Boneheads BBQ

08/30/2026

We’re bringing home the win from Aledo!

Boneheads BBQ took 1st place at the Mercer County VFW Rib Cookoff yesterday, and we couldn’t have asked for a better day.

Winning is always exciting, but what made yesterday even better was looking around and seeing so many familiar faces. A huge thank you to everyone who made the trip out, stopped by our setup, grabbed some food, hung out with us, and cheered us on. Getting to share what we love doing with our friends, family, and local supporters makes days like this pretty special.

We had a great time cooking, served up a whole lot of BBQ, enjoyed some friendly competition, and somehow managed to bring a little hardware home at the end of it.

We also want to thank the Mercer County VFW and everyone who helped put the event together, as well as all of the teams who came out and competed. Events like this are about a lot more than who finishes first — they’re about good food, good people, and supporting a great organization.

We grabbed plenty of pictures along the way, so here’s a little look at the day.

Aledo, thank you for showing up for us. This one was a lot of fun.

08/28/2026

Aledo — come hungry tomorrow!

Boneheads BBQ is headed back to the Mercer County VFW Rib Cookoff, and we’re bringing a whole lot more than just competition ribs with us.

We’ll be there early getting the smokers fired up and the food rolling, and at 11 a.m. we start serving some of the Boneheads favorites you’ve been asking for:

Brisket Egg Rolls
Iowa Twinkies
Pulled Pork Sliders
Pulled Pork Queso
Smoked Mac & Cheese
Ribs

If you’ve been looking for an excuse to grab some Boneheads BBQ, this is it.

Come grab lunch, bring some friends, hang out with us, and support the Mercer County VFW while you’re there. We’d love to see a big crowd come out and make a day of it.

And fair warning — we’re bringing plenty of food, but we’ve seen what you guys can do to a pile of brisket egg rolls and ribs. When it’s gone, it’s gone.

🔥 Serving starts at 11 a.m. tomorrow
📍 Mercer County VFW — Aledo, IL

Help us spread the word, tag the person you’re bringing with you, and we’ll see you tomorrow!

08/27/2026

Here we come Illinois peeps. And you know we alway bring a big spread . So who’s coming to support us and what are you hoping we bring .

08/15/2026

08/15/2026

Boneheads with the dub !!!great Job to all the other competitors.

08/15/2026

We have had an entry graciously donated for NEW up and coming team. If you are new to the competition scene or thought about giving it a go message Shawn Stanger or email [email protected] to get signed up.

08/10/2026

We’re splitting up again this Saturday — but this time, it’s less about settling the score and more about having some fun for a great cause.

With a few Boneheads team members out this weekend, we’re dividing up the crew and bringing both Boneheads BBQ and Tabletop Titans to the Durant Firefighters Festival for a little friendly competition while helping support the Durant Fire Department.

Both teams will be there early getting set up, firing up the smokers, and doing what we love. Around 1 p.m., we’ll start handing out samples, so come hungry, try what we’ve been cooking, and let us know which team gets your vote.

Then at 3 p.m., the ribs head to the judges and we’ll find out who gets bragging rights on the ride home.

At the end of the day, though, this one is about more than where we finish. It’s a chance to cook some BBQ, spend the day with a great community, and help support the Durant Fire Department while we’re at it.

Come out Saturday, find the Boneheads and Tabletop Titans setups, grab some samples, say hi, and help us support a great cause.

We’ll bring the smoke — you bring the appetite.

07/22/2026

We’ve been a little quiet lately… but don’t mistake that for us taking a break.

The smokers have been running almost nonstop. We’ve been cooking for everything from family dinners while testing new brisket rubs to large parties where 24 racks of ribs disappeared in a hurry. Add in plenty of practice cooks, recipe tweaks, and prep for the second half of competition season, and we’ve been keeping plenty busy behind the scenes.

Now it’s almost time to get back on the road.

Here’s where you can find Boneheads BBQ over the next couple of months:

🔥 Durant Firefighters Festival
📍 Durant City Park – Durant, IA
📅 August 15

🔥 Mercer County VFW Rib Cookoff
📍 VFW – Aledo, IL
📅 August 29

🔥 Show Me BBQ Showdown
📍 La Belle, MO
📅 October 2–3

If you’re near Durant or Aledo, come hungry. We’ll have some of our signature appetizers and side dishes along with the competition BBQ you’ve come to expect. We’d love to see some familiar faces, meet some new ones, and talk a little BBQ while you’re there.

Thank you to everyone who continues to support us, follow along, and cheer us on. We’ve got a lot of exciting things planned for the rest of the season, and we’re just getting started.

05/17/2026

One of the best parts of competition BBQ has nothing to do with trophies or turn-in times.

This morning Boneheads BBQ hosted the traditional 9:22 shot, and the turnout was incredible. Teams from all over stopped by the tent to share a drink, some laughs, stories from the road, and plenty of BBQ talk before the chaos of the day really kicked off.

The camaraderie in competition BBQ is something special. No matter how competitive things get, people are still willing to share ideas, swap feedback, help each other out, and keep learning together along the way. That community is a huge part of why we love doing this.

We grabbed a video of everyone joining in together this morning — moments like this are what make the BBQ circuit feel like family.

05/17/2026

What a great day in Milan, IL.

This weekend Boneheads BBQ split into two teams and went head-to-head in a friendly battle for internal bragging rights — Boneheads vs. Tabletop Titans.

At the end of the day, Boneheads managed to pull off a 2nd place overall finish and even the series up at 1-1. The trash talk can officially continue.

More importantly, we had an absolute blast. We met a lot of great people, shared feedback back and forth with teams all day, and made some new friends out on the circuit. That’s one of the best parts of this community — everyone’s competitive, but everyone’s still willing to help each other get better.

Huge shoutout to Dwight and Dwayne from DND Smokes for taking home the win in their very first competition. They came in ready to learn, asked questions all day, listened, adjusted, and cooked their way straight to victory. Really cool to watch.

Already looking forward to the next one.