National Burnt Ends Day

The story of National Burnt Ends Day begins long before the observance itself.

Kansas City’s modern barbecue tradition can be traced to the early twentieth century. Visit KC identifies Henry Perry as a foundational figure in the city’s barbecue history, noting that he was serving barbecue from an outdoor pit beside a streetcar barn by the early 1920s. Other families and pitmasters later developed their own styles, helping establish Kansas City as an important American barbecue center.

Burnt ends emerged from this wider barbecue culture. Historically, the crispy, fatty and heavily barked portions from smoked brisket were not always considered premium cuts. Kansas City PBS's Flatland reports that such pieces were sometimes treated as scraps, eaten by cooks, added to beans or given away rather than sold as a featured dish.

Arthur Bryant’s Barbecue became particularly important to the burnt-ends story. Visit KC records that the restaurant passed pieces of brisket ends to customers waiting in line. What had once been treated casually eventually became one of the dishes most closely identified with Kansas City barbecue.

Burnt ends gained wider attention in 1972, when Kansas City-born writer Calvin Trillin praised the “burned edges” available at Arthur Bryant’s in an article for Playboy. Kansas City PBS credits the article with helping bring much greater attention to what had previously been a local barbecue treat.

Decades later, the food received its own national observance. In 2021, the American Royal and Zarda Bar-B-Q worked together to establish National Burnt Ends Day. National Day Calendar proclaimed September 1, 2021 as the first observance, with the date to be celebrated annually thereafter.

The American Royal has continued to connect the celebration with Kansas City barbecue and its non-profit mission supporting food and agriculture education. Recent observances have included special burnt-end promotions that help support the organization’s scholarship programs.