Tailgate Guys BBQ Podcast

The world's largest BBQ competition is coming up in a few weeks. The American Royal World Series of BBQ at Kansas Speedway brings together more than 400 teams, from all over the world, and on Episode 280 we have a roundtable discussion with three first-time Royal teams - Nicholas Owensby of Sailor Nick's BBQ from Wadsworth, Ohio; Jamie Mintz from Casual Smokers in Spartanburg, S.C.; and Jim St. Ge...

Episode 279 of the Tailgate Guys BBQ Podcast features "Fast Eddy" Ed Maurin, a member of the BBQ Hall of Fame Class of 2024. Ed is one of seven inductees joining the Hall on Nov. 2 during ceremonies held at the American Royal World Series of BBQ at Kansas Speedway. One of the heavy hitters on the competition circuit back in the late 1980s and 1990s, "Fast Eddy" made an even bigger impact on the BB...

On Episode 278 of the Tailgate Guys BBQ Podcast, we visit with one of the all-time greats of competition cooking about his latest business venture. Travis Clark recently opened a new Clark Crew BBQ restaurant in Tulsa to go with his flagship location in Oklahoma City. Travis discusses the myriad of issues that crop up when opening a new venue and how his intense quest for winning in his competitio...

Long-time competition cook Joel Fleetwood never dreamed of having his Meat Rushmore BBQ team's name on a BBQ restaurant. But after winning last weekend's Made for KC event, that's exactly what will happen in the fall of 2025. On Episode 277 of the Tailgate Guys BBQ Podcast, Joel talks about what the opportunity to have naming rights, with menu construction and a new line of Meat Rushmore BBQ produ...

"The Doctor" is in on Episode 276 of the Tailgate Guys BBQ Podcast. Ray "Dr. BBQ" Lampe, one of the all-time greats of open-fire cooking, joins us this week and we begin by talking about his time on the Food Network Show BBQ Brawl, Season 5, which aired over the summer. Ray talks about what it was like being "the old guy" on a show with a lineup of young chefs who brought an amazing culinary backg...

On Episode 275 of the Tailgate Guys BBQ Podcast, we shine the light on a recent first-time KCBS Grand Championship winner. Chris Leikam and Devin Schwartz from the Kansas competition team Finger Leikam Good were college friends at Kansas State and enjoyed cooking before Wildcats football games at Snyder Family Stadium. They eventually took their love for open-fire cooking to the KCBS backyard and...

He's lived the American Dream, a United States Navy veteran who worked the overnight  shift at the Des Moines, Iowa, water treatment plant. During his spare time, Moe Cason fired up the smoker and dabbled in competition BBQ. On a suggestion from the legendary Johnny Trigg, "Big Moe" sent in an audition video for the groundbreaking BBQ television program BBQ Pitmasters. Now, Moe is a full-blown BBQ...

On Episode 273 of the Tailgate Guys BBQ Podcast, we learn about a new competition and festival in mid-Missouri that will include three sanctioning bodies. It's the Buds, Blues & BBQ in Columbia, Sept. 13-14, with opportunities to enter the KCBS Master's Series regular comp plus one-meat chicken cook, a Steak Cookoff Association comp and the new Ribs Cookoff Association event. Event organizer John...

Whether it's cooking in the backyard or the highest level of competition, Christie Vanover is someone who has been instrumental in helping open-fire cooks worldwide up their games since she launched her GirlsCanGrill.com website in 2015. With recipes, tips, product reviews and much more, it's a one of the top resources available. Christie joins us on Episode 272 of the Tailgate Guys BBQ Podcast an...

Episode 271 of the Tailgate Guys BBQ Podcast has arrived and it has a variety of guests as we welcome the month of August. At the 7:58 mark, Emmy-award-winning television news producer turned author and now podcast host David Page returns to discuss his latest project. Page's new podcast "Culinary Characters Unlocked" debuts Aug. 27 as he goes in-depth some of the world's top chefs and up-and-comi...

It's become one of the jewels on the late-season KCBS calendar, a doubleheader to cap the points season. But only a few days ago, the 4th annual Boo-B-Que was on the verge of cancellation. No worries. The Oct. 25-27 event in Oak Grove, Mo., will go on after Greg Hastie, who began the event three years ago but had too much on his plate to run it again, turned to contest organizer extraordinaire Cor...

After running hard in 2023, cooking 44 contests as he successfully chased KCBS Team of the Year honors, Jordan Kirkpatrick and Janky Leg BBQ has slowed the pace a bit this season. But after an addition to the family and a home remodel project, Janky Leg is back and ready for a big second half, evidenced by the team's first GC of the year last weekend in Cameron, Mo. On Episode 269 of the Tailgate...

On Episode 268 of the Tailgate Guys BBQ Podcast, we visit with one of the top teams on the West Coast - and one of the best in the USA. Dave and Shirin Mara from Meat Candy Q out of El Cajon, Calif., is enjoying a terrific 2024 season with one KCBS Grand Championship and and three RGCs in just 10 competitions. Meat Candy is sixth in the Team of the Year race and we catch up with Dave and Shirin to...

Happy 4th of July to all! To celebrate, Episode 267 of the Tailgate Guys BBQ Podcast features two great guests. Leading off is one of the best to ever light a pit, BBQ Hall of Famer Darren Warth from Iowa Smokey D's. While he's won more than 100 grand championships during his career, including multiple majors, Darren accomplished a first last weekend in Idaho as he won a KCBS competition by cookin...

Mike and Nichole Mulkey of Mulkey's BBQ from St. Louis are one of the many successful husband-wife competition BBQ teams in the country. On Episode 266 of the Tailgate Guys BBQ Podcast, we learn how they work together after Mulkey's won the Grand Championship at the 172-team Great Lenexa BBQ Battle. The back-to-back St. Louis BBQ Society Team of the Year has a shared passion for BBQ and the compet...

We asked for nominations for up-and-coming competition BBQ pitmasters or teams and our listeners delivered with lots of great suggestions. This week on Episode 265 of the Tailgate Guys BBGQ Podcast, we bring you an extended "Under the Radar" segment with Joe Wilson and B.J. Searcy from the northern California team Cherry Anchor BBQ. Despite only doing a handful of KCBS Master's Series events, Joe...