We’re also thrilled when one of our past “Under the Radar” guests go on and accomplish big things in the competition world. Jacob Watt of the Kansas City-area team Smoke This Drink That told us back in February that winning a KCBS Masters Division Grand Championship was a goal in 2025. It was mission accomplished Aug. 16 when he and wife Paige celebrate their first GC with a whopping 710.85 total at the BBQ and Fly-In on the River in Excelsior Springs, Missouri. On Episode 320 of the Tailgate Guys BBQ Podcast, Jacob returns to tell us how he’s become one of the nation’s hottest teams and what’s next for Smoke This Drink That.

It’s also fun to see a small business grow. Joshua Brock is a former Marine who founded JB’s Gourmet Spice Blends in Ozark, Missouri, nearly 10 years ago. His popular rubs and spices, along with a trio of hot sauces, have become regional favorites and can be found in grocery stores and BBQ stores in six states. Learn about JB’s story as we talk it over with him in our second guest segment.

Skyler Spartan joins us from Grill Guys of Missouri to preview the big 4th anniversary celebration this weekend, with cooking demos and a brisket class from Brad and Bre of Smokin’ Magic BBQ on the schedule. Co-hosts Steve and Lyndal also talk about their latest cooking adventures.

Check out the show in the link below or on your favorite #podcast platform. A big thanks to our show sponsors and marketing partners. Please support them:

Blues Hog #blueshognation Royal Oak Charcoal #charcoalofchampions  The Butcher Shoppe #alwayshandpicked  The Grill Guys of Missouri #grillguys417 Marty "Sign Man" Prather  Domino’s #pizza Clark Crew BBQ #clarkcrewbbq  Mister Brisket #thighlife

Have a great week! #SmokeEmIfYouGotEm

From his home base in Arizona, Sterling Smith has been all over the world cooking, teaching and promoting his BBQ and Loot ’n Booty product line. On Episode 319 of the Tailgate Guys BBQ Podcast, Sterling reviews the journey that included competition cooking since 2009 and recaps 2025 visits to Hawaii, New Zealand and Croatia among other stops and a busy fall schedule ahead with tickets punched to the Jack Daniel World BBQ Invitational and American Royal World Series of BBQ. 

We also talk it over with Charlie Wallace about the latest happenings at The Grill Guys of Missouri. Co-host Lyndal reviews the Tailgate Guys competition team’s weekend trip to BBQ & Fly In on the River in Excelsior Springs, Missouri, and co-host Steve talks about a step out of the open-fire cooking box for a different kind of bird.

Check out the show in the link below or on your favorite #podcast platform. A big thanks to our show sponsors and marketing partners. Please support them:

Blues Hog #blueshognation Royal Oak Charcoal #charcoalofchampions  The Butcher Shoppe #alwayshandpicked  The Grill Guys of Missouri #grillguys417 Marty "Sign Man" Prather  Domino’s #pizza Clark Crew BBQ #clarkcrewbbq  Mister Brisket #thighlife

Have a great week! #SmokeEmIfYouGotEm

Jordan Kirkpatrick and Janky Leg BBQ recently passed the seven-year anniversary of their first KCBS competition, a 27th-place out of 30 teams in Effingham, Illinois. Jordan recalled being “lost, confused and disappointed" with the results. On Episode 318 of the Tailgate Guys BBQ Podcast, Jordan reflected on the humbling start and the road to becoming a world champion a years later. Janky Leg is still going strong and nearing the fall, when the team is always at its best. He also hits upon some interesting theories, including that you’re not cooking against the other competitors, but instead against yourself. 

We also take a trip to the Grill Guys of Missouri for a visit with Skyler Spartan. And co-hosts Lyndal and Steve also review their cooking weeks, preview what’s ahead - including a trip to Excelsior Springs, Missouri this weekend for the competition side of the team. 

A big thanks to our show sponsors and marketing partners. Please support them:

Blues Hog #blueshognation Royal Oak Charcoal #charcoalofchampions  The Butcher Shoppe #alwayshandpicked  The Grill Guys of Missouri #grillguys417 Marty "Sign Man" Prather  Domino’s #pizza Clark Crew BBQ #clarkcrewbbq  Mister Brisket #thighlife

Have a great week! #SmokeEmIfYouGotEm

The OG #GOATOFBBQ can still get it done.

On Episode 317 of the Tailgate Guys BBQ Podcast, we visit with BBQ Hall of Famer Darren Warth about his latest KCBS Grand Championship, this one bigger than most. It came last weekend at the Grand American Barbecue World Championship in Port Jervis, New York. The $15,000 prize was one of the bigger non-majors he’s won and the second GC in the last month for he and wife Sherry’s Iowa Smokey D’s team. Darren told us about feeling reinvigorated about competition BBQ these days and it sounds like the three-time American Royal World Series of BBQ Grand Champion and past Jack Daniels World BBQ Invitational Grand Champ is far from finished. One of the most-interesting tidbits is how Darren, even with all his accolades, is not past asking some other top competitors for some help in getting his Pork Ribs back on track. What did he find out? And what about BBQ television shows? Darren explains why he’s never had any interest in doing them.

