Kansas City Barbecue: Burnt Ends, Sauce and History

Kansas City barbecue is a mix of slow-smoked meats, a thick tomato-based sauce and burnt ends, the crusty, fatty pieces cut from the point of a smoked brisket. Beef, pork and chicken all appear, and the plate often comes with baked beans, fries and coleslaw. It began in the early 1900s with one pitmaster selling smoked meat from a trolley barn.

What makes this style different?

Most American barbecue is defined by one meat or one sauce. This style is defined by range. Beef, pork and chicken are the main meats, and turkey, lamb, sausage and sometimes fish are cooked as well. The meat is seasoned with a dry rub, smoked slowly over a mix of woods and then served with sauce.

That sauce is the second signature. It is thick and tomato-based and usually sweet, built from tomatoes, brown sugar and molasses. The history is less tidy than the menu. One account says the original sauces were harsh and peppery, and that the sweet style spread much later, so the sauce a visitor knows today is younger than the barbecue itself.

Who was Henry Perry, and why does the story start with him?

Henry Perry is widely credited as the father of Kansas City barbecue. He came from Shelby County, Tennessee, near Memphis, and is said to have started serving in 1908 from a trolley barn near 19th Street and Highland, close to the neighborhood of 18th and Vine. He sold slow-cooked ribs wrapped in newspaper, at about twenty-five cents a slab, first from a cart and then from a restaurant.

When Perry died in 1940, his restaurant passed to Charlie Bryant, and his brother Arthur took over in 1946. In the same year Arthur Pinkard, a former Perry cook, helped George Gates open another family barbecue business. Two of the city's best-known barbecue names, in other words, trace back to the same kitchen.

What are burnt ends?

Burnt ends are the crusty, fatty pieces cut from the point of a smoked beef brisket. The point is the thicker, fattier section of the cut, and a long smoke breaks down its fat and gristle into a juicy middle with a crunchy bark. The Takeout reports that they began as the charred chunks handed out to customers waiting in line, and that a magazine article in the early 1970s praised the free burnt edges and pushed them onto menus.

Credit for the idea is still argued over. Some accounts credit Arthur Bryant's kitchen, others say the dish developed over decades among many cooks, and at least one pitmaster has said he does not know that the best-known name ever sold them. Today they are traditionally cubed, sometimes chopped, and piled on an open-faced sandwich, and they now appear in tacos, burgers and hash.

How does the tomato sauce work?

The sauce is a regional staple that is easy to misread as just sweet and thick. In practice it varies from one kitchen to the next. Some are sweeter, some have more vinegar bite and some have heat. Many places bring the sauce to the table so you can choose, and some pour it over the meat.

Ask whether they come sauced. Some kitchens glaze them in the pan, some serve the sauce on the side and some leave them bare. If you like a clean bark, ask for the sauce on the side. If you like a sticky, caramelized edge, ask for them glazed.

How do you order at the counter?

Longtime barbecue places in the city take your order at a counter, and the decor is plain by design: fluorescent lights and Formica tables are part of the tradition. Staff often greet you with a quick question, and the line moves fast, so know what you want before you reach the front.

Choose a meat and a size, then your sides. Baked beans in this part of the country are sweet, smoky and often studded with meat. Fries and coleslaw are the usual partners. A sandwich with sliced brisket or the point ends is a good first order, and a combination plate lets a group share a bit of everything. They sell out, so go early if they are the goal.

How can Mosey help you remember Kansas City barbecue?

Barbecue is a dish-by-dish business, so rate it that way. When you rate a place on Mosey, rate the brisket ends, the ribs, the sausage and the beans one at a time, because they rarely deserve the same score. Add tags such as Kansas City BBQ so that your friends can search for a style, not just a name.

Start a list for a visit and add each stop with a note, such as who sauces what or when the burnt ends run out. Send the list to friends by link and follow them to see where they rate and save. Rating five different places of one kind earns the Sampler mark, and the Dishes page shows what people are rating near you.

Mosey is free for a place to list, with no hidden fees, which matters when a family-run pit is your favorite. If you want more Kansas City reading, the best barbecue in Kansas City guide and the Crossroads guide are a good start, and the US food guides cover the rest. For another American sauce story, read about Alabama white sauce.

What should you know before you visit?

Barbecue hours are set by the meat, not the clock. Many places close when the day's brisket is gone, and the best of the point goes first. Check ahead with the place, carry a little cash for a tip jar and expect to eat with your hands.

Open the Mosey app, rate each dish and keep a list of your stops so your next trip begins with your own notes.