The Very Best Barbecue in Kansas City for Burnt Ends, Brisket, and Gigantic Turkey Legs

5800 Blue Pkwy, Kansas City, MO 64129

Only a few material things have changed at LC’s since the restaurant opened in a liquor store in 1986. One of them’s the color of its three-tiered, brick-lined pit, which 30 years of grease and hickory smoke have turned a glossy, cast-iron black. The other change? It’s now Tausha Hammett coaxing crisp-barked, glistening ribs out of that pit instead of her grandfather, LC Richardson. LC’s is an old head’s dream, one of a handful of remaining KC joints where you can order your ribs from the “long end” or “short end.” Do order those ribs—but, as you always should in KC, save room for the beef burnt ends.

Buck Tui BBQ

Overland Park

6737 W 75th St, Overland Park, KS 66204

Thai flavors and Kansas City barbecue techniques collide at Buck Tui, a restaurant helmed by veteran Thai restaurateurs Teddy and Pam Liberda. The menu’s crossover highlights include an Isaan Thai sausage with makrut lime and Iemongrass, coconut red curry brisket, and an “X Man” sandwich—a riff on Joe’s famous Z-Man made with brisket, coriander-perfumed pulled pork, and a creamy version of the house Tiger Cry sauce.

Chef J BBQ

West Bottoms

1401 W 13th St, Kansas City, MO 64102

Kansas City earned a reputation as a Cowtown thanks to its bustling stockyards—at one time, the second largest in the country after Chicago. While you won’t find any (live) steers wandering around the stockyards district these days, you will find Chef J BBQ, a relative newcomer to the scene that turns out consistently tender ribs, moist pulled pork, and dewy, thick-sliced brisket—all smoked over hickory a few steps from the restaurant’s front door.

Night Goat Barbecue

Westside

2143 Summit Street, Kansas City, MO 64108

Night Goat Barbecue has rocketed to the top of many locals’ barbecue lists despite being a Saturday-only pop-up inside chef Vaughn Good’s Midwestern bistro Fox & Pearl. That will come as no surprise when you try the succulent pork belly, which is butchered in house by Guy Danforth and smoked by Good. Order that pork belly as a taco to try another local specialty: the Sonoran-style flour tortillas made by Lawrence, Kansas, tortilleria Caramelo. Every element at Night Goat has an artisan touch, from the house-fermented pickles and hot sauces to the cherry-wood-smoked ice cream. Hours are likely to expand beyond Saturdays soon; check the website before you visit for the most current info.

Harp Barbecue

Overland Park

12094 W 135th St, Overland Park, KS 66221

If KC Barbecue has a New School, the dean might be Tyler Harp. While Harp Barbecue is entering its sixth year, it still feels novel in its focus on luscious hand-cranked sausages, thick-sliced (gulp) Texas-style brisket, and upgraded sides (think: a twice-baked-potato salad or an especially silky mac and cheese). Detractors might argue that isn’t classically Kansas City, but that kind of gatekeeping misses the point. By nodding to other regional styles, Harp stays true to the core of KC ‘cue: doing a little bit of everything well, and with sauce.

Jack Stack

Multiple locations

101 W 22nd St, Kansas City, MO 64108

Jack Stack’s multiple locations, modern dining rooms, and date-night ambience can admittedly be a tough sell for diners who crave grease-trap “authenticity.” But the restaurant remains foundational thanks to its 50+ year local pedigree, its consistency with alternative cuts (lamb ribs, crown prime beef ribs), and its velvety cheesy corn—a side that has since spread to menus at many other KC barbecue spots. If you want a barbecue joint that takes reservations and has a cocktail menu, Jack Stack is tough to beat.