We also visit with Skyler Spartan about the latest from Grill Guys of Missouri. Tailgate Guys Co-hosts Lyndal and Steve also review their cooking weeks, preview what’s on the menu and take a quick tour of the sports world. 

A big thanks to our show sponsors and marketing partners. Please support them:

Blues Hog #blueshognation Royal Oak Charcoal #charcoalofchampions  The Butcher Shoppe #alwayshandpicked  The Grill Guys of Missouri #grillguys417 Marty "Sign Man" Prather  Domino’s #pizza Clark Crew BBQ #clarkcrewbbq  Mister Brisket #thighlife

Have a great week! #SmokeEmIfYouGotEm

When selected as one of 12 contestants for the Food Network program BBQ Brawl, Brad Leighninger of Nixa, Mo., said he just wanted to have fun and represent the competition BBQ world as best he could. Chalk it up as mission accomplished on both parts, plus a whole lot more. The pitmaster behind three-time (working on four-time) KCBS Team of the Year Gettin’ Basted made it all the way to the finale where he lost a tie-breaker with Georgia’s Kyle Bryner for Master of ‘Cue. 

On Episode 316 of the Tailgate Guys BBQ Podcast, Brad reflects on BBQ Brawl’s 10-episode journey from what it was like to be on legendary chef Bobby Flay’s team to the 16-day grind to film 10 shows to his relationship with Kyle “The Mountain Man” from Georgia (whom he incidentally has invited to join him at a BBQ major later this year). We also ask Brad his recommendation for the next competition BBQ cook for BBQ Brawl and he has a quick answer. 

Thanks to Brad for always being available to come on our show, going all the way back to 2016. We appreciate it - and more important, so do the listeners.

We also take a trip to Republic, Mo., for the latest happenings from The Grill Guys of Missouri with co-owner Skyler Spartan. Tailgate Guys Co-hosts Lyndal and Steve also review their cooking weeks and take a quick tour of the sports world.  

A big thanks to our show sponsors and marketing partners. Please support them:

Blues Hog #blueshognation Royal Oak Charcoal #charcoalofchampions  The Butcher Shoppe #alwayshandpicked  The Grill Guys of Missouri #grillguys417 Marty "Sign Man" Prather  Domino’s #pizza Clark Crew BBQ #clarkcrewbbq  Mister Brisket #thighlife

Have a great week! #SmokeEmIfYouGotEm

The competition BBQ world was rocked late last week by the tragic news that Ercole Chila from Uncle Pigs Barbecue Pit from Paulsboro, N.J., had been killed in an automobile accident. Two of Ercole’s shining accomplishments on the competition trail was Uncle Pig’s 2022 KCBS Team of the Year award and the 2023 Jack Daniels World BBQ Invitational championship. But beyond the smoke and tasty proteins was a man who was a friend to so many across the land. On Episode 315 of the Tailgate Guys BBQ Podcast we visit with two of Ercole’s close BBQ friends, Mike Licciardello and Dave Travis. They provide some insight on the man Ercole was and what made him special. We send our condolences to Ercole’s family and many friends.

We also take a trip to Republic, Mo., for the latest happenings from The Grill Guys of Missouri and co-owner Charlie Wallace. Tailgate Guys co-host Lyndal Scranton reviews the team’s doubleheader last weekend at Smokin’ on the Osage, where the Tailgate Guys brought home a first-place in brisket. We also recap the latest episode of BBQ Brawl on Food Network where our buddy Brad Leighninger is headed to the three-person finale this Sunday.  

A big thanks to our show sponsors and marketing partners. Please support them:

Blues Hog #blueshognation Royal Oak Charcoal #charcoalofchampions  The Butcher Shoppe #alwayshandpicked  The Grill Guys of Missouri #grillguys417 Marty "Sign Man" Prather  Domino’s #pizza Clark Crew BBQ #clarkcrewbbq  Mister Brisket #thighlife

Have a great week! #SmokeEmIfYouGotEm

For Ashton Smith and Josh Farley, the idea of a BBQ restaurant and food truck seemed unlikely a couple of years ago. But after winning the Made for KC competition in 2023, earning naming rights to the BBQ restaurant in Kansas City International Airport for what turned out to be 18 months, the O.G. Bandits are more than a championship KCBS competition team - they’re now an award-winning restaurant with a retail line of rubs and sauces and perhaps bigger things are coming soon. On Episode 314 of the Tailgate Guys BBQ Podcast, Ashton tells us about a world-wide restaurant hospitality award the O.G. Bandits recently received and recaps their BBQ journey. 

