It's that time of year again -- the Houston Texans cheer team just threw their annual bikini BBQ (awesome) ... and TMZ Sports has all of the amazing photos and video.

You're welcome.

Every year (starting last year), the cheer team gather for some bonding, barbecue and bikinis before the NFL season kicks off.

It's a better tradition than the Masters.

This year, the ladies kicked things off with a special group strawberry-eating session (awesome) -- followed by some bubble blowing, model poses and mimosas.

As for the main course, the ladies threw some turkey burgers on the grill -- and gave us a breakdown about why they axed red meat from the menu.

So, where were the Texans players during the party? Not invited -- this shindig was "cheerleaders only" and to prevent any unwanted party-crashers ... it all went down at a "secret location."