Episode 260 of the Tailgate Guys BBQ Podcast takes us to the Phoenix area to visit with Kyle Matuszewski, owner-operator of Your Behind BBQ restaurant in Florence. Kyle is a long-time competitor on the Steak Cookoff Association and KCBS trails and he’s parlayed that success into a red-hot start in the restaurant business. Kyle breaks down his story which includes how a restaurant owner deals with his first 1-star Yelp review. 

Brad Colter and Breana Via from Smoke N Magic BBQ stop by for their weekly segment, reviewing their recent trip down under to participate in Meatstock Sydney. They also preview their appearance at Memphis in May this weekend, where they’ll be doing demos for Home Depot. On the Grill Guys of Missouri segment, Skyler Spartan gives the latest from the Republic, Mo., BBQ store.

Co-hosts Lyndal and Steve discuss their latest cooking adventures and plans, and they have some quick thoughts on a host of sports topics. 

Thanks to all our sponsors and marketing partners for making the show possible:  Blues Hog #blueshognation Royal Oak Charcoal #TeamRoyalOak2024  The Butcher Shoppe #alwayshandpicked  Proud Souls BBQ Kansas City #proudsoulsbbqkc #kingdomofq  The Grill Guys of Missouri Smoke ’n Magic BBQ #SmokenMagic Vietti Marketing Group   Marty "Real Sign Man" Prather #pizza

Have a great BBQ week! #SmokeEmIfYouGotEm

When we’re asked about BBQ restaurant recommendations in the St. Louis area, Heavy Smoke BBQ always is at the top of our list. On Episode 259 of the Tailgate Guys BBQ Podcast, we talk it over with Chris Schafer, the owner-operator of Heavy Smoke BBQ about the constantly overlapping thrills and challenges of the restaurant industry. Chris also is one of the world’s top competition pitmasters, a past Grand Champion at both the Jack Daniels World BBQ Invitational and KCBS Invitational World Championship. Heavy Smoke is No. 2 in the KCBS Team of the Year standings in 2024 and we ask Chris about a possible Team of the Year.

It’s also time for our monthly chat with Richard Fergola, pitmaster of Fergolicious BBQ and marketing director for Proud Souls BBQ and Provisions. “Fergie” is gearing up for a trip to the new Smoke Slam, next week in Memphis. 

We also have our weekly segments with Breana Via of Smoke n Magic and Charlie Wallace from Grill Guys of Missouri. Meanwhile, co-hosts Lyndal and Steve discuss their latest cooking adventures and plans, and they give some brutally honest opinions on the downfall of the St. Louis Cardinals on the sports segment.

Thanks to all our sponsors and marketing partners for making the show possible:  Blues Hog #blueshognation Royal Oak Charcoal #TeamRoyalOak2024  The Butcher Shoppe #alwayshandpicked  Proud Souls BBQ Kansas City #proudsoulsbbqkc #kingdomofq  The Grill Guys of Missouri Smoke ’n Magic BBQ #SmokenMagic Vietti Marketing Group   Marty "Real Sign Man" Prather #pizza

Have a great BBQ week! #SmokeEmIfYouGotEm

One of the greatest to light a pit - and a great friend of the Tailgate Guys BBQ Show since the beginning on local, low-powered radio - joins us for an extended conversation on Episode 258. Brad Leighninger just passed the 11-year anniversary of his first BBQ Grand Championship. Now, 70 GCs later, Gettin’ Basted is a three-time KCBS Team of the Year, a Jack Daniels World BBQ Invitational Grand Champion, Brad is a part of the Blues Hog 2022 Memphis in May World Champion. He’s also co-owner of four restaurants in the southwest Missouri area including a couple of new ones in the tourist-mecca of Branson. We visit with Brad on a variety of topics, including the upcoming Memphis in May.

“We’re coming in motivated,” Brad said of Team Blues Hog. “I wouldn’t bet against us.”

We also have our weekly segments with Brad Colter from Smoke n Magic and Skyler Spartan from Grill Guys of Missouri. Meanwhile, co-hosts Lyndal and Steve discuss their latest cooking adventures and plans and preview their open-fire plans for the week ahead. 

