Warm weather and sunny days means it's a barbecue(烧烤）season in the US, These days, people say they're going to a barbecue, they usually that they're going to cook the food over a grill(烤架) outdoors.
Popular barbecue foods include hamburgers, hot dogs, and vegetables.
Barbecue fans say that this is not the real barbecue; it's just grilling. The true barbecue, which is also BBQ, is an American tradition that is as old as the country itself.
The barbecue refers to meat that is cooked for a very long time (sometimes as long as 24 hours) over low heat from a wood fire. The smell of the burning wood Adds flavor (味道 ) to the meat, which becomes soft as it cooks. parts of the US have different of making the barbecue.
In Texas, people often use beef. In North and South Carolina, pork is the most common. In Kansas City, pork ribs(排) are the favorite. Each region(地 区) says that its own barbecue is the . There are barbecue competitions every year, all of the competitors want to the first place and there are even magazines about the art of making the great barbecue.
Most Americans don' t have the time or patience to dig a hole, fill it with special wood, light fire and then cook meat carefully over it all day and night. So when they want a real barbecue, they go to restaurants that do the hard work for them. For those who want to have own easy barbecues, there's always grilling.
