The crusted, caramelised tips of a beef brisket point, smoked low for 15 hours, hand-cubed and sometimes returned to the smoker. Sweet, smoky, fatty, the defining Kansas City barbecue plate.
Where to eat it: 5 restaurants across 1 city.
Burnt ends started as the brisket scraps Arthur Bryant gave away at the counter on Brooklyn Avenue. Calvin Trillin's 1974 Playboy essay declaring Bryant's the single best restaurant in the world made Kansas City barbecue national news; the burnt ends became the proof-of-concept dish. Today every Kansas City BBQ joint offers them, made from the brisket point alone, sliced or cubed, with sauce on the side or worked into the bark.
Tip from the editors. Use only the brisket point; the flat is too lean and dries out. Hickory and oak give the canonical KC bark; mesquite is too aggressive.
Arthur Bryant's on Brooklyn Avenue in Kansas City is the canonical BBQ address, with roots back to Henry Perry's 1908 pit and the Bryant family's takeover.
Signature: Burnt ends, Beef brisket sandwich, Pork ribs
Order: Burnt ends sandwich on Wonder Bread with the rust-coloured original sauce.
Tip: Open Monday through Friday 10:00-20:00, Saturday 11:00-20:00, Sunday 11:00-19:00. Cash and card; sauce sold by the bottle.
Joe's Kansas City Bar-B-Que runs out of a working Shamrock gas station at 47th and Mission in Kansas City, Kansas, where the Stehneys opened in 1996.
Signature: Z-Man sandwich, Burnt ends, Carolina pulled pork
Order: The Z-Man sandwich, slow-smoked brisket with provolone, onion rings and barbecue sauce on a kaiser roll.
Tip: Open Monday through Saturday, closed Sunday. Walk-in only and the line moves; lunch sells out by 14:00 on weekends.
Rob Magee's Q39 on 39th Street in Kansas City applies a competition-circuit pitmaster's discipline to weeknight barbecue, with a full bar and table service.
Signature: Burnt ends, Pit Master Brisket sandwich, Mr. Burns sandwich
Order: Pit Master Brisket sandwich on a brioche bun and the burnt-ends plate to share.
Tip: Sun to Thu 11:00-21:00, Fri and Sat 11:00-23:00. Walk-ins and reservations both accepted; the brisket plate sells out late.
Jack Stack's Freight House in Kansas City's Crossroads serves Russ Fiorella's family barbecue under 25-foot ceilings inside a converted railroad warehouse.
Signature: Burnt ends, Hickory pit beans, Lamb ribs
Order: Burnt ends, lamb ribs and the famous hickory pit beans baked with sausage.
Tip: Reservations on OpenTable; the bar takes walk-ins from 17:00. Five metro locations including the Plaza and Martin City original.
Slap's BBQ on Central Avenue in Kansas City Kansas runs a competition-pitmaster operation since 2014 and sells out daily by mid-afternoon, ribs first.
Signature: Burnt ends, Pork ribs, Brisket
Order: Burnt ends and pork ribs at the counter; grab them before the kitchen sells out.
Tip: Open Tue to Sat 11:00-19:00, often closed earlier if meat runs out. Walk-in only.
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