Jack Stack Burnt Ends...WTF???
 

I was in KC last week and had to satisfy my craving for a Burnt Ends sandwich. I ordered the Poor Russ and was very disappointed. It was no different than a run of the mill chopped brisket sandwich that I could get anywhere. I went to Gates the next day and got a real Burnt Ends sandwich before I left town. I cant remember the last time I had a burnt ends sandwich from Jack Stack, but I could swear that they used to be good.

they aren't true burnt ends.

I've done JS twice and yet to be impressed.

My last was from Gates it was very good ......

It is next to impossible to get burnt ends outside KC, so I usually stop at Gates when I am in town just for the burnt ends. In the opinion of the locals, does Gates have the best burnt ends? Or is there someplace else I should try next time?

Just out of curiousity which Jack Stack did you go to. The last time I was in town and went to JS it was in Overland Park and the food flat out sucked.

I have also done Arthur Bryants out by the track and it sucked.

I have come to the conclusion only the originals are any good. But I haven't really been to one of the originals in quite awhile. Maybe they suck too.

Bryant's used to give their burnt ends to the local street urchins. Frank White was one of those urchins.

I ate at the Freight House on 22nd st.

LC's BBQ is the only place you need to go for burnt ends. Wow.

Burnt ends are really greasy. Why not try some nice brisket or ribs?

Yeah, I avoid the one off 95th street when I'm in KC as well. My friends and I used to always stop at the one in Martin City before getting on the highway to head to Tablerock Lake.

I concur.

I was in KC two weeks ago and got the Jackstack Burnt Ends plate for lunch. Even though it was 2pm, they wouldn't serve the lunch portion, only the dinner portion (contrary to their menu). I thought "What the hell". I'm rarely if ever in KC so I went for it.

I was shocked: What I got was four small pieces of sausage and four small pieces of brisket. This was the dinner plate? And where are the burnt ends?

It made it even worse because we did take out, so I had no recourse.

95th & Metcalfe location.

Never again.

Jack Stack is overrated. Plain and simple.

I like the Poor Russ, but Jack Stack is indeed very overrated.

O.K......You guys all define what burnt ends are to you individually. I always thought burnt ends were a bi product of smoked meats. Ribs and pork butts. You know....the burnt edges that were taken off before the entree was sreved. Burnt Ends! Slather that in some sauce and yummy!

PhilFree:arrow:

Damn you people. I want a barbecue rib with thick tangy sauce so bad that I can literally taste it in my mouth right now.

Every "for-profit" BBQ place is extremely disappointing these days. They short-cut everything to make a buck.

Any backyard BBQer can beat the pants off the restaurants. I haven't ordered BBQ from a restaurant in years because it's all crap.

I had Zarda's during that trip and I thought it was very, very good.

I'm sure you're right about that but unfortunately, I don't have the equipment or the mouths to eat such a fine feast.

I'd end up weighing 25-30 pounds more in three months.

This is so true.
Back-yarders spend more time and consistently produce a better end product.
Ribs, brisket, pork, turkey. It doesn't matter.
I rarely eat "out" for BBQ. I can do it so much better at home.

Get Babb on the horn, we figured out what Bowe was doing January through March. :D

I'm getting married next month and just got my first grill as a wedding gift. Great gesture, too bad the person who got it for us doesn't realize we live in the city. I got a 200 pd. grill in a box sitting in my living room.

Oh and piss on JS.

I tried your "chopped walnuts in the burger for texture" idea last night. I admit skepticism but I actually dug it.

Concur. :thumb:

Cool. I did it on a whim. Loved it. Been too long since I've done it. Need to break it out again.

Damn straight.

Shut your dirty whore mouth.

LMAO

jjchieffan or anyone who isn't into Jack Stack burnt ends or the burnt end sandwich, is it that you find that the meat is too gristly & fatty? I've had a couple friends complain about that when we ate there, one of them absolutely hated it because he said the meat was half gristle. Personally, I consider Jack Stack and Oklahoma Joes the best BBQ I've ever had, I usually get the Z Man or wild hog at OK Joes and usually get ribs or bbq chicken at Jack Stack.

