Kansas City Barbecue Trivia

What is Kansas City-style barbecue?: Kansas City’s style differs from the popular methods of cooking barbecue in Texas or Memphis. Here in the heartland, our barbecue meat is slow smoked over wood, typically hickory, and slathered in a sweet and tangy tomato-based sauce.

25 cents: The price of slow-cooked ribs first sold in Kansas City by Henry Perry in the 18th & Vine neighborhood in 1908. The restaurant later became Arthur Bryant’s.

The most barbecue: According to the Kansas City Barbecue Society, we have more barbecue restaurants per capita than any other city in the United States.

11-13: The number of ribs in a full slab.

18 hours: Some Kansas City barbecue dishes are smoked up to 18 hours to reach perfection.

Chips too: The popularity of KC-style barbecue carries on in other local products. The most popular flavor of Guy’s potato chips, founded in 1938 in Kansas City, MO, is Legendary BBQ, which sold 230,134 bags in 2012.

Sides: The five most popular side dishes are baked beans, onion rings, potatoes (mashed, baked, fried or potato salad–it’s all good), cole slaw and corn.