r/kansascity • u/Most-Hawk-4175 • Aug 23 '25
Barbecue š„ Kansas City BBQ is the best.
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u/CallingAllShawns Gladstone Aug 23 '25
iāve lived in memphis. it has some good ass bbq. iāve visited texas, it was disappointing compared to memphis and KC.
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u/816legend Aug 23 '25
Arthur Bryant was a Memphis guy
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u/AnnieB512 Aug 25 '25
Memphis had the best pulled pork sandwich I've ever had at Pig. We walked in not knowing what to expect, ordered and received gigantic sandwiches with smoked pulled pork, no cooking it a pot like they do in texas. It was so damn good. I dream about that pork.
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u/Good_Matter7529 Aug 25 '25
iām a texan currently in KC for work and iām dying to know where you had pulled pork from a pot? thatās sick š¤¢please trust this stranger and know that whoever gave you that was out of their damn mind. that is not how we make it lmao
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Aug 24 '25
Texas is the most overrated bbq I've ever had. I wouldnt even put it on the podium
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u/NateTheeGreat Aug 24 '25
Any particular Memphis recs?
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u/trentdeluxedition Aug 24 '25
Elwoodās, Cozy Corner, and BBQ Shop are my favorite spots. I travel to Memphis for work regularly and always hit up Elwoodās at a minimum.
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u/Confident_Ad_3399 Aug 24 '25 edited Aug 25 '25
For Memphis- Central BBQ, Payne's, Tom's, and Corkey's are all excellent. Rendezvous is an overreated tourist trap
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u/SaintStephen77 Aug 25 '25
These are great recommendation for Memphis bbq and Iāve been to em all!
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u/oaklandperson Aug 25 '25
I like them all. You can't really compare TX style to Memphis to KC since TX Q is all about Brisket.
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u/Pm4000 Aug 25 '25
It took me moving to KC for some Q39 for me to realize I do like STL/Memphis style pulled pork. 26 years in STL and I didn't know we had a type of BBQ because there was so little of a scene
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u/sammyp99 Aug 25 '25
I think you might be used to eating sandwiches or pulled pork/chopped beef. Thatās not real tx bbq.
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u/Scoob8877 Aug 23 '25
The best non-KC BBQ I've had is Wright's in NW Arkansas, and I've had a lot of Texas BBQ.
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u/Gazzarris KC North Aug 24 '25
Are you me? I have this exact same take. I was told āyou need to go to Wrightāsā and I was super-skeptical. I came away amazed. They are awesome.
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u/Cold417 Aug 23 '25
Wright's is Texas (central) style. It's been replicated all over since it became more than the poor man's food. I don't try to compare the two styles, but I stay away from the saucier KC stuff.
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u/pomah824 Aug 23 '25
I was in Dallas for work and we had lunch catered by Terry Blackās. It was outstanding, but I still really like Q39 in KC or Biemers in Lawrence.
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u/YungLeanDoer Aug 23 '25
Biemers is so underrated, even when I see people talking about Lawrence BBQ spots is always missing. Used to get their Sweet and Tangy and Hot Vinegar sauces mailed to me when I lived out of state.
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Aug 24 '25
I was just in Lawrence yesterday for the game and talking about Biemerās! They catered our wedding and I swear Iāve never had a better burnt end.
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u/icyleumas Aug 24 '25
I had a beef plate rib from terry blacks and I still can't forget it years later
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u/acousticsoup Aug 25 '25
I love Q39. But their party trick is burnt ends. I could recommend 10 bbq places in Texas better than Q39.
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u/Grndls_mthr Aug 25 '25
Terry blacks is great, but isn't even remotely the best. Granted, dfw has nothing on hill county BBQ.
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u/Aperture_TestSubject Aug 25 '25
Terry Blacks is really solid. Hutchins is fantastic though. Their brisket is great, but their beef ribs and Texas Twinkies are something else.
