Best Kansas City Barbecue Recipes

KANSAS CITY SWEET AND SMOKY BARBECUE RUB

Steps:

• Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and stir or whisk to mix. Transfer to a large jar, cover, and store away from heat and light. The rub will keep for several weeks.

KANSAS CITY BARBECUE SAUCE

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, combine all ingredients; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

RIBS WITH KANSAS CITY BARBECUE SAUCE

Steps:

• Make the sauce: Combine the garlic, chili powder, cayenne, allspice, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon black pepper in a bowl. Whisk the ketchup, 1 cup water, the vinegar, mustard, molasses, brown sugar and Worcestershire sauce in a separate bowl. Heat the vegetable oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the garlic mixture and cook, stirring, until the oil turns brick red, about 1 minute. Add the ketchup mixture and bring to a gentle simmer; cook, whisking occasionally, 30 minutes.
• Make the ribs: Soak 1 heaping cup hickory, mesquite or apple-wood chips in water, at least 30 minutes. Prepare a grill for indirect cooking over medium-low heat (about 250 degrees F): On a charcoal grill, bank the coals to one side; on a gas grill, turn on only one side of the burners. Cover the grate on the cooler side of the grill with aluminum foil. Close the grill lid. Position the ribs on a cutting board, meat-side down. Slip a small knife between the bone and membrane, then gently pull off the membrane. Sprinkle the racks with 1 teaspoon each salt and black pepper on both sides. Drain the wood chips. For a charcoal grill, scatter the chips directly over the hot coals; for a gas grill, put the chips in a smoker box and position over direct heat. Put the ribs meat-side up on the foil on the cooler side of the grill. Close the grill lid; bring the temperature back up and cook the ribs, undisturbed, 3 hours. (For a charcoal grill, adjust the vents, or add more hot, ashed-over coals as needed to maintain consistent heat.) Remove the ribs and close the lid. Wrap each rack tightly in foil, then return to the cooler side of the grill, meat-side down; close the lid and grill 2 more hours. Remove the ribs and carefully unwrap. Return to the cooler side of the grill, meat-side up; cook, basting generously with the sauce halfway through, until the meat is tender, about 1 more hour. Remove the racks and let rest a few minutes before slicing. Serve with the remaining sauce. Photograph by Con Poulos

KANSAS CITY BARBECUE SAUCE

Steps:

• In a medium saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add onion and garlic; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is soft, 2 to 3 minutes. Add ketchup, brown sugar, vinegar, molasses, Worcestershire, mustard, cayenne, and lemon juice. Bring to a simmer. Cook, stirring occasionally, until thick, about 5 minutes. Carefully transfer mixture to a blender and puree until smooth. Sauce can be cooled completely and refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.

KANSAS CITY STYLE BARBECUE SAUCE

Steps:

• In medium dutch oven, heat oil over medium high heat till shimmery (but not smoking). Add onion and garlic and cook till soft, about 5 minutes.
• Add stock, root beer, vinegar, corn syrup, molasses, tomato paste, ketchup, mustard, hot sauce, and 1/4 teaspoons liquid smoke. Stir with a whisk till well combined.
• Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium and simmer till mixture has thickened and reduced to about 4 cups, about an hour. Remove from heat and stir in remaining liquid smoke.
• Sauce will keep about a week in the refrigerator, or up to four months if frozen.

KANSAS CITY-STYLE BARBECUE SAUCE

Steps:

• Heat the vegetable oil in a medium pot over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook until the onion is golden, 6 to 7 minutes. Add the tomato sauce, 1 cup water, the vinegar, ketchup, brown sugar, molasses, Worcestershire sauce, tomato paste, mustard, garlic powder and 1 teaspoon salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium low and simmer until the onion is tender, about 15 minutes. Stir in the liquid smoke. Strain the sauce, pressing on the solids to extract any liquid.
• Photograph by Andrew Purcell

KANSAS CITY STYLE BARBECUE SAUCE WITH TRUVIA® NATURAL SWEETENER

Steps:

• Saute onion and garlic in butter in medium sauce pan.
• In a separate small bowl, stir together the remaining ingredients.
• Add to sauce pan, simmer for 30 minutes. For thinner sauce, reduce cook time, and for thicker sauce increase cook time.
• For best results, refrigerate overnight before use.

KANSAS CITY BARBECUE SAUCE

Steps:

• 1. Place oil in a large non-aluminum saucepan over medium-low heat. Add onion, bell pepper, and garlic. Lightly saute until translucent.
• 2. Add the rest of the ingredients and simmer for about 10 or 15 minutes.

KANSAS CITY STYLE BARBECUE SAUCE

Steps:

• Place all ingredients in a large saucepan over medium heat until bubbly and mix well.
• Reduce heat to low and simmer for up to 20 minutes. For a thicker sauce, simmer longer; for a thinner sauce, less time is needed. Sauce can also be thinned by using a bit of water.
• Brush sauce onto any kind of meat during the last 10 minutes of cooking.
• Store in a tightly sealed container in the refrigerator.

FRIED EGGS WITH KANSAS CITY-STYLE BARBECUE SAUCE FOR 1

Steps:

• Heat up a skillet on medium heat then add the olive oil.
• Arrange the arugula leaves on a plate.
• Gently crack the egg(s) and lightly fry for 3 minutes, or to your preference.
• Carefully arrange the fried egg on the arugula leaves.
• Spoon barbecue sauce on and around the egg and greens.
• Grate cheese on top followed by a garnish of fresh cilantro.
• Season with cracked black pepper.

KANSAS CITY STYLE BARBECUE SAUCE WITH TRUVíA® NATURAL SWEETENER

Steps:

• Sauté onion and garlic in butter in medium saucepan.
• In a separate small bowl, stir together the remaining ingredients.
• Add to saucepan; simmer for 30 minutes. For thinner sauce, reduce cook time, and for thicker sauce increase cook time.
• For best results, refrigerate overnight before use.
• *This sauce has 35 calories and 5 grams of sugar per serving compared to the full-sugar version that has 80 calories and 17 grams of sugar per serving.

KANSAS CITY BARBECUE

Steps:

• Combine all ingredients in shaker and use as "rub" on the following meats.
• Peel membrane off the back of each slab. Then rinse the slab off to get rid of bone dust. Dry with cotton towel. Take shaker of "rub" and lightly coat both sides of meat.
• Preparing smoker: Put charcoal in chimney with paper underneath and light. (Do not use charcoal lighter-it will taint the flavor of the meat.) Let coals get hot, about 30 minutes. Transfer coals into smoker, and add 1 hickory log per hour on top of charcoal if smoker is big. (Adjust if using small smoker.) Wait until temperature of smoker reaches 220 degrees. Leave damper open so you don't trap stale smoke in chamber. Over course of cooking, maintain heat with additional coal and wood, as needed. After placing ribs inside smoker, spritz with apple juice once an hour. After about 3 hours, when meat is nice dark color, spritz one last time and wrap in foil. Let ribs cook in foil for another 2 hours, giving you a total cook time of 5 hours. You can feel when the ribs are tender rather than rubbery (they bend rather than bounce back). Unwrap them (carefully), lift them out of juice and place on cutting board, brush on room temperature BBQ Sauce. Slice into individual ribs and serve.