For some Americans, summertime means visiting the beaches or national parks. For others, it means attending baseball games. And for many, it means cooking, eating, and generally enjoying American barbecue. Barbecue, or BBQ for short, is a style of cooking meat at a low temperature for a long time. But, not all American barbecue is the same. Mike Sargent recently drove almost 2,500 kilometers from Texas to Washington, D.C., to compete in the National Capital Barbecue Battle. As a Texan, Sargent says his home state makes the best barbecue. But he adds, “The style of barbecue going across the nation is just totally different. And it’s interesting to see, you know, because it’s the culture on what people were raised on.”

What does culture mean?
raised the same
visit the beach
style of cooking
of a society
What are summertime activities?
cooking meat inside
attending football games
visiting beaches and parks
building a fire
Barbecue is a style of cooking meat.
indoors
quickly
fish
meat