A lot of food holidays occur in May, but one of our favorites is National BBQ Month. Humans have been grilling meat over a fire for thousands of years, and the modern BBQ cooker is a natural extension of that primitive instinct. There’s just something innately satisfying about lighting your wood, charcoal, or gas grill and throwing some delicious cuts of meat on it.

It’s almost a religious experience, especially when you slather that savory-sweet BBQ sauce on it. All that’s left to do this month after the BBQ has been prepared is to invite some friends and family members over for a cookout. That’s when you know summer has officially begun.

The History of National BBQ Month

In 1963, the Barbecue Council was founded this month to encourage more people to grill outdoors. And we think that their campaign has worked pretty well over the past few years because, six decades later, there are almost 80 million Americans who grill every year.

Tangy Facts About BBQ

What’s tastier than BBQ? Well, how about some barbecue facts? We’ve collected quite a few of them during our research, and we’ve listed some of our favorites below. Enjoy.

• Over 65% of Americans own a grill.
• Gas barbecues are the most common in the U.S., but charcoal, wood pellet, and electric ones are gaining in popularity.
• The most popular day for grilling in the U.S. is the 4th of July.
• Many people consider Kansas City to be the BBQ capital of the world.
• Some of the first physical evidence of human barbecuing has been found at Stonehenge over 5,000 years ago.
• Pitmasters believe that it’s important to let barbecued meat rest for 30-60 minutes before eating it.
• Hamburgers are the most popular item for BBQ in the U.S. That’s good to know, considering that May is both National BBQ Month and National Hamburger Month.

Observing National BBQ Month

Want to enjoy National BBQ Month? If you do, then you might want to fire up that grill and make some BBQ. Perhaps you’ll make a type of BBQ that you don’t ordinarily make. In our estimation, there are five different types of BBQ in the United States: Carolina BBQ, Kansas City BBQ, Memphis BBQ, Texas BBQ, and St. Louis BBQ.

After you choose one of these delicious types of barbecue, take a few moments to share it with the rest of us by taking a picture of it and posting it on social media using the hashtag #NationalBBQMonth.