Derrick, wife Whitney, and daughter Desaray Caldwell at A Taste of Kansas City BBQ
J.C. Reid/Contributor
Three-meat plate with ribs, rib tips and brisket at A Taste of Kansas City BBQ
J.C. Reid/Contributor
A Taste of Kansas City BBQ
J.C. Reid/Contributor
Ribs and rib tips at A Taste of Kansas City BBQ
J.C. Reid/Contributor
Menu at A Taste of Kansas City BBQ
J.C. Reid/Contributor
It’s well established that legitimate Texas-style barbecue is now available across the U.S. and even around the world.
In the battle for smoked meat supremacy, Texas remains the clear winner.
Still, other styles of barbecue have occasionally tried to gain a foothold in the Lone Star State.
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In Houston, various regional styles have made their case over the years: Carolina-style in the form of pulled pork and whole hog; Chicago-style with rib tips; Memphis-style featuring sauced pork ribs; even Santa Maria-style (California) barbecue in the form of tri-tip sandwiches.
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Results have been mixed. Whole hog, for instance, mostly shows up as a weekend special at a handful of Texas-style joints. Perhaps the most successful out-of-state barbecue item in Texas is the rib tip.
Mainly associated with Chicago, rib tips are the bony, cartilaginous ends of a pork spare rib, trimmed off and sold separately from the meatier St. Louis-cut portion.
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They’ve developed a cult following among barbecue fans, often served on large trays meant for sharing. In Houston, Burns Original BBQ, Boogie’s Chicago Style BBQ and Ray’s BBQ Shack all serve them.
More recently, a new barbecue trailer, A Taste of Kansas City BBQ, has made rib tips its main attraction. Yes, a newcomer is now making the case for Kansas City-style barbecue in Houston.
Derrick Caldwell, a Kansas City native, and his wife, Whitney, have served KC-style barbecue from pop-ups and trailers on and off for several years. After leaving his lawn care business in 2025, Caldwell now runs the operation full time from a trailer in a Cypress parking lot.
“There are a lot of taco and burger joints around here,” Caldwell says. “People come to us and say, ‘We’re glad you’re here. We’re tired of eating burgers and tacos.’”
While Kansas City barbecue is best known for burnt ends — cubes of brisket from the point — it’s also defined by pork ribs coated in a thick, sweet tomato-based sauce (think KC Masterpiece). Rib tips are a staple at old-school joints there as well.
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To introduce Houstonians to the style, Caldwell has made the more familiar rib tips his featured item. The menu leans heavily toward sauced pork ribs and rib tips, with the occasional special of brisket burnt ends.
There are two schools of thought on cooking rib tips: cook the full rack of spare ribs and trim the tips after, or separate the tips beforehand and cook them on their own. Caldwell uses the former method.
He pulls a full rack from the smoker, slices off the strip of tips and chops them into individual pieces for serving.
Another key difference from Texas barbecue is the wood. Kansas City-style typically uses hickory instead of post oak, often supplemented with fruit woods like apple or pear. Caldwell uses a blend of hickory and pear.
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Like other regional styles, Kansas City barbecue can be a tough sell in Texas. By concentrating on a dish that’s well-known and popular here – rib tips – Caldwell is easing Houstonians into the realization that KC-style barbecue can hold its own against Texas brisket.
A Taste of Kansas City BBQ (trailer)
11945 Barwood Bend Dr.; 346-322-8914
Tues.-Sat. 12-5 p.m.
Call to confirm opening times.