So what's "burnt ends"?

PhilFree:arrow:

my personal favorite for burnt ends is bates city

I was taught to make burnt ends from the "Point of a Brisket" Once I complete smoking my brisket I seperate the point and the flat. I chop the point and return it to the smoker. The flat we slice and eat while the "burnt ends" are completing the process.

Burnt ends are very tasty chewet morsels with a heavy smokey taste. They also go great in beans. They really aren't for everybody. Some folks like my wife aren't really big fans of them.

I am not sure but I think a lot of BBQ joints will just chop up a whole brisket to make burnt ends since a brisket will not yield the quantities needed to fill the requests for them.

None of this post is true.

People that know what they're doing can always beat the pants off of the restaurants, sure, but not every person with a smoker on their back patio really knows how to barbecue effectively.

And not every BBQ restaurant is extremely disappointing. I can get incredible food on a regular basis from about 4 or 5 KC places.

Copied from a post I made back in Jan., here are the top 5 places in KC for burnt ends:

1.) L.C.'s (as long as they don't "tourist" you. They run low everyday and save the real ends for regulars).

2.) Smokin' Guns

3.) Woodyard

But ya'll wouldn't know about that #2 & #3 shit, since all the talk is about the hugely popular places (Bryant's, Gates, Jack Stack, Smokestack) that aren't worth much of a shit comparatively.

4.) Oklahoma Joe's (only available on Wed. nights)

5.) Snead's

I have to concur with Phobia.

If you want good BBQ make it yourself.
On a whim we had Jack Stack 2 weeks ago and I found it quite bland and way over priced.

True BBQ should be Well Seasoned and have a Deep Smoky Flavor.

I have been disappointed in the consistency of most places.

Burnt ends are what they sound like. The burnt end pieces from slicing the brisket.

Ang

I loved Zarda's as well.

Blue Springs I think.

This.

I have said in just about every thread about best KC BBQ on this board that JS burnt ends are simply cubed brisket. It's good, but it's not burnt ends.

If you want burnt ends, go to Arthur Bryants or Gates.

**** I hate that.

Take the time and gimme' some pulled pork...

I concur with 2bikemike. Burnt ends should be chewy, smokey and heavily flavored. Generally, they are pretty fatty because the point is the fatty part of the brisket. They're oversmoked, overcooked pieces of heaven. And they tend to be a little jerky-like. 2bikemike's process is how they're supposed to be done.

My personal fav burnt ends are from Big T's on Blue Ridge Blvd.

And the true test of just how good a batch brunt ends are is if an hour later you burp and can blow a smoke ring.

I'm pretty sure you are correct sir.

I will admit I've never had Smokin' Guns ends, just the beef brisket. But dang, that wasn't BBQ that I ate. There was NO and I mean NO smoke flavor in it(this was 2 trips, not just 1, so it isn't like it was a one time bad event). I thought about sueing to make them change their name it was so minus smoke flavor.

As for 3, love me some 'yard. People I go with always get the chili, I just have a hard time going to a bbq joint and getting chili, so I always go with the burnt ends.


For my own current favorite, I like the burnt ends from Big T's. The sauce takes a little getting used to, more vinegar based, but the meat is dang tasty.

There's several places (Gates included) that only have burnt ends when they're available. When I lived there, I worked right off the Plaza, down the street from the one on 47th Avenue and The Paseo, and if I didn't get there before 12:30 p.m. or so they'd be out. Same situation with Arthur Bryants.

So while I'm sure SOME places do this, Gates and AB don't. JS.... well, they're just cubing brisket anyway. ;)

This. I've eaten there several times and, while it was decent, it wasn't anything special. I ate at Famous Daves a couple weeks ago and that was better, IMO. Well, the ribs were good...I didn't eat much else.

