Tattooed Hog aims to elevate KC barbecue culture with zero shortcuts

Sometimes the best way to examine your own city is by viewing it from the perspective of an outsider. Danny Hawkins, owner of the recently opened BBQ spot Tattooed Hog, did just that when his girlfriend, Sarah Knox, moved here from Texas and lamented not finding any good barbecue. 

Hawkins remembers thinking she couldn’t be more wrong, this is Kansas City afterall. Good barbecue is everywhere. “So I took her to some of the well-known, very popular spots, and there were a couple I was very disappointed in,” he says. 

It forced Hawkins to zoom in on the city’s barbecue scene and after looking around, he too thought there was room for improvement. The final straw came after visiting Eureka Springs, Arkansas. “There was a barbecue place there with trophies on the walls and all these awards. And it was almost inedible. It was horrible,” Hawkins says. “I was really, really mad. Sure, it wasn’t Kansas City, but it was still considered a barbecue region. I stewed for quite some time, and then I decided to do something about it.”

Hawkins’ standards are high, he grew up immersed in the craft world of barbecue. “My dad did competitions when I was a kid,” he says. “I just fell in love with it.”

The disappointment in something so dear to him fueled an inner fire. After a few years honing his recipes at festivals and catering gigs, he opened Tattooed Hog in North Kansas City’s Iron District (1599 Iron St., NKC) earlier this year. 

So what is Hawkins doing to raise the bar? Through trial and error, he’s found a consistent meat supplier that meets his high expectations for quality. He relies on smaller, more frequent ingredient deliveries to keep things fresh in the small kitchen. He has perfected his dry rub and sauce recipes over years. And outside of the meat, all of the desserts and sides, besides fries and coleslaw, are made from scratch by Hawkins and Knox.  

The sauce, served on the side so guests can first appreciate the meat, lands between Kansas City and Carolina style. It has a vinegar base and only a slight sweetness, which is one of Hawkins’ non-negotiables. “I’m not crazy about sweet barbecue sauce, and mine has got a little bite to it,” he says.

He’s not spiteful or even competitive–Hawkins is passionate about the art of smoking meat and wants everyone to have a good experience. “There are plenty of great places out there. And I am nobody. But I know [some] places [are] better than what they’re currently putting out,” Hawkins says. “People come to Kansas City for barbecue, and I want to represent it well and do it right.”

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