Granite Shoals hosts beefy High School BBQ championship
Over 900 high school students representing 112 teams from across Texas will gather at Quarry Park in Granite Shoals on Saturday, April 26, to duke it out in the 2025 High School BBQ State Championship. The young pitmasters, including a team from Llano High School, will be competing for a total of $68,750 in scholarships and brisket-fueled bragging rights.
Festivities begin Friday, with teams gathering at the park, 2221 N. Phillips Ranch Road, for an evening meal and rules meeting. Things heat up dark and early at 4:30 a.m. Saturday as the teen cooks fire up their rigs and whip up a series of five dishes—dessert, beans, chicken, ribs, and brisket–that will be judged throughout the day.
Everyone is welcome to attend the competition, and a limited number of judging spots are still available. Sign up online.
High School BBQ, the nonprofit behind the championship, received national recognition when its 2024 state competition was televised on the Magnolia Network series “BBQ High.” The show followed several students as they cooked their way through the highs and lows of the grueling competition.
This is the first time that Granite Shoals will host the championship following years of negotiations between High School BBQ leadership and Police Chief John Ortis and Fire Chief Tim Campbell.
“It’s a great opportunity to showcase what the city has to offer,” Campbell told DailyTrib.com. “It’s not very often that there are residents of (over 100) different cities coming to our town. It means a lot to us to show the rest of Texas what we have to offer.”
Campbell is a formidable pitmaster in his own right, having grown up in the Texas competition scene and, as an adult, winning a Lone Star Barbecue Society state title with his brothers in 2016. He and Chief Ortis have raised thousands of dollars for charity through their barbecue and served as mentors to local youth interested in the ancient art of smoking meat.
Each member of the High School BBQ grand champion team will receive $7,000 in scholarships. The reserve champions get $4,000 each, and third place team members win $2,750.
“This is what we’re passionate about, giving these kids an opportunity,” Ortis said.
Granite Shoals and the surrounding area should see a financial boost from the competition. Arriving with the 900 students will be coaches and families. Ortis said hotels, motels, and bed-and-breakfast inns all the way to Lampasas are completely booked for the event.
Llano High School is the only local team competing on Saturday. Burnet High School does have a team, but it’s participating in the event.
Marble Falls High School, which includes Granite Shoals students, does not have a team, something the Granite Shoals chiefs want to change.
“Ortis and I are willing to help. We would love to get a Marble Falls team together,” Campbell said. “It’s exciting to see the next generation come up and start doing the cooking.”