Besides agricultural production, Kansas is known for their beef cattle (they’re the 2nd largest producer in the United States!) so we’re sharing a recipe using beef. Stuffed burgers can be customized to your taste, but this recipe from The Spruce Eats for some stuffed burgers will give you a starting point. Our vote is that you can never have too much cheese, but let us know what you went with. Tag us on Instagram or Twitter and use hashtag #BBQAcrossAmerica so we can see your delicious stuffed burgers. More info on the state of Kansas is below if you want to read up while your burgers cook.
Kansas is nicknamed the Sunflower State but also the Wheat State. This region of the United States consists of plains and prairie and is the breadbasket of the country, growing more wheat than any other state in the union. It also is home to acres of sunflower fields.
For the history buffs there is much to explore in Kansas. In 1803, the United States purchased Kansas from France in the Louisiana Purchase. Fort Leavenworth is one of the oldest U.S. Army forts in continuous existence west of the Mississippi River. Established in 1827 as a frontier post to protect trade on the Santa Fe Trail, it also became essential to overland expansion along the Oregon-California Trail.
The Carrie/Carry Nation House in Medicine Lodge is where the famous prohibitionist lived and began organizing a local branch of the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union. She campaigned for enforcement of banning liquor sales in Kansas and was known for her extreme acts against saloons and the use of her infamous “hatchet”.
The national historical site marking the landmark 1954 Supreme Court case of Brown v. Board of Education is located in Topeka. In that case, the U.S. Supreme Court concluded that “separate education facilities are inherently unequal,” denying legal basis for segregation in 21 states with segregated classrooms.
The Santa Fe Trail, between the Missouri River and the Rio Grande, was the first great Euro-American land trade route with early traffic consisting mostly of civilian traders. It crossed the state of Kansas, allowing travel and communication. About 9 miles west of Dodge City on U.S. Highway 50, there is still a set of highly intact trail ruts. This section of the trail contains a major arch and the ruts at some points stretch 400 feet wide. From 1821 until 1880, the Santa Fe Trail figured prominently in the history of the American West.
The Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum is located in Eisenhower’s hometown of Abilene, Kansas. The vast holdings of the Library consist of historical records and papers, photographs, original motion picture film, and artifacts.
For the daredevils, a must stop on your visit to Kansas should be the Evel Knievel museum in Topeka. A large part of the museum is devoted to the motorcycle jumps he made and also for some of the jumps he attempted. The displays sometimes include videos of the jumps, helmets, and practice cycles he used. They have a chronological list of his jumps from 1965 to 1980. There are 168 jumps, 19 of which ended in crashes.
