Everything about Kansas City-style Barbecue totally explained
Kansas City barbecue refers to the specific
inner city style of
barbecue that evolved from the pit of
Henry Perry in the early 1900s in
Kansas City, Missouri. The
Kansas City Metropolitan Area is renowned for barbecue. Kansas City, Missouri has more than 100 barbecue restaurants and proclaims itself to be the "world's barbecue capital." There are large, well attended barbecue cooking contests, the two most notable being in
Lenexa, Kansas and at the
American Royal.
In
1977,
Rich Davis began the efforts to nationally market a more suburban version of barbecue sauce called
KC Masterpiece (which is now owned by a division of
Clorox). Efforts by
Arthur Bryant's and
Gates and Sons Bar-B-Q to export Kansas City barbecue beyond the metro area have not been commercially successful, although the two do market their sauces to travelers at
Kansas City International Airport.
Fiorella's Jack Stack Barbecue has been shipping its barbecue nationwide since 2000, and also offer their sauces and fully cooked pork rib packages at the airport.
Henry Perry
Kansas City traces its barbecue history to
Henry Perry, who operated out of a trolley barn at 19th and Highland in the legendary
African-American neighborhood around
18th and Vine.
Perry served slow-cooked ribs on pages of
newsprint for 25 cents a slab. Perry came from
Shelby County, Tennessee near
Memphis and began serving barbecue in
1908. The style of Kansas City and Memphis barbecue are very similar, although Kansas City tends to emphasize using as much sauce as possible. Perry's sauce had a somewhat harsh, peppery flavor.
Perry's restaurant became a major cultural point during the heyday of
Kansas City Jazz during the "wide-open" days of
Tom Pendergast in the 1920s and 1930s.
Arthur Bryant
Working for him was Charlie Bryant, who, in turn, brought his brother,
Arthur Bryant, into the business. Charlie took over the Perry restaurant in
1940 after Perry died. Arthur then took over his brother's business in
1946, and the restaurant was renamed
Arthur Bryant's. In the process he sweetened Perry's sauce with molasses "so that you could eat it on bread."
Arthur Bryant's, which eventually moved to 1727 Brooklyn in the same neighborhood, became a stopping ground for baseball fans and players in the 1950s and 1960s, because of its close proximity to
Municipal Stadium, where the
Athletics or A's played their home games during that period.
In
1974, Kansas City native
Calvin Trillin wrote an article in
New Yorker Magazine proclaiming Bryant's to be the best restaurant on the planet.
Despite new-found fame, Bryant didn't change the restaurant's very simple decor, which consisted of fluorescent lighting, formica tables, and five-gallon jars of sauce displayed in the windows, even as Presidents
Harry Truman,
Jimmy Carter and
Ronald Reagan stopped by.
Bryant died of a heart attack, in a bed that he kept at the restaurant, shortly after Christmas of
1982. The restaurant is still open. The barbecue sauce has peppers, herbs, different spices combined to make a sweeter, yet still peppery sauce. The sauce and restaurant continue their success.
Gates & Sons
In
1946 Arthur Pinkard, who was a cook for Perry, joined with George Gates to form
Gates and Sons Bar-B-Q. The restaurant was situated initially in the same neighborhood.
More molasses was added to the Gates barbecue sauce to make it sweeter. Gates also expanded its footprint in a more conventional way, with restaurants all displaying certain trademarks -- red-roofed buildings, a recognizable logo (a strutting man clad in tuxedo and top hat) and the customary "Hi, May I Help You?" greeting belted out by its employees as patrons enter.
Gates has opened restaurants throughout the Kansas City metropolitan area. Gates also sells barbecue sandwiches at
Kauffman Stadium during
Kansas City Royals home games.
The Gates family has become Kansas City royalty, including limos with "Strutin" license plates. Ollie W. Gates, the current owner, has used his popularity to bring notice to local Black rights, including the 18th and Vine district (special thanks to former Mayor now Congressman Emanuel Clever).
KC Masterpiece
In
1977,
Rich Davis capitalized on the inner city reputation of Kansas City barbecue to form
KC Masterpiece, which evolved from his "K.C. Soul Style Barbecue Sauce."
KC Masterpiece was sold to the Kingsford division of
Clorox in
1986 and now claims to be the number one premium barbecue brand in the U.S. The KC Masterpiece brand tastes actually sweeter than the classic Bryant's and Gates sauces.
Davis has held KC Masterpiece barbecues on the
White House lawn for
George H.W. Bush and
George W. Bush.
According to the History Channel, Mr. Davis bucked the trend of KC BBQ restaurants by developing his sauce first, then creating a restaurant. The History Channel states that the usual trend is to develop the restaurant first, then develop the sauce (as in Bryant's and Gates). The History Channel also states that KC is the crossroads of the BBQ community (due to the early influence of railroads), and also states that the sauce of the restaurant is the most important feature of KC BBQ.
When Davis sold the rights to his sauce to Clorox, he announced plans to build a franchise of barbecue restaurants. Although new restaurants were indeed built in major metropolitan centers across the country, all except for the original restaurant in
Overland Park, Kansas have since closed.
Other Famous Kansas City BBQ
Other famous and popular Kansas City BBQ restaurants include the following:
Kansas City Barbeque Society
The
Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS), with over 6,000 members world-wide, is the world’s largest organization of barbecue and grilling enthusiasts. KCBS is a nonprofit organization dedicated to "promoting barbeque and having fun while doing so."
KCBS sanctions more than two hundred barbecue contests across the U.S. each year and offers assistance to civic and charitable organizations with producing these events. The KCBS has developed a set of rules and regulations that govern all official KCBS competitions.
KCBS offers educational programs, consultation services, and civic organization presentations to help spread the gospel of barbecue. The mission of the Kansas City Barbeque Society is to celebrate, teach, preserve, and promote barbecue as a culinary technique, sport and art form.
website
Further Information
Get more info on 'Kansas City-style Barbecue'.
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