We also take a trip to Republic, Mo., for the latest happenings from The Grill Guys of Missouri and co-owner Skyler Spartan. And the co-hosts recap the latest episode of BBQ Brawl on Food Network where our buddy Brad Leighninger wowed 'em with his Beef Ribs. The guys also review their cooking weeks and look ahead to the Tailgate Guys’ return to competition in a big doubleheader this weekend in west-central Missouri. 

A big thanks to our show sponsors and marketing partners. Please support them:

Blues Hog #blueshognation Royal Oak Charcoal #charcoalofchampions  The Butcher Shoppe #alwayshandpicked  The Grill Guys of Missouri #grillguys417 Marty "Sign Man" Prather  Domino’s #pizza Clark Crew BBQ #clarkcrewbbq  Mister Brisket #thighlife

Have a great week! #SmokeEmIfYouGotEm

Episode 313 of the Tailgate Guys BBQ Podcast takes us back “Under the Rader” to learn the story of an up-and-coming competition team. This time it’s Brant Champoux from Second Hand Smoke out of Oskaloosa, Iowa. Brant discusses his journey from the backyard division to taking on all four meats in 2025, with a terrific showing in his first KCBS competition of the season.

There’s a terrific competition coming up in west-central Missouri. It’s the 7th annual Smokin’ on the Osage in Osceola with all the amenities a great contest needs. Chuck Simpson, who organizes the KCBS Masters and Backyard double with wife Jessica describes the ongoing battle to get teams to sign up in a timely matter and what is offered at this one. Chuck also is the coach of the Osceola High School BBQ teams, which have enjoyed tremendous success since starting the program five years ago.

Charlie Wallace from The Grill Guys of Missouri has the latest from the area’s leading BBQ store, located in Republic, Mo., and co-hosts Lyndal and Steve review their cooking weeks and the most-recent BBQ Brawl on Food Network where our buddy Brad Leighninger continues to advance.  

A big thanks to our show sponsors and marketing partners. Please support them:

Blues Hog #blueshognation Royal Oak Charcoal #charcoalofchampions  The Butcher Shoppe #alwayshandpicked  The Grill Guys of Missouri #grillguys417 Marty "Sign Man" Prather  Domino’s #pizza Clark Crew BBQ #clarkcrewbbq  Mister Brisket #thighlife

Have a great week! #SmokeEmIfYouGotEm

We catch up with one of America’s elite competition pitmasters and proprietor of Kansas City’s top BBQ restaurant on Episode 312 of the Tailgate Guys BBQ Podcast. Joe Pearce of Slaps BBQ is fresh off a Grand Championship at the 159-team Great Lenexa BBQ Battle, his 47th career KCBS Grand Championship. A three-time runner-up in KCBS Team of the Year standings, Joe tells us why that contest is special to him and talks about his decision to scale back his competition schedule. He’s also a former competitor on the Food Network program BBQ Brawl and gives his take on Season 6 and buddy Brad Leighninger’s showing so far. 

Skyler Spartan from The Grill Guys of Missouri has the latest from the area’s leading BBQ store, located in Republic, Mo., and co-hosts Lyndal and Steve review their cooking weeks and preview the upcoming 4th of July weekend. 

A big thanks to our show sponsors and marketing partners. Please support them:

Blues Hog #blueshognation Royal Oak Charcoal #charcoalofchampions  The Butcher Shoppe #alwayshandpicked  The Grill Guys of Missouri #grillguys417 Marty "Sign Man" Prather  Domino’s #pizza Clark Crew BBQ #clarkcrewbbq  Mister Brisket #thighlife

Have a great week! #SmokeEmIfYouGotEm

When you think of Oklahoma sports, you think of college with the Sooners or Cowboys and even Golden Hurricane. But these days, the Oklahoma City Thunder have turned the state into a pro basketball-frenzied state and to measure the enthusiasm we check in with Hall of Fame pit master Travis Clark of Clark Crew BBQ. Along with basketball, we visit with Travis about his restaurants, memories of his historic 2017 KCBS Team of the Year season and what he misses about the competition circuit. 

Charlie Wallace from The Grill Guys of Missouri has the latest from the area’s leading BBQ store, located in Republic, Mo., and co-hosts Lyndal and Steve review their cooking weeks and preview the upcoming weekend. 

A big thanks to our show sponsors and marketing partners. Please support them:

Blues Hog #blueshognation Royal Oak Charcoal #charcoalofchampions  The Butcher Shoppe #alwayshandpicked  The Grill Guys of Missouri #grillguys417 Marty "Sign Man" Prather  Domino’s #pizza Clark Crew BBQ #clarkcrewbbq  Mister Brisket #thighlife

Have a great week! #SmokeEmIfYouGotEm