A blog post from a friend of Todd's provides an opportune time for the latest round of Battle BBQ: Texas v. Kansas City. Which one does BBQ better? (View previous battles.)
I didn't even know KC has BBQ. I thought it was just a steak town. Anyway, if you've had both, whose brand of BBQ is better? Weigh in, and don't feel the need to play nice. I mean, this is BBQ we're talking about here.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
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6 comments:
I've had both, and I feel that KC style emphasizes sides and sauces. This one of the reasons you see such a wide diversity of meats (and fish) used in KC style; the sauces and sides are meant to adapt to each meat.
Obviously Texas style focuses more on beef in general, with rubs being emphasized and sauces generally disfavored. As a result, a premium is place on cooking the meat right and letting it stand alone.
It's personal preference. But I'm a Texas-style through and through....don't need no stinking fish and sauce here!
Twitter reply:
Texas #BBQ takes the cake.
Twitter reply:
#texasbbq no doubt
I think Martin hit all the high points, so I'll just shut up now.
TEXAS.
The main difference I see, at least when it comes to brisket, is philosophical. It seems like the KC ideal is to transform the lowly brisket into a finely-textured and tender slice, like a good roast. The Central Texas style is more about working with the limitations and making something unique and delicious. (Another telling difference: KC slices are thin and you get no bark or seasoning. All that stuff is on the burnt ends, which are much tastier than the internal meat.) I'm not big on the KC overreliance on sauce myself, and I was sorely disappointed by the absence of sausage.
Texas by a mile.
I'm from TX but spend a lot of time in Kansas City because my wife is from KC. I've grown to respect KC BBQ but I definitely go with TX as the winner.
KC BBQ did contribute burnt ends, which was previously mentioned. That alone puts them in the conversation. Beyond that though they talk about KC BBQ in terms of who has the best sauce and sides. The meat is inconsequential. As a Texas BBQ fan I can't get over that.
From what I can tell the emphasis on sauce comes from the fact that KC BBQ culture was birthed in poorer areas that relied on lesser quality meat. To overcome the low quality meat they had to develop sauces to make it palatable. Of course that was a long time ago but the tradition is still there and can be seen at places like Arthur Bryant's and Gates BBQ.
Quality Texas BBQ is all about the meat, presumably because the tx BBQ culture seems to be birthed more out of the butcher/meat market where higher quality meat was available. It starts with smoked meat and sauce, if available, is only there to enhance, not define, the BBQ.
Last year my KC native wife of 12 years finally admitted it herself: Texas BBQ is better.
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