HOUSTON, Texas – The grills have cooled, and the judges have spoken after three days of barbecue, music, and celebration at the World’s Championship Bar-B-Que Contest, one of the signature kickoff events for the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo.
More than 250 teams competed during the 52nd annual cook-off held Feb. 26–28 at NRG Park, with pitmasters from across the nation battling for top honors in categories like brisket, ribs and chicken.
2026 RodeoHouston BBQ Cook-Off winners
The 2026 contest crowned All Jacked Up as the Grand Champion Overall, earning the highest combined score among all entries.
Other top winners included:
- Reserve Champion Overall: Hardin County Go Texan
- Brisket Champion: Victoria County Go Texan
- Ribs Champion: Wag’s Backwoods BBQ
- Chicken Champion: Kings BBQ
- Dutch Oven Dessert Champion: Cattle Cookers
- Open Contest Champion: Calhoun County Go Texan
- Junior Cook-Off Champion: Payton Lewis, Texas Social Club
The contest draws thousands of visitors each year and marks the official start of rodeo season in Houston.
If you’ve spent time on TikTok or Instagram lately, you may have seen plenty of videos from the cook-off, packed dance floors, elaborate themed tents, and crowds celebrating.
While the event has become known for its lively party atmosphere, it’s important to remember that at its core, the cook-off is an actual barbecue competition where teams spend months preparing recipes and techniques to impress judges.
Each team competes in multiple meat categories and is scored on taste, tenderness and presentation, with the top teams earning bragging rights in one of the largest barbecue competitions in the country.
How to get into the rodeo cook-off tents
One of the most common questions from first-time visitors is how to get inside the famous themed tents seen all over social media.
Here’s how it works:
- You can purchase a general admission ticket to enter the cook-off grounds at NRG Park.
- Those tickets include access to public areas, live music, carnival attractions and a barbecue plate.
- However, most team tents are invitation-only and passes are distributed directly by the barbecue teams or their sponsors.
That means the most common ways to get into a tent include:
- Being invited by someone connected to a team
- Attending as a guest of a sponsor or company hosting a tent
- Volunteering or joining a team involved in the cook-off
Even without a tent invitation, visitors can still enjoy several public venues inside the event, including live music areas and the carnival.
For many Houstonians, the cook-off is more than a party, it’s a tradition that blends barbecue, community, philanthropy, and Texas culture.
And while the viral videos highlight the fun inside the tents, the real stars of the event remain the pitmasters who spend hours tending the smokers, hoping their brisket or ribs will take home a championship title.
With the 2026 winners now announced, teams are already looking ahead to next year’s competition, and thousands of fans will once again be hoping to score that coveted invitation into one of the cook-off tents.