You haven't traveled much.
In New Jersey (maybe in NY also) barbecue is a process. When I worked at Bell Labs one of my co-workers invited me attend a weekend gathering at his house. "We're going to barbecue some steaks." He meant they planned to cook them outdoors on a charcoal grill. No sauce needed.
In Australia, a barbecue is an outdoor cooking device that we tend to call a grill. Gas or charcoal. Those giant Southern Ocean shrimp are a favorite thing to cook on a barbie.
In Texas, barbecue is never anything but beef, unless prepared by a newcomer. Then it could be armadillo or pork. Never chicken. In West Texas it could be rabbit or goat.
In NC, barbecue is never beef. It's always pork. Often the entire animal is cooked overnight on a huge grill. The next day, when it's done, we have what is called a Pig Pickin'. Cole slaw on the side. There are three different NC sauce recipes. Here in Eastern NC we don't use much sauce. The pig creates a could bit of its own during the 10-12 hours of cooking. My sauce is 1 c vinegar, 1 c cider vinegar, about 2 t brown sugar, and whatever pepper sauces I happen to have. I add the pepper until my wife threatens me.
In Atlanta, barbecue could be almost anything. Even chicken, heaven forbid. The chicken needs a lot of sauce and the Georgia concoction called barbecue sauce is essentially ketchup diluted with molasses and mustard.