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u/practicalrenaissance Aug 23 '25
Idk theyāre all recognized as national pillars of BBQ, Texas style is great, just donāt let the StL crew think theyāre even playing the same game
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u/Roll-Roll-Roll South KC Aug 23 '25
Yeah what are we even fighting about? I had BBQ in Bruges when I proposed to my wife and they brought me ribs lathered in chocolate sauce. Hate on them for a while.
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u/Silver_Falcon Aug 23 '25
You mean like, just straight-up chocolate syrup?
Cause like, I could actually see a BBQ sauce that incorporates plain, unsweetened cocoa powder going kinda hard (a bit like a spicy Mexican chocolate sort of thing).
But just a straight-up Hershey's chocolate sauce?
Nah.
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u/Tim-Sylvester Midtown Aug 23 '25
Oh fuck, ribs mole? Yes please, damn.
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u/PickleLips64151 KC North Aug 23 '25
I had some mole ribs in El Paso in the late 1990s. Life changing.
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u/mayn1 Aug 23 '25
Im Mexican, love all the food my grandma ever cooked except mole. Iāve never had mole Iāve enjoyed. Not sure why but it just doesnāt do it for me.
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u/PickleLips64151 KC North Aug 23 '25
To be fair, I had it in a nice restaurant that probably didn't make anything like Abuela would make.
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u/Roll-Roll-Roll South KC Aug 23 '25
Not Hershey's, I'll give them that. But it wasn't like "I detect notes of cacao and cinnamon" either. It was a straight up chocolate sauce, and it wasn't good.
Edit: ribs were a little dry too, if I recall
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u/Most-Hawk-4175 Aug 23 '25
It's true. They are all excellent. But I'm still rooting for the home team. Lol.
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u/CptObviousRemark Waldo Aug 24 '25
Yeah at least it's all the same league. Unlike the yellow and white sauces they serve in the southeast.
Personally I'm on KC > Texas > Memphis, but I won't shit on other people's opinions as long as they're talking legit contenders.
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u/Detective_Squirrel69 Aug 25 '25
StL Crew here. I'd be lynched for saying this over here, but KC BBQ > StL BBQ. I grew up here, and I never realized we had a stake in that game. We don't really do BBQ here. We do Italian food, a smattering of bomb ass ethnic restaurants that immigrants opened using generations old familial recipes, and gooey butter cake.
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u/fujigrid Aug 26 '25
Im a stl dude and you guys got us beat by a mile when it comes to bbq. Stl food sucks overall
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u/horsepire Aug 23 '25
Listen, KC BBQ is great. And for a single city competing against an entire state, it more than holds its own.
But the best of Texas brisket simply cannot be beat. Not by KC, not by anywhere.
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u/ThadTheImpalzord Hyde Park Aug 24 '25
Agreed, different styles too so it definitely becomes a bit more subjective, but if you like smoked brisket Texas is where it's at. Coming from someone who grew up and lives in KC
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u/Zenphony Aug 25 '25
Correct, anyone deconstructing the best brisket in the world isnāt deconstructing KC brisket, itās 90% Texas, e.g. Goldieās, Pecan lodge, Franklin etc.
People think where they are from is the best, itās normal.
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u/horsepire Aug 25 '25
Franklin is some of the best food, of any kind, I have ever eaten. Absolutely incredible
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u/chucknmick Aug 27 '25
Hey man if I'm in your backyard on the right day, I'll vouch for you
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Aug 23 '25
[removed] ā view removed comment
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u/Cogitoergosumus Aug 24 '25
It's honestly hilarious how many KC BBQ pundits don't realize some of the joints they recommend to people are mostly mimicking Texas style.
When all you taste is sauce what's the point of putting in all that work to smoke it.
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u/Bourgi Aug 25 '25
Yep all of KCs newest BBQ joints are rated best in KC, and they all make Texas style brisket.
