Tailgate Guys BBQ Podcast, Episode 252: Craig Verhage; Pirates of BBQ Bay
Release Date: 03/20/2024
Tailgate Guys BBQ Podcast, Epsiode 288: Mike Wozniak, Richard Fergola
Tailgate Guys BBQ Podcast
First of all, the Tailgate Guys BBQ Podcast wishes all a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! We are grateful to all our listeners, sponsors and marketing partners who dialed up the show in 2024 and we finish off Season 6 with a Hall of Fame featured guest. Mike Wozniak and Quau BBQ out of Brimfield, Ill., is one of the many great inductees in the inaugural KCBS Hall of Fame class coming up in January. On Episode 288 of the show, we talk it over with Mike about his competition career, which ran from 2001-2021 and included 76 Grand Championships. Mike discusses what competition cooking was like...
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Tailgate Guys BBQ Podcast, Episode 287: Craig Verhage, The Grill Guys of Missouri
Tailgate Guys BBQ Podcast
We’re back from a break - some of it by choice for Thanksgiving, some not due to some personal issues that needed attention - for Episode 287 of the Tailgate Guys BBQ Podcast. One of our favorites, “The BBQ Ninja” Craig Verhage, joins us for an always-fun conversation. Craig, who’s been involved heavily in BBQ competition and marketing for more than two decades, discusses how he’s able to be every-day-Craig along with his alter-ego of The BBQ Ninja. As marketing director for Royal Oak Charcoal since 2020, Craig discusses another strong season in various sanctioning bodies for...
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Tailgate Guys BBQ Podcast, Episode 286: Burnt Skull BBQ; Thanksgiving preview show
Tailgate Guys BBQ Podcast
They have more than just a cool team name. We’re talking about the guys from Burnt Skull BBQ. Joe Ricklefs, Adam Burch and Brandon Rose are friends from the Kansas City area who began their competition BBQ journey in 2023 and have had their walking shoes on ever since. Recently at the 44th American Royal World Series of Barbecue, in just its 15th KCBS competition, Burnt Skull finished an impressive sixth place overall in the 444-team Open. On Episode 286 of the Tailgate Guys BBQ Podcast, we talk it over with the guys from Burnt Skull about the outstanding result and how they’ve been able...
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Tailgate Guys BBQ Podcast, Episode 285: Kyle Kuhn, Richard Fergola
Tailgate Guys BBQ Podcast
On Episode 285 of the Tailgate Guys BBQ Podcast, we talk it over with the newest major champion of the BBQ world. Kyle Kuhn of Hot Daddy’s BBQ out of Grasston, Minn., reviews the competition BBQ journey of he and wife Amy from humble beginnings on a home-built offset smoker to winning the American Royal World Series of BBQ Invitational. It was the sixth Grand Championship of 2024 and 12th over the last three seasons and Kyle talks about the key to how Hot Daddy’s went from simply good to consistently great as they learned to cook on Hunsaker Drum Smokers. It’s also time for our monthly...
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Tailgate Guys BBQ Podcast, Episode 284: John Shirey II
Tailgate Guys BBQ Podcast
Swing and a long drive, deep left field … back, back, back … GONE! To borrow a baseball analogy, John Shirey II of Chunky BBQ hit the ultimate open-fire walk-off over the weekend at Kansas Speedway. Shirey and wife Stephanie won the 44th annual American Royal World Series of BBQ Open Grand Championship - a field of 444 teams from around the globe. Not only was it a major championship, it vaulted the Hershey, Pennsylvania team to KCBS Team of the Year honors by one point over 2023 champ Janky Leg BBQ. What a feat it was and on Episode 284 of the Tailgate Guys BBQ Podcast, we visit...
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Tailgate Guys BBQ Podcast, Episode 283: Diva Q; Blind Butt Limitless BBQ
Tailgate Guys BBQ Podcast
We’re off to the American Royal World Series of BBQ, but before departure we visited with some folks who are going to be a big part of the weekend. First up is Danielle Bennett, better known in the BBQ world as Diva Q. A championship competition pitmaster before launching a career as a television personality, cookbook author and brand ambassador, Diva Q will be honored on Saturday at The Royal as part of the 2024 BBQ Hall of Fame Class. She talks about her career and if she’s offended by the term “female pitmaster.” As usual, she’s a great interview. The next time we complain about...
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Tailgate Guys BBQ Podcast, Episode 282: Jess Pryles, Sterling Ball
Tailgate Guys BBQ Podcast
We bring you double star power on Episode 282 of the Tailgate Guys BBQ Podcast. First up is Jess Pryles, the Hardcore Carnivore. She’s not only an expert on all things meat and open-fire cooking, Jess now has her own television show. We visit with the native of Australia and transplanted Texan about her show “Hardcore Carnivore” now airing Season 1 on Outdoor Channel (check your local listings). Season 2 already has been recorded and will air sometime in 2025. We also catch up with “Big Poppa” himself, Sterling Ball, one of the all-star lineup of inductees selected for the KCBS...
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Tailgate Guys BBQ Podcast, Episode 281: Alby Ransom, Richard Fergola
Tailgate Guys BBQ Podcast
Scuffletown Smokers has been a successful competition team for several years, but because the family team from Boonville, Indiana, cooks a limited amount of events perhaps many aren’t familiar with them. Well, that all changed last weekend when head cook Alby Ransom and Scuffletown Smokers became the sports newest “major” champ by winning the Jack Daniels World Invitational. On Episode 281 of the Tailgate Guys BBQ Podcast, we visit with Alby about the big win and his team’s steady journey to success on the competition scene. Richard Fergola of Fergolicious BBQ and Proud Souls BBQ &...
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Tailgate Guys BBQ Podcast, Episode 280: 1st-time American Royal teams
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. Gemme of The Burnt Crow out of St. Louis. We get some background from each about their BBQ journeys and find out their expectations about the first experience at the American Royal. We also check in...
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Tailgate Guys BBQ Podcast, Episode 279: "Fast Eddy" Ed Maurin
Tailgate Guys BBQ Podcast
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 BBQ world as an innovator and builder of pellet smokers. He tells stories of how it all came to be and how cooking pizza on high-temp pellet-fired cookers is his new frontier. We also check in...
info_outlineSpring 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