Barbecue

When you think of Kansas City, you think of a – perhaps the – barbecue capital of the world. No matter the event, there’s a strong likelihood it will be marked by a backyard barbecue. This is especially true on the Fourth of July. For this installment of What’s Your KCQ?, a partnership between The Kansas City Star and the Kansas City Public Library, we respond to reader Marcia Hall’s question: Why is Kansas City associated with barbecue more than any other Midwest city?

The man who first assumed the title of Barbecue King of Kansas City way born on March 16, 1874, in Shelby County, Tennessee. By the age of 15, Henry Perry had started learning his trade working in steamboat kitchens traveling up and down the Mississippi River.