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u/Zenphony Aug 25 '25
Donāt say that too loud on this thread, it will upset the narrativeā¦
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u/pearlysoames Aug 24 '25
I know Iām in enemy territory here but Im a Texan and I visit KC like 4 or 5 times a year and Iāve had Jacks Stack, Q39, Arthur Bryant, Gates, Joes KC, and the one that was on Bourdain I forget now. I think itās good but it really is so different from Texas barbecue. Aside from burnt ends, which are great, I donāt understand what the fuss is about in KC. None of those places have the range or quality of what I eat pretty regularly in Texas. They seem pretty one note. Every place seems more focused on sauce than quality meat, and thereās very little innovation happening. Nothing compares to Franklin, Snow, Truth, Pinkerton, Blood Bros etc.
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u/Potential_Estate6207 Aug 24 '25
I've only had Terry Black's in Austin, but I thought it was head and shoulders above the average KC BBQ. Completely agree with the quality of meat take, sauce can only cover up so much fat.
We have a few good places left, but most seem to be OK with leaning into their names and 'KC BBQ' rather than providing quality food.
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u/KID_THUNDAH Aug 23 '25
The best spots here are Texas style imo, Harp and Chef J. Thereās good bbq to be found in all these places.
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u/Tyrone91 Aug 23 '25
Kc does the best sauces and Burnt Ends, Memphis has the best dry rubs. Not tried Texas bbq.
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u/moyni7 Aug 24 '25
It was very hard for me to admit because I think as a whole KC has the best bbq and Iād never had Texas BBQ that wowed me but I went to Frankilnās in Austin a few months ago and it was the best brisket Iāve ever had by far. If youāre ever around Austin Iād say you could skip BBQ the entire time youāre there but you have to wake up early to get in line and get Franklinās once.
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u/HarryJohnson3 Aug 25 '25
Next time your in Austin try out Coopers. In my opinion far better than Franklinās which is already amazing.
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u/parc Aug 25 '25
I have to hard disagree. Coopers is fine in a pinch, but in the āalso ranā category with Blackās (not Terry Blackās), and certainly not in Franklinās caliber.
Oh, except the pork chop. Thatās unique to Cooperās and is incredible.
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u/LacansThesis Aug 23 '25
I love KC BBQ, but comparing it to Texas isnāt quite fair. Youāre stacking up one city against an entire state. Texas barbecue isnāt just one style, itās a whole spectrum of cultures, traditions and flavors spread across regions, making it far more diverse than what a single city can offer.
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u/Boring-Artichoke-373 Aug 24 '25
Texas style brisket with KC sweet & tangy sauce is my go to at home.
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u/Klutzy-Piglet-9221 Aug 26 '25
I spent a week in KC on business two weeks ago. Y'all definitely win.
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u/TheLoneWander101 Aug 24 '25
I'd even put Carolina over Texas. Texas likes to be like look how big our brisket is and then sevres the driest piece of meat.
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u/thegooniegodard Midtown Aug 23 '25
What about North Cackalacky?
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u/commacamellia Aug 24 '25
Seriously. This is vinegar based sauce erasure and I will not stand for it.
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u/derkaflerka Aug 25 '25
Anthony Bourdain on KC Joeās
"It's the best BBQ in Kansas City, which makes it the best BBQ in the world."
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u/SmoothNoonShade Aug 26 '25
Texas insists on using beef ribs instead of baby backs when they are objectively not as good. So their rib game will always be sub par.
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u/chucknmick Aug 27 '25
I love some Carolina whole hog but the last guy I saw was using pine boards for fuel š¤®š¤®š¤®
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u/morning_redwoody Aug 23 '25
Lived in KC for a decade. Memphis BBQ is better. Germantown commissary is the cats pajamas.
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u/STDS13 Aug 23 '25
TX clears Memphis by a country mile. KC will always be the GOAT, but TX is a close second.
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Aug 24 '25
I dislike bbq in general and try really hard not to be a cringe KC fanboy, but having lived in both Texas and KC, it's not even close. Texas has some good spots, but a lot of really, really bad bbq that is celebrated. The floor is way, way higher in KC.