Thanks to all our sponsors and marketing partners for making the show possible:  Blues Hog #blueshognation Royal Oak Charcoal #TeamRoyalOak2024  The Butcher Shoppe #alwayshandpicked  Proud Souls BBQ Kansas City #proudsoulsbbqkc #kingdomofq  The Grill Guys of Missouri Smoke ’n Magic BBQ #SmokenMagic Vietti Marketing Group   Marty "Real Sign Man" Prather #pizza

Have a great BBQ week! #SmokeEmIfYouGotEm

On Episode 257 of the Tailgate Guys BBQ Podcast, we talk it over with one of world’s hottest pitmasters. Eric Coley from Alabama’s Poppa Pig BBQ is leading the KCBS Team of the Year standings with three Grand Championships and seven top-10 finishes in eight 2024 competitions. It’s a start that’s signaled a breakthrough after Eric went through a two-year stretch of top-10 finishes without nailing the GC. What has changed? Eric talks about that, plus his career in competition BBQ and how a DQ after missing turn-in with some of the best brisket he ever cooked was a big turning point.

In our weekly segments, we find out the latest from Smoke’n Magic BBQ from Breana Via and head to the Grill Guys of Missouri to chat with Charlie Wallace.

Meanwhile, co-hosts Lyndal and Steve discuss their latest cooking adventures and plans and preview their open-fire plans for the week ahead. 

Thanks to all our sponsors and marketing partners for making the show possible:  Blues Hog #blueshognation Royal Oak Charcoal #TeamRoyalOak2024  The Butcher Shoppe #alwayshandpicked  Proud Souls BBQ Kansas City #proudsoulsbbqkc #kingdomofq  The Grill Guys of Missouri Smoke ’n Magic BBQ #SmokenMagic Vietti Marketing Group   Marty "Real Sign Man" Prather #pizza

Have a great BBQ week! #SmokeEmIfYouGotEm

#bbq #bbqpodcast #competitionbbq #tailgateguysbbq 

Jon and Jason Wade of Optimus Swine BBQ out of Williamsburg, Virginia have one of the hottest competition BBQ teams around. Since moving into the KCBS Master’s division a couple of years ago, the Wades have seven Grand Championships and seven RGCs in 63 competitions. They also own and operate two BBQ restaurants in the Williamsburg area, Two Drummers Smokehouse and 2 Drummers Butchery and BBQ Provisions. On Episode 256 of the Tailgate Guys BBQ Podcast, we talk it over with Jon Wade about the team’s success in both aspects of BBQ and about the crossover of restaurants and competition cooking.

We’ve seen far too many good BBQ competition disappear in recent years. It’s always great to see new ones come along and we find out more from organizer Vanessa Williams about the inaugural Give Local First Charity BBQ Festival, coming up May 17-18 in West Plains, Missouri. Vanessa gives us the rundown of what teams can expect (aside from a nice prize fund of $10,000) and how the public can attend and get a taste of the fun.  

In our weekly Smoke N Magic Minute, Breana Via tells about heading to Meatstock in Sydney, Australia where Smoke N Magic will see how their American style competition BBQ stacks up against the native Aussies. 

Thanks to all our sponsors and marketing partners for making the show possible:  Blues Hog #blueshognation Royal Oak Charcoal #teamroyaloak2023 The Butcher Shoppe #alwayshandpicked  Proud Souls BBQ Kansas City #proudsoulsbbqkc #kingdomofq  The Grill Guys of Missouri Smoke ’n Magic BBQ #SmokenMagic Vietti Marketing Group   Marty "Real Sign Man" Prather #pizza

Have a great BBQ week! #SmokeEmIfYouGotEm

Based in north central North Dakota, Burnt Trees BBQ has a long haul no matter where it goes for a competition. But the husband-wife team of Nick and Shannon Holman is almost always a contender when it arrives, with its 2024 debut proving the point. Burnt Trees BBQ captured the 97-team Smoke in the Spring in Osage City, Kansas, topping the 700-point mark for the first time. On Episode 255 of the Tailgate Guys BBQ Podcast, we visit with Nick and Shannon about their shared BBQ passion and the challenges of being a northern-based competition team.

We also check in with Richard Fergola from Fergolicious BBQ and Proud Souls BBQ and Provisions. Fergie has been all over the map over the last month and he recounts some of the highlights of cooking in Costa Rica and New Orleans, while also previewing the Daniel Vogt Memorial Backyard Rib Contest and all-star pro demo day on Sunday, April 14 at Proud Souls Denver.

Weekly regulars Charlie Wallace from The Grill Guys of Missouri and Breana Via of Smoke N Magic BBQ also offer some tips and knowledge to up your cooking game.

