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Barbecuing began to be popular in the 1920s. The first charcoal briquets were produced by Henry Ford, using scrap wood left over from making Model Ts. About 3-out-of-4 homes across the nation have a grill. Even winter doesn't seem to reduce our desire for that special flavor — over half of grill owners fire them up year round. That may help account for the 66 pounds of beef we each consume each year, about the same amount as poultry; pork is close behind, at 50 pounds.

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