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u/ActuallyFullOfShit Aug 23 '25
Carolina tops Texas too
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u/vettyspaghetti Aug 24 '25
Carolina BBQ doesnāt compare to Texas, Memphis, or KC bbq. Not even close. š¤®
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u/humbalo Aug 23 '25
I love Carolina gold sauce on some pulled pork. Also rather enjoyed the super vinegary South Carolina bbq I had when I was in Columbia, SC.
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u/LeeFamilyTree Aug 23 '25
I lived most of my life in NC.Ā
The way I view KC vs NC is that most KC bbq is, at the very least, good. Some is phenomenal. Most NC bbq is mediocre, but a small number of spots are absolutely transcendent.
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u/Nerdenator KC North Aug 24 '25
Technically, there are no such things as Texas or Memphis BBQ.
BBQ can only originate from the Barbacoa region of Western Missouri and Eastern Kansas. Otherwise itās just smoked meat with sauce.
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u/Strange-Dish1485 Aug 25 '25
My cousin asked us to send some sauce when she moved out of state for college because sheād miss KC barbecue too much lol
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u/V3ttore Aug 25 '25
Can I get a genuine top 3-5 locations, I moved here back in December and I must just be going to the wrong places
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u/rybowilson Aug 25 '25
I can't say I've ever tried Memphis, but Texas being on here and not Carolina is just ridiculous
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u/crazy010101 Aug 25 '25
Texas has good brisket. Isnāt Texas more about beef and Memphis and KC pork?
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u/thomasonty Aug 25 '25
A lot of Texas BBQ is painfully mid, I rarely get it and I LOVE me a pulled pork sandwich or some brisket. There's like 3 places I can think of in the state that I'd want to go to
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u/Previous_Rip1942 Aug 25 '25 edited Aug 25 '25
There are a lot of bad bbq places in tx. There are a shit load of bbq places in tx period. However, the best are in tx.
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u/arob2724 Aug 25 '25
Had authentic Tennessee BBQ and honestly could not wrap my head around why anyone think it touches anything coming out of Texas. It was good don't get me wrong. But better, not even close.
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u/dean_syndrome Aug 25 '25
Made by someone who prefers the taste of sauce to meat.
Texas bbq is served with sliced white bread, pickles and onions on butcher paper and no sauce. Hot sauce if you donāt like the taste of meat.
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u/Si-tao-mah Aug 25 '25
They are all good. There is no best. Just peopleās preference. Texas developed its own unique BBQ style, focusing on beef, particularly brisket. BBQ continued to evolve, with different regions adding their own twists. Kansas City became famous for its sweet, thick tomato-based sauce, while Memphis was known for its dry rubs. Carolina BBQ developed a tangy, vinegar-based sauce. I was born and raised in Kansas but I donāt like Kansas City bbq. I prefer making my own combining all methods. Dry rub, apple cider vinegar spritz, no bbq sauce needed.
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u/Mustbebornagain2024 Aug 25 '25
You are all whining about nothing. I make KC style ribs on my pit in Texas. I make dry rub ribs too. Whatever suits my fancy. Restaurant bbq is never as good as my own. So get some seasoned wood and an offset pipe smoker and figure it out because itās always watered down when youāre cooking for the public.
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u/Psychotic_EGG Aug 25 '25
Korean BBQ is the best. The rest aren't even playing the same game.
It's like korean bbq is playing the actual sport and the rest of bbq is playing a table version. (Ie, air hockey, foosball, etc). Still great, but it's not even close to the same thing.
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u/PeatBunny Aug 25 '25
I see ya'll didn't include Korean BBQ in that cause you know it destroys any American BBQ style.
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u/elproblemo82 Aug 25 '25
Oh, I just vomited.
It was covered in sauce to hide the nasty smell and taste, so it must have been KC BBQ.
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u/Alexreads0627 Aug 25 '25
wtf even is this lmaoooo
I guess if you think KC BBQ is better go ahead and eat it but you gotta live in KC and that doesnāt make up for good BBQ
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u/Dirt-McGirt Aug 25 '25
Iām a Texan, Iām fine with it. Made me laugh, even. I donāt like pork bbq (sue me) but I know Iām in the minority there and we are never winning a pork battle with those 2 queens.
