Oklahoma Joe's BBQ In Kansas City

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Oklahoma Joe’s Bar-B-Que in Kansas City is an entirely separate and independent corporate entity and shares no business or ownership ties whatsoever with the Oklahoma Joe’s in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. We are a completely separate family-owned business. The only thing we share with the Broken Arrow restaurant is a name and a shared history of great barbecue.

Zagat Rated

Best Barbecue in Kansas City 2011

Anthony Bourdain chats with 98.9 The Rock’s Johnny Dare about Oklahoma Joe’s and his new book “Medium Raw: A Bloody Valentine to the World of Food and the People Who Cook.”

Click here to listen to the interview

Oklahoma Joe's BBQ on Facebook

A brief history of great BBQ at Oklahoma Joe's Barbecue in Kansas City

Born the son of an immigrant Lithuanian lamp maker, Jeff Stehney, Oklahoma Joe’s owner, got his first taste of . . . . .
Sorry, that’s the wrong story.

Oklahoma Joe’s Barbecue and Catering can be traced to competition barbecue and the Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS). Tagging along with friends at the American Royal and The Great Lenexa BBQ Battle was all the inspiration Jeff needed to get started cooking on his own. The first smoker purchased was an Oklahoma Joe’s 24” smoker, christened below in April 1991.

The competition team, Slaughterhouse Five, went through some personnel changes the first two years and by 1993, Jeff, his wife and business partner Joy, and Jim Howell were ready to make their mark on the KCBS competition circuit. And make their mark they did, winning eight Grand Championships, including the prestigious American Royal BBQ, three Reserve Grand Championships, and the Kansas City Barbeque Society’s Grand Champion “Team of the Year” in 1993. Over the next several seasons Slaughterhouse Five won dozens more awards and was generally recognized as one of the top competition BBQ teams in the Country.

All of this eventually lead to the opening of Oklahoma Joe's restaurant in Kansas City, KS. Oklahoma Joes has gained a local and national reputation for outstanding barbecue. The Zagat national restaurant survey rated Oklahoma Joe's "Excellent" for Barbecue in 2000. To learn the rest of the story visit our history page.

The first smoker purchased was an Oklahoma Joe’s 24” smoker, christened in April 1991.

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