Monster Meat Circus – Cook Off!
The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo World’s Championship Bar-B-Que Contest didn’t start as the monster meat circus it is today. Like most great Texas traditions, it began smaller, rougher and fueled by bragging rights, smoke and beer.
The cookoff fired up in 1974, back when the Houston Rodeo wanted something that felt more Texas than sequins and spotlights. The idea was simple: pitmasters competing the way Texans always had, with wood fires, secret rubs and trash talk. A handful of teams showed up, tents were basic and the focus was strictly on who could turn out the best brisket, ribs and chicken.
Then Houston did what Houston always does: it supersized it.
By the 1980s and ’90s, the cookoff exploded. Corporate teams rolled in with custom-built pits. Oil and gas money turned tents into temporary palaces. Live bands, open bars, and invite-only parties became just as important as the meat. What started as a cooking contest evolved into the largest barbecue competition on the planet, now drawing 300+ teams and tens of thousands of attendees every year.
And with that growth came legends.
Winning at the Rodeo cookoff isn’t just a trophy, it’s a career-maker. Teams like Goode Company, Tin Roof BBQ and other longtime contenders built reputations that carried far beyond the fairgrounds. Judges became feared and respected. Recipes became guarded family secrets. A Houston Rodeo buckle started meaning something in the barbecue world, proof you could cook under pressure, against the best, on Texas’ biggest stage.
The cookoff also became a networking event unlike anything else. Deals get made over sliced brisket. Friendships are forged over fireboxes at 3 a.m. For many teams, the cookoff is the real start of Rodeo season. A loud, smoky reunion that sets the tone for the weeks to come.
Today, the Rodeo Bar-B-Que Cookoff isn’t just about food. It’s about tradition, excess, competition and Texas pride. It’s where smoke hangs thick in the air, legends are crowned one bite at a time and for one weekend, barbecue becomes the main event in the city that does everything big.