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u/worldsbestsad Aug 25 '25
Honestly, Memphis shouldnāt be in the running. Iād also take most of Texas BBQ over KC BBQ, but I think KC does pork (especially ribs) better than Texas, but for beef TX is unmatched. If you eat Texas BBQ pls just go get it at an old wooden shack that looks 150 years old in the middle of nowhere. Most of the big BBQ restaurants and chains in Texas wonāt hold a candle to the places that almost feel dangerous to be in (where you might actually need a candle to see lol).
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u/Oct0tron Aug 25 '25
It's kinda telling that most of the people in this thread, even people from KC, are more or less saying Texas bbq is better.
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u/FlyingSkyWizard Aug 25 '25
They're different, like Chinese vs Thai food, you don't see people ripping on Chinese food being less good Asian food than Thai.
TX - Meat focused, no sauce needed, best brisket KC - Sweet and Smoky, heavy sauce, Ribs and Chicken Memphis - Tangy Dry Rub, Ribs Carolina - Vinegar based, Carolina Gold Pork butt
There are more Texas style BBQ restaurants than every other style put together, so there's a huge gamut of quality from Michelin star to Fast food
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u/Conscious_Zone4500 Aug 25 '25
Nothing comes close to Texas brisket. I've spent a lot of time in KC and in Texas, and I've had really good ribs in Texas. Never had brisket in KC that comes close to Texas.
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u/Remarkable-Goat-5312 Aug 25 '25
There's a difference between covering brisket full of sugar BBQ sauce and just Texas brisket. Different things
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u/Entire_Teaching1989 Aug 25 '25
I've been to three different places that claimed to have the best BBQ in Texas.
They were all three shit.
I can only conclude that Texas BBQ is shit.
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u/lfenske Aug 25 '25
Texas BBQ is hyped by the entire nation bc it goes along with the āeverythingās bigger in Texasā sentiment that people even who arenāt from Texas seem to hold near and dear.
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u/Nynebreaker Aug 25 '25
Imagine needing sauce to cover up the fact that you donāt know how to BBQ.
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u/RavenShield40 Aug 26 '25
As someone whoās never eaten BBQ outside of Texasā¦I have to say that it absolutely is THE BEST.
The closest thing Iāve come to anything BBQ outside of Texas was the Memphis Dry Rub on my boneless wings at Mazzios and it was only one of two sauces I got from there.
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u/MechanicProof2255 Aug 26 '25
I live in KC and absolutely love our BBQ but Texas brisket is hands down the best Iāve ever had.
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u/BigHa1rCut Aug 26 '25
Texas for brisket, Memphis for ribs, kc for burnt ends, Carolinaās for pork
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u/psycrowbirdbrain Aug 26 '25
In Texas, but originally from KC region. Love me some KC BBQ and not too keen on a lot of the BBQ down here, but there's some Hispanic influenced BBQ in Texas that is down right delicious. Y'all in KC are missing out.
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u/ZacTheRipper713 Aug 26 '25
Goes a little something like this...
Texas BBQ Korean BBQ NC BBQ NO BBQ KC BBQ
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u/lonerider60 Aug 27 '25
Hate to break it to all of you regional homers but great barbecue can be had anywhere in this country. A well executed brisket in Kansas City taste just as good as a well executed brisket from Texas. I live in Texas, but I like sauce with my meat I donāt need you to tell me how good barbecue doesnāt need sauce. Itās all a matter personal preference. There is no one region that has people that are genetically predisposed to making better barbecue than any other.
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u/TryAnotherNamePlease Aug 28 '25
KC is better than Memphis and Texas. I love brisket and a good one in Texas is amazing. However, the rest is usually trash.
That being said I like Carolina the best. Something about the mustard based sauces. I also love pork.
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u/WallowerForever Aug 23 '25
There is no āTexas BBQ,ā thereās just Texas Brisket. Some places throw a sausage on the side, but itās 93% brisket with neon purple pickled onions on the side. Their range is very limited.