On Episode 227 of the Tailgate Guys BBQ Podcast, we talk to the man behind the upcoming Saluting With Smoke BBQ Festival, Sept. 15-17 in Yorkville, Illinois. Sean Young, an Army veteran who is brutally honest about his life struggles after leaving the service in the early 2000s, formed Mission Zero Hundred Hours to help veterans deal with PTSD by connecting them with open-fire cooking. At Saluting With Smoke, five teams with four veterans apiece representing each brand of the military will be mentored by five top professional pitmasters - Sterling Smith, Chris Webb, Lee Hickel, Richard Fergola and Brad Leighninger - will compete for bragging rights. 

Would you trust your competition BBQ meat trimming to someone else, particularly those pesky and time-consuming chicken thighs? Aaron Huentelman is a butcher and competition meat manager at Mister Brisket in Cleveland Heights, Ohio. Aaron and the team there are providing such a service, trimming and shipping to teams around the nation. He talks about the specifics, including skin-scraping and weights - and his background in competition BBQ with the team Go Big or Go BBQ. 

Co-hosts Lyndal and Steve also break down their cooking weeks and discuss the start of the NFL season as the Kansas City Chiefs are minus a couple of key players as their Super Bowl defense begins. Wherever you are, we send best wishes for a great BBQ Week! 

Thanks to all our sponsors and marketing partners for making the show possible:  Blues Hog #blueshognation Royal Oak Charcoal #teamroyaloak2023 The Butcher Shoppe #alwayshandpicked  Clark Crew BBQ #clarkcrew Proud Souls BBQ Kansas City #proudsoulsbbqkc #kingdomofq #proudsoulsbarbecueandprovisions Randy Vanslyke and Pro Technology Solutions The Grill Guys of Missouri Allquedup #arkassippicombo Vietti Marketing Group #marketing  In the Garden of Eden Marty "Real Sign Man" Prather #pizza

Have a great BBQ week and thanks for listening! #SmokeEmIfYouGotEm