ALTOONA, IA (April 2, 2022) – Altoona, Iowa is widely known for Adventureland, an amusement park featuring “Iowa’s best thrills.” Adventureland boasts there is “something new around every corner.” and what's new this year is the 2022 Iowa State BBQ Championship, a Kansas City Barbecue Society (KCBS) sanctioned event presented by the Iowa BBQ Society.
The Adventureland Campground is the perfect venue for a BBQ competition. There is a lot of room for cooks to pull their rigs in and set up camp for the KCBS Master Series, KCBS Backyard, KCBS National Steak, and Kids Q. Lots going on over the April 1-2 weekend. I was not able to attend Friday’s events, so I rolled in after a two hour drive on Saturday morning. The judging area is located inside the campground building. Very spacious for judge tables, and the indoors kept us comfortable in case of inclement weather. Our judge meeting took place at 11am. The cooks started turn-ins right at noon.
The food here was excellent! When all 6 chicken boxes hit my table, I was salivating! My first bite was heaven. Only one box was disappointing. Ribs came next. Mostly all of it was great and the same happened with pork. When food is this good, you start to forgive the cost of gas getting to this event. Brisket was the only category that seemed so-so, but even then good eats! All in all, a delicious day of judging BBQ and I want to thank all the teams who presented competition BBQ to all us judges.
When judging concluded, I took a walk around the park and made my usual stops to say hi to the teams. This is one of the most fun parts about going to a BBQ competition – catching up with all my BBQ friends. The other is seeing who wins at awards time.
The Porkrastinators wasted no time taking the Grand Champion, and Ash Kickin’ BBQ kicked some ash to win the Reserve Grand Champion. Kudos to all teams participating and congrats to those who landed in the TOP 5 Overall:.
The Adventureland Campground is the perfect venue for a BBQ competition. There is a lot of room for cooks to pull their rigs in and set up camp for the KCBS Master Series, KCBS Backyard, KCBS National Steak, and Kids Q. Lots going on over the April 1-2 weekend. I was not able to attend Friday’s events, so I rolled in after a two hour drive on Saturday morning. The judging area is located inside the campground building. Very spacious for judge tables, and the indoors kept us comfortable in case of inclement weather. Our judge meeting took place at 11am. The cooks started turn-ins right at noon.
The food here was excellent! When all 6 chicken boxes hit my table, I was salivating! My first bite was heaven. Only one box was disappointing. Ribs came next. Mostly all of it was great and the same happened with pork. When food is this good, you start to forgive the cost of gas getting to this event. Brisket was the only category that seemed so-so, but even then good eats! All in all, a delicious day of judging BBQ and I want to thank all the teams who presented competition BBQ to all us judges.
When judging concluded, I took a walk around the park and made my usual stops to say hi to the teams. This is one of the most fun parts about going to a BBQ competition – catching up with all my BBQ friends. The other is seeing who wins at awards time.
The Porkrastinators wasted no time taking the Grand Champion, and Ash Kickin’ BBQ kicked some ash to win the Reserve Grand Champion. Kudos to all teams participating and congrats to those who landed in the TOP 5 Overall:.
TOP FIVE OVERALL WINNERS
 GRAND CHAMPION - Porkrastinators |  RESERVE GRAND: Ash Kickin' BBQ |
 Hot Daddy's BBQ 3rd |  Who Dat BBQ 4th |  Iowa's Smokey D's BBQ 5th |
FIRST PLACE WINNERS
 1ST CHICKEN - T-Rex BBQ  1ST PORK: Aces High BBQ |  1ST RIBS: Who Dat BBQ  1ST BRISKET: Wags Backwoods BBQ |
Many years ago, I judged the Iowa State BBQ Championship when it was originally located in Marshalltown, Iowa. I remember Lew Miller was the original organizer (which began in 1998). After a long successful run, their final contest took place in 2013. It’s great to see it back!
Iowa BBQ Society member, Joe Osbrink, did an excellent job organizing the 2022 comeback. KCBS Reps Jonathan and Clara Williams kept the judging area well managed and organized.
A total of 48 teams competed and this venue can take on a lot more. I encourage teams to put this on your 2023 BBQ calendar for next year. Come to our state and experience one of Iowa’s best thrills - the Iowa State BBQ Championship!
BBQ CRITIC
Iowa BBQ Society member, Joe Osbrink, did an excellent job organizing the 2022 comeback. KCBS Reps Jonathan and Clara Williams kept the judging area well managed and organized.
A total of 48 teams competed and this venue can take on a lot more. I encourage teams to put this on your 2023 BBQ calendar for next year. Come to our state and experience one of Iowa’s best thrills - the Iowa State BBQ Championship!
BBQ CRITIC
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