I like the Poor Russ, but Smokehouse's Super Crispy is better... as well as thier beans.

I'm guessing most don't like Smokehouse, but I love it.

Rep for that list.

Thanks Reaper.

Got a 'Yard coupon on Tuesday for $15 worth of grub for $7. Hey, times is tough.

Ah, damn this is making me want some LC's. Flying up to KC tonight so I just might make the moms or brother grab me some before they close since I won't get in until 10 or so.

You're probably right. But I've been disappointed so many times by reputable BBQ establishments that this is my reality. I realize mine may differ from yours. It's just easier for me to make my own or enjoy some from one of my friends than to mess with expensive restaurants any longer.

How'd you score that?

http://www.groupon.com/kansas-city/

Most of it is useless to me, but occasionally something will come along.

I should have said that "all of this post is almost true." Because you're right, on the whole. If I made barbecue like you do I wouldn't be going out to bbq joints, either.

I was going to get that groupon but its only a tiny savings over what I always get at Woodyard. Totally off-menu; I give Frank 8 or 9 bucks and he gives me (and the people I bring with me) a whole lot of everything on the day's menu. Its ****ing awesome to get hooked up like that.

Burnt ends from Haywards are the shit

Mmm...burnt ends. No bread; don't defile my ends with bread. Straight up, direct to the sauce and down the hatch.
The part of the brisket featuring the most concentration of the rub and the only meat on all of Earth that was intended to be served "well done". Divine.

And now I'm hungry.

The thing about doing your own is you can make it the way you and yours like it. Thats what makes Pro Comp cooking so difficult you have to please the Judges. What the Judges like ain't necessarily what I like.

I will be in town over the holidays. Is one Gates better than the others? I do like the burnt ends. I would also rather just have them on a plate and covered in sauce. I'll have to make time for this.

I'd do the one on Main around 32nd St. That's my preference. The one at 47th and The Paseo is good, too.

I like my ribs fall off the bone after I boil them and throw them on the grill now that is bbqing!

That's been gone for years.

LMAO

Penz does it Middle Ages style, yo'!

Thats Blasphemy!

No way. I've only been gone for 18 months, and that was a regular lunch stop for me. Maybe it's closed, but it hasn't been gone for years. I left in March of 2008, and I stopped there for lunch on my last day - got a crap load of food and took it home.

Ahhh...I always though that place was an extension of their business offices.

DOHT!

Thanks Reaper. I will have to try them all out ASAP! I am wanting to make the 3 hour drive to KC right now, just for some burnt ends.

If you're going to LC's, stop by Big T's about a block or two East on Blue Parkway. Their food is also very good. Not a well known place, a real sleeper. One of my favorite joints that nobody knows about.

Didn't Big T's just expand or redo their parking lot or something? The place seemed nicer last time I passed (if that's possible in that area of hourly motels).

Big T's is getting more and more attention, which is nice. I see plenty of customers there every time I pass by or go in to eat. Being open on Sundays is a big boon for them, at least in my eyes.

Mecca was against going to Jacks Stack. You should have listened. BBQ is his thing.
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If Pioli tells us that Arby-Q's are the be-all/end-all last word in great BBQ sandwiches, we should all go there immediately and without question.

Hey its not the kid at the counter's fault your Au Jaus wasn't the best you've evahh had in your life. He's surrounded by a teenaged cook and a guy on furlough making the seasoned fries.
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LMAO:doh!:

I saw the thread for Burnt Ends and I thought it was referring to what KU was doing to Central Arkansas.
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i still need to try LC's, heard tons of good things about it. I tried smoking guns and got ribs, they were overcooked and bone dry & the other guys I went with weren't impressed either.

But, after reading your post I went to Woodyard yesterday for the first time and the burnt ends were perfect. Already went a second time today.

Another satisfied poster.

I like bb's lawnside burn ends then i ususally get on an gibson and rip a 15 minute blues solo 1,4,5 style.....

WEHERHERHEREREEREREERER