Co-hosts Lyndal and Steve also review the men’s and women’s NCAA Final Fours and take a glance at a tradition like no other, the Master’s.

Thanks to all our sponsors and marketing partners for making the show possible:  Blues Hog #blueshognation Royal Oak Charcoal #teamroyaloak2023 The Butcher Shoppe #alwayshandpicked  Proud Souls BBQ Kansas City #proudsoulsbbqkc #kingdomofq  The Grill Guys of Missouri Smoke ’n Magic BBQ #SmokenMagic Vietti Marketing Group   Marty "Real Sign Man" Prather #pizza

Have a great BBQ week! #SmokeEmIfYouGotEm

There are dozens of options available these days for BBQ-themed podcasts, unlike just a few years ago when the options were relatively limited. One of the longest-running shows is Baseball and BBQ, with co-hosts Leonard Aberman and Jeff Cohen. Combining two of America’s favorite past times, Leonard and Jeff have found a sweet spot with engaging guests who speak with knowledge to baseball, BBQ or both. Now in season seven, we caught up with Len and Jeff as the Major League Baseball season gets underway and, even as their beloved New York Mets struggle, it’s always a good time when we talk Baseball and BBQ.

Also checking in with us are weekly regulars Skyler Spartan from The Grill Guys of Missouri and Brad Colter of Smoke N Magic BBQ.

Co-hosts Lyndal also discuss their cooking weeks and preview the Final Four for the NCAA men’s and women’s basketball tournaments.  

Thanks to all our sponsors and marketing partners for making the show possible:  Blues Hog #blueshognation Royal Oak Charcoal #teamroyaloak2023 The Butcher Shoppe #alwayshandpicked  Proud Souls BBQ Kansas City #proudsoulsbbqkc #kingdomofq  The Grill Guys of Missouri Smoke ’n Magic BBQ #SmokenMagic Vietti Marketing Group   Marty "Real Sign Man" Prather #pizza

Have a great BBQ week! #SmokeEmIfYouGotEm

Welcome to Episode 253 of the Tailgate Guys BBQ Podcast, where we’re joined by the founders of America’s foremost weekly digital news authority on live-fire cooking. It’s been a while since we visited with Ryan Cooper and Sean Ludwig from The Smoke Sheet. Their weekly newsletter that arrives in subscribers’ in-boxes each Wednesday and Friday with a variety of content including BBQ trends, restaurant features, product news and recipes. On our extended conversation, Ryan and Sean tell us about a recent excursion to the Carolinas where they experienced old-school and new-school BBQ restaurants. Later, they tell us storylines in the BBQ world they’re watching in 2024.

Subscribe to The Smoke Sheet at bbqnewsletter.substack.com 

Also checking in with us are weekly regulars Charlie Wallace from The Grill Guys of Missouri with a feature product, and Breana Via from Smoke N Magic BBQ has a great tip for how to put an open-fire spin on Easter dinner.

Co-host Lyndal breaks down the Tailgate Guys BBQ competition team’s season opener and Steve reviews his backyard cooking week. The guys also talk NCAA Tournament and the opening of baseball season with their World Series picks.  

Thanks to all our sponsors and marketing partners for making the show possible:  Blues Hog #blueshognation Royal Oak Charcoal #teamroyaloak2023 The Butcher Shoppe #alwayshandpicked  Proud Souls BBQ Kansas City #proudsoulsbbqkc #kingdomofq  The Grill Guys of Missouri Smoke ’n Magic BBQ #SmokenMagic Vietti Marketing Group   Marty "Real Sign Man" Prather #pizza

Have a great BBQ week! #SmokeEmIfYouGotEm

Spring has officially arrived, which means there are BBQ competitions across the land each weekend from now through early November - not to mention hundreds of thousands of backyard cooks are firing up backyard smokers and grills. On Episode 252 of the Tailgate Guys BBQ Podcast, we talk to one of American’s most-colorful pitmasters and brand ambassadors, plus a Kansas City-area team that took home a big championship last weekend.

Starting us off at the 7:05 mark of the show is a conversation with Craig Verhage, marketing director of Royal Oak Charcoal. Craig tells us about the latest products on the market from Royal Oak and, in his role as “The BBQ Ninja,” takes us through a busy schedule of appearances at BBQ competitions and festivals across the land. It’s always fun to chop it up with The Ninja! 

Also on the show:

26:21 - Skyler Spartan with the latest from The Grills Guys of Missouri.

29:15 - Brothers Mike and Tanner McGee from Pirates of BBQ Bay gives us a rundown of their Grand Championship at the Qlathe BBQ Championship in Olathe, Kansas and a look at the team’s history in the comp world.

50:50 - The Smoke ’n Magic minute with Brad Colter gives some advice to aspiring competition teams about the importance of practice cooking to a real-life timeline.

Co-hosts Lyndal and Steve also begin and end the show with their latest BBQ adventures and take a stab at predicting the Final Four as March Madness gets underway.

Thanks to all our sponsors and marketing partners for making the show possible:  Blues Hog #blueshognation Royal Oak Charcoal #teamroyaloak2023 The Butcher Shoppe #alwayshandpicked  Proud Souls BBQ Kansas City #proudsoulsbbqkc #kingdomofq  The Grill Guys of Missouri Smoke ’n Magic BBQ #SmokenMagic Vietti Marketing Group   Marty "Real Sign Man" Prather #pizza

Have a great BBQ week! #SmokeEmIfYouGotEm

It’s another guest-filled show on Episode 251 of the Tailgate Guys BBQ Podcast. Leading off is Joel Fleetwood of Meat Rushmore BBQ, which won three Grand Championships in 2023 on its way to an 11th-place finish in the KCBS Team of the Year standings. Joel also was recently voted president of the KCBS Board of Directors. We visit with Joel about his competition cooking and his role on the KCBS board. The segment begins at the 8:23 mark. Also on the show:

31:51 - Nick Davis of Double Barrel BBQ tells us about one he’s co-hosting with Wes Patterson from American Royal Pork Champion Wood Hook BBQ  next month in Moodys, Okla. 

39:00 - The Iowa State BBQ Championship has made a strong comeback and this year’s edition, March 29-30 in Altoona, looks like another good one. Joe Osbrink gives us some details.

45:57 - The Smoke ’n Magic minute with Breana Via offers some tasty ideas for St. Patrick’s weekend.

48;28 - Charlie Wallace tells us about some breaking news in our weekly Grill Guys of Missouri segment.

Thanks to all our sponsors and marketing partners for making the show possible:  Blues Hog #blueshognation Royal Oak Charcoal #teamroyaloak2023 The Butcher Shoppe #alwayshandpicked  Proud Souls BBQ Kansas City #proudsoulsbbqkc #kingdomofq  The Grill Guys of Missouri Smoke ’n Magic BBQ #SmokenMagic Vietti Marketing Group   Marty "Real Sign Man" Prather #pizza

Have a great BBQ week! #SmokeEmIfYouGotEm

On Episode 250 of the Tailgate Guys BBQ Podcast, we talk it over with two of competition BBQ’s top pitmasters - and most-colorful characters. First up is Richard Fergola from Fergolicious BBQ and marketing director of Proud Souls BBQ and Provisions. “Fergie” and the Proud Souls team is ready to throw a big first anniversary bash this Saturday, March 9th, at Proud Souls BBQ Kansas City. A full day of cooking demos and great food will be available.

Then it’s time to talk it over with Sterling Smith of Loot ’n Booty BBQ, a recent inductee into the California BBQ Association Hall of Fame. “Smitty” is always a great guest and this time he talks about the Hall of Fame honor plus his Loot ’n Booty Apple Cherry Sauce which recently earned first-place honors in the National BBQ Association awards.

Fergie and Smitty also are going to be teaching classes together, later this month in Costa Rica and suburban Chicago. What happens when they get together for a class? “It’s like riding a unicorn through a mystic land, full of meat and clowns. And there’s knives involved. And maybe we might talk about aliens or pyramids at some point,” Smith says. 

We also hear from Gene Newkirk with the Kickin’ it on Route 66 BBQ Festival, Skyler Spartan with The Grill Guys weekly report and the Smoke ’n Magic BBQ Minute with Breana Via. Co-hosts Lyndal and Steve discuss their weekly cooking adventures, plus take a quick spin through news and notes from the competition BBQ world.

Thanks to all our sponsors and marketing partners for making the show possible:  Blues Hog #blueshognation Royal Oak Charcoal #teamroyaloak2023 The Butcher Shoppe #alwayshandpicked  Proud Souls BBQ Kansas City #proudsoulsbbqkc #kingdomofq  The Grill Guys of Missouri Smoke ’n Magic BBQ #SmokenMagic Vietti Marketing Group   Marty "Real Sign Man" Prather #pizza

Have a great BBQ week! #SmokeEmIfYouGotEm