect 180 in brisket after already earning a 180 in chicken. At that point, Jeff knew Reserve Grand Champion was the highest possible finish for El Jefe Smoke.
When El Jefe Smoke was called for RGC, Jeff felt genuine happiness for Tom and Meat Monarchy. The result also continued a remarkable pattern. Smokin’ Hoggz took the Green Mountain title two years earlier. Sticks and Stones BBQ earned its first Grand Championship ahead of El Jefe Smoke last year. This season, Meat Monarchy earned its first GC while El Jefe Smoke again stood beside the winner.
Jeff found pride and humor in the pattern. Dan agreed: if El Jefe Smoke could not win, watching friends earn their first Grand Championship made the outcome easy to celebrate. Competition barbecue asks cooks to chase the trophy while appreciating what the moment means to those beside them.
From Vermont to the Biggest Stages
El Jefe Smoke next heads to the American Royal World Series of Barbecue in the Kansas City area for the champions-only Invitational on October 3 and the Open on October 4.
One week later, Jeff and Dan will travel to Lynchburg, Tennessee, for the Jack Daniel’s World Championship Invitational Barbecue on October 10. The stretch places El Jefe Smoke on two of competition barbecue’s most demanding stages in consecutive weekends.
The season concludes with a New England Barbecue Society doubleheader in Wrentham, Massachusetts. The Commander’s Cup is November 7, followed by the inaugural NEBS Invitational Contest for qualified teams on November 8.
El Jefe Smoke leaves Green Mountain with another trophy, a 700-plus score and a milestone few teams reach. Yet the defining image may be two veteran cooks applauding a friend’s first Grand Championship, sharing a fire beside the river and preparing to do it again. After 100 KCBS contests, the competition still matters. So do the people who make the long nights and miles